Inappropriate Conversations

39: Privacy and Intimate Relationships

It's ironic, but some of the same people who believe in confession and accountability reject any notion of a right to privacy.  Without some sense of privacy, though, you cannot have true intimacy. And without intimacy, all relationships suffer - among family members, between friends, and with God. Different Drummer: Drew Pinsky

36: Misconceptions Regarding Abortion

It's interesting to see how pro-choice friends react when I define abortion as the killing of an unborn child.  It is also interesting to observe the reaction of pro-life friends when I suggest that such a killing isn't necessarily or always "unjust."  Obviously, we have to clear up a few things before we can even define the word abortion, much less deal with the issue. Different Drummer: Judith Jarvis Thomson

34: The Music of Dead Musicians

Halloween has always been about kids dressing in costumes and collecting candy, right?  As I got older, the holiday was more about listening to the music of departed musicians and sharing stories with a close group of friends.  Is something inherently evil about October 31st? Or does the conservative backlash against Halloween actually do the devil's bidding by publicizing Satanism more than any Harry Potter lookalike asking for candy ever could? Different Drummer: Edgar Allan Poe

33: Minding your P's and Q's

Time to respond to feedback for the first time, and certainly not the last.  The P's and Q's are your points and questions: excellent ideas for me to consider ... hopefully with adequate answers.  Thanks! Different Drummer: Hank Hanegraaff

31: Teaching teens with T&A

Banned Books Week is an annual event that draws much needed attention on the freedom to read or even really the freedom to think. We all should stand up when schools are pressured to prevent students from reading To Kill a Mockingbird, particularly in cases where "concerned parents" believe they are opposing racism and injustice by banning a book that would accomplish more by being read.  Are we trying to control what children learn instead of urging them and inspiring them to think?  Not only would I keep challenging and provocative material in the curriculum, I might be willing to go even further. Different Drummer: Karen Elizabeth Gordon

26: Labor Day, work stories

"Most Likely To" was both an employer reference, recommending someone I'd once supervised for admission to a university, and a short story with wild anecdotes from college days. Completely inappropriate, but hopefully a bit of fun. Happy Labor Day! Different Drummer: Larry Winget

21: Permanent Things that I believe

Anyone can believe as I do. Prophets told us that the words of faith are written in our hearts. If I summarize down to a list, it starts to look like cliche. Well, I do not approach this topic as an attempt at evangelism. I cannot "give you my faith." That is, in fact, one of my beliefs: any faith you find will come from your own heart. On the other hand, I can tell you about Permanent Things I've found in my heart. Different Drummer: Larry Crabb