Amidst our constant celebration of diversity, we should remind ourselves that there is something to be said for homogeneity. People with similar backgrounds and values can interact at a deeper level than can people with different backgrounds and values. One should believe in a miracle only if the possibility of the miracle having not occurred, based on available evidence, would be even more miraculous than the miracle itself. People benefit from examining their lives. Religion should concern itself more with comforting souls than with saving them.
Death makes life meaningful.
It is in the searching for the good, the true, and the beautiful, that people come closest to God, if God can be said to exist. It is helpful to think of your life as a story being written, and that your goal is to make it a story that in the end would be worth reading. People should try to find new and surprising ways of looking at the stuff of life. There are some core values of civilization that should be accepted, not examined. They look backward to a relationship of trust, are made in the present, and enrich our future with the expectation of their fulfillment.