Free Republic

Growing up, I rarely -- if ever -- heard anyone in authority discuss the relationship between Judeo-Christian concepts of morality and health. Instead, morals were cast as somewhat arbitrary rules that had to be followed to avoid being cast into Hell. I can't speak to what may happen in the afterlife. But in my almost six decades on the planet, I have observed that there is a powerful correlation between the foundational principles of morality in Judeo-Christianity and health in this life: physical and spiritual health, emotional and psychological health, and societal health. The Ten Commandments are an excellent starting...

As long ago as the 1970s, I came to a major realization. While watching fellow students at Columbia University demonstrate not just against the war in Vietnam but against America -- "Amerika," as many spelled it, the "imperialist," "colonialist," "mass-murdering" country -- I kept wondering what made these people so hostile to the freest country in human history. Then, one day, as a result of my having attended a yeshiva (an Orthodox Jewish day school) through high school, the reason became clear. Half of each school day was devoted to religious studies in Hebrew, and the other half was devoted...

Western civilization was founded on a set of philosophies that focuses strongly on the sanctity of individuals and their power of logic and reason. This belief led to a desire to trust things that could be proven to be true or legitimate, from government to science. Judeo-Christian morality has formed the basis of most Western notions of ethics and behavioral standards. Thus, the attack on Western civilization must begin with the attack on the church and Christian values, and, just as important, the family unit. The reason why the church, Christian values, and family are targets of the left is...