"Dead Man Walking": Vengeance and Mercy

Dead Man Walking is based on a true story about Sister Helen Prejean (played by Susan Sarandon), a nun who agrees to offer spiritual counsel to Matthew ...

Author Harry Blamires on Self-Help

In the Christian life, nothing, nothing at all, can be purchased at the do-it-yourself shop.

—Author Harry Blamires

St. Benedict on Humility

It's hard to be humble. St. Benedict (480-547), called "the Father of Western Monasticism," wrote a guide to humility that is still popular today. The ...

Focusing on the Sin of Others

When our children were young, my husband and I decided we wouldn't watch R-rated movies. We wouldn't allow our children to watch them, so we decided ...

Religion Doesn't Equal Faith

"One can love religion like anything else in life: sports, science, stamp collecting. One can love it for its own sake without relation to God or ...

Our Light Doesn't Compare with God's

Mark McMinn makes the following observation in his book, Why Sin Matters:

When we see ourselves as "pretty good," we misunderstand the gravity ...

Convicted CEO's Good Works Don't Count

Bernard Ebbers stood before the judge and asked for mercy. The former CEO of WorldCom had been indicted for orchestrating an $11 billion accounting fraud ...

Laying Aside the Judge's Robe

Text: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged" (Matthew 7:1).

Object: A black robe. Use a baptismal, clerical, or academic robe; or rent one ...

How Good Are You?

If you can start the day without caffeine; if you can get going without pep pills; if you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains; if you can ...

Boxer Mike Tyson Justifies Himself

"I'm not Mother Teresa, but I'm not Charles Manson either.''

—Boxer Mike Tyson, arguing unsuccessfully during his application ...