Most human beings are not logicians. They muddle through life with beliefs and values that often do not hang together logically. I think that, basically, this is good news. Rigorously consistent doctrines, in politics as in religion, have a tendency to become murderous. The Mexican writer Octavio Paz (in his wonderful book The Labyrinth of Solitude) called such doctrines “syllogism-daggers”. I am always intrigued by the way in which seemingly contradictory beliefs and practices are upheld in many religious communities. For the last three years I have been periodically teaching at Baylor University...