In his book Please Don't Squeeze the Christian, Scott Sernau reflects on the danger of cynicism—especially in the life of believers who claim a "living hope." He writes:

Cynicism kills in the manner of frostbite: the only symptom is a deadening numbness. And even Christians are often tinged with this frostbite. Callousness and doubt numb us to life and joy. We find ourselves leaving the triumphant ...

The movie Love's Unfolding Dream is based upon a series of books by Janet Oke. In this scene Belinda (Scout Taylor-Compton), an aspiring doctor in the little Western town of Anderson's Corner, is caring for Ms. Stanfordsmythe, a wealthy stroke victim from Boston, Massachusetts. Belinda is unaware that Ms. Stanfordsmythe lost both of her children to death, and Ms. Standfordsmythe is unaware that Belinda ...

Here's a little experiment: start a sentence with the words "I believe…," and then finish it with something deeply heartfelt. It is impossible to do without feeling uplifted and stirred.

The need to declare our deeply held beliefs is an irrepressible aspect of being human. In the act of defining what we believe, we define ourselves. I am one who can discern what is true and real and noble and bind ...

Early in his career, many had hoped A. N. Wilson, a brilliant philosopher, would become the next C. S. Lewis. But as a young man, he began to wonder how much of the Easter story he accepted. By his thirties, he had lost all religious belief and publicly repudiated his Christian faith, becoming an atheist. He soon embraced the role of a harsh, cynical critic of Christianity and any faith in God at ...

English author H. G. Wells, famous for science fiction novels like The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and The War of the Worlds, once wrote a short story called "The Country of the Blind." It's about an inaccessible, luxurious valley in Ecuador where, due to a strange disease, everyone is blind. After 15 generations of this blindness there was no recollection of sight or color or the outside world ...

Dangerous Minds is based on a true story about high school teacher LouAnne Johnson (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) making a difference in the lives of troubled but smart inner-city students. In this scene, while LouAnne is in front of her class teaching, the students are upset with her because they felt she "ratted" on three students for fighting. LouAnne asks them if they want to discuss the issue. ...

Evan Almighty is the story of freshman congressman Evan Baxter, whose main campaign slogan was "change the world." When he asks for God's help to achieve his goal, God responds in an unusual way—he commands Evan to build an ark in order to rescue a multitude of wild animals.

As Evan accepts the reality of God's request and reluctantly begins to obey, he faces mounting ridicule from his coworkers, ...

This world is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those who feel.

—Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (1717–1797)

A woman was doing her last-minute Christmas shopping at a crowded mall. She was tired of fighting the crowds. She was tired of standing in lines. She was tired of fighting her way down long aisles looking for a gift that had sold out days before.

Her arms were full of bulky packages when an elevator door opened. It was full. The occupants of the elevator grudgingly tightened ranks to allow a small ...

Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, author of Words That Hurt, Words That Heal, has lectured throughout this country on the powerful, and often negative, impact of words. He often asks audiences if they can go 24 hours without saying any unkind words about, or to, another person. Invariably, a small number of listeners raise their hands, signifying "yes." Others laugh, and quite a large number call out, "no!" ...