Texts: Assorted texts from the Passion accounts of the Gospels and Isaiah 52:13–53:12

Principle: The weight of the sins we have committed and the sins committed against us have been placed on Christ.

Objects: Multiple bricks, multiple notecards, a copy of Frank Warren's Post Secret, a wheelbarrow, and a tall wooden or metal cross

Experience: A number of bricks are piled on one side of the stage. ...

We could not bear to live in a world where wrong is taken lightly and where right and wrong finally make no difference. Spare me a gospel of easy love that makes of my life a thing without consequence. Atonement is not an accountant's trick. It is not a kindly overlooking; it is not a "not counting" of what must count if anything in heaven or on earth is to matter. God could not simply decide not ...

After the publication of his book The God Delusion, outspoken atheist and Oxford professor Richard Dawkins sat down with the editors of TIME magazine to debate the idea of God and science with Francis Collins, a Christian scientist. At the end of the debate, Dawkins concluded:

My mind is not closed [to the idea of God], as you have occasionally suggested, Francis. My mind is open to the most wonderful ...

Based on a book by Francine Rivers, The Last Sin Eater is set in Appalachia in the 1800s. When Welsh immigrants settled in America, they brought along an ancient Celtic ritual known as "the Sin Eater." When someone within the community died, the Sin Eater would come and absolve the deceased person by eating a symbolic meal—often comprised of bread and wine—that was set alongside the corpse. ...

I was at the post office in the last days before Christmas. After helping me conduct my lengthy business, the pleasant, helpful postal clerk uttered what is surely her standard line: "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

I quipped, "Can you help me pay for Christmas?"

Without missing a beat, she replied, "He already paid for it."

I was stunned. Pleased, surprised, a tad embarrassed—a strange ...

Researchers at the University of Toronto published data in 2006 that suggests people experience "a powerful urge to wash themselves" when suffering from a guilty conscience. This urge is known as the "Macbeth effect," referring to Shakespeare's famous play in which one of the main characters cries, "Out, damned spot!" while trying to scrub away bloodstains that exist only in her mind.

In order to study ...

Dr. Samuel Weinstein is the chief of pediatric cardio-thoracic surgery for the Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York. In May of 2006, he traveled to El Salvador with Heart Care International in order to provide life-saving operations for less-fortunate children. However, it would take more than his expertise and advanced equipment to save the life of 8-year-old Francisco ...

If you go over to Scotland, or anywhere there are lots of sheep, sooner or later you're going to see a very unusual sight. You'll see a little lamb running around the field, and you'll notice this lamb has what looks like an extra fleece tied around its back. In fact, you'll see there are little holes in the fleece for its four legs and usually a hole for its head. If you see a little lamb running ...

Author James Herriot tells of an unforgettable wedding anniversary he and his wife celebrated early in their marriage. His boss had encouraged him to take his wife to a fancy restaurant, but Herriot balked. He was a young veterinarian and couldn't really afford it. "Oh, do it!" the boss insisted. "It's a special day!" Herriot reluctantly agreed and surprised his wife with the news.

En route to the ...

According to the Consumer Reports National Research Center, one out of every five gift-card recipients never used their cards last year, representing about $972 million in unredeemed cards.

The top reasons for not using gift cards include:

Haven't had time: 50 percent
Haven't found anything I wanted: 37 percent
Lost the card: 14 percent
Card expired: 12 percent