I Grew Up In A Jewish Family,

Human Beings Are Empowered To Exercise Dominion Over Nature And Even To Be Participants In Creation; And Yet, At The Same Time, There Are Strictures Against Idolatry, Which Is A Kind Of Overreaching And Confusing Human Beings' Role With God's.

In Some Parts Of The World, That Sex Selection For Boys - And It's Usually For Boys - Reflects Sex Discrimination Against Girls, And It Leads To Very Large Imbalances - In China, In Korea, In India - In The Population Between Boys And Girls, A Vast Disproportion Of Boys To Girls, And It Reflects Really This Discriminatory Attitude Toward Girls.

In Most Of Our Lives, We Are Accustomed To Aiming At Mastery And Control And Dominion- - Over Nature, Over Our Lives, Over Our Jobs, Over Our Careers, Over The Goods That We Buy.

If The Spirit Of Their Intercourse Were Still The Same After Their Coming Together As It Had Been When They Were Living Apart,' Aristotle Writes, Their Association Can't Really Be Considered A Polis, Or Political Community. 'a Polis Is Not An Association For Residence On A Common Site, Or For The Sake Of Preventing Mutual Injustice And Easing Exchange.' While These Conditions Are Necessary To A Polis, They Are Not Sufficient. 'the End And Purpose Of A Polis Is The Good Life, And The Institutions Of Social Life Are Means To That End.

Parental Love Is Not Contingent On The Talents And Attributes The Child Happens To Have. We Choose Our Friends And Spouses At Least Partly On The Basis Of Qualities We Find Attractive. But We Do Not Choose Our Children. Their Qualities Are Unpredictable, And Even The Most Conscientious Parents Cannot Be Held Wholly Responsible For The Kind Of Child They Have. That Is Why Parenthood, More Than Other Human Relationships, Teaches What The Theologian William F. May Calls An “openness To The Unbidden.