Humans and chimpanzees

Is the chimpanzee the human’s closest relative in the animal world? According to the theory of evolution, the answer is a categorical YES. Specialised literature abounds in generous estimates of human-chimpanzee genetic similarity, ranging from 96% to 99%. But how are these percentages obtained, what assumptions do they hide, and what do they mean beyond the evolutionary interpretation?

Complaining too much? Here’s 5 things you can do instead

What do you do when things go wrong and everything around you seems to crumble? Do you keep your eyes forward and try to find a solution? Or do you fall into endless complaining?

AI promised the world. It’s not delivering.

AI proponents make huge promises. But is it too good to be true?

When faith falters, and couples drift apart

Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer. – Rainer Maria Rilke

What (not) to say when apologising

"I was wrong. I'm sorry"—these words can have a magical effect on a struggling relationship. But if we fail to show empathy, the apology will sound fake or hurt the offended person even more.

Any mountain can be climbed

There is nothing we can do. Thousands of dreams ended with this short sentence. In the face of too great an obstacle or tragedy, giving up seems the only option left. But there are some people who love what they do so much that nothing stops them from adding an unless. This word breeds the courage and creativity in finding solutions, and then...

A rapid test concerning COVID-19 and religious freedom

At the heart of Religious Liberty is the issue of worship.  Religious Liberty is the freedom to worship according to one’s own conscience.

The Mayflower odyssey

From the ship’s hold, 102 passengers poured eagerly onto the deck, pale after 65 days of confinement, longing to see the sky and dry land again. Their arrival in the New World might have gone entirely unnoticed had these immigrants not marked history with a first act that would come to define modern democracy.

Generosity isn’t just about money

When Reader's Digest asked readers to share a time when someone took care of one of their needs, the stories poured in, proving that our world is still full of ambassadors of generosity.

Joy amid poverty

Poverty and laughter don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand. People who are worried about where their next meal will come from or where their children will sleep that night find it hard to wear smiles.

What happens if the pope dies?

Images of Pope Francis have recently been released by the Vatican for the first time after he was admitted to hospital in a critical condition for pneumonia following a complex lung infection. Given his advanced age and frailty, many have wondered whether the pope is close to death.

From Charon’s skiff to the tomb of Lazarus | Part 1

Belief in life after death is present in many religions and cultures and has always been an important aid in accepting the tragic reality of death. However, rather than speaking of the intrinsic immortality of the soul, the Bible speaks of the future resurrection of the dead.

Cohabiting before marriage reduces the risk of divorce: true or false?

More and more people are choosing cohabitation over marriage. Many young people believe that cohabiting helps them to make better decisions about marriage by giving the couple a chance to "practise" before making a lifelong commitment. There is also a belief that cohabiting before marriage reduces the likelihood of marital problems or divorce.

The Second Coming Files: A 2000-Year Inquiry | Part V: Nineteenth-Century Millenarianism in the British Isles

After covering the historical evolution of the Christian teaching about the return of Jesus Christ in the first three articles, in the fourth article, which precedes the one that you’re reading now, I made a minimal review of some philosophical, political, religious, and esoteric currents that are important to understand the world in which the millenarian revivals of the 19th century emerged.

The birth of Jesus and its impact on world history over the last two millennia

No leader has ever inspired mankind to a greater extent than the baby born in Bethlehem, the one who divided history. No other personality in the world has left such a mark on such a large number of fields as Jesus did. And the legacy He left in terms of human rights (especially women's rights), education, attitudes towards children, humility, and forgiveness is...