Analysis

Urban alienation is one of the great themes approached critically by many artists.

When I think of patience and resilience, many inspiring life stories and names come to mind. Among them, one shines with particular intensity: Anne Frank.

Judging by the headlines in the press over the last weeks, the world seems ready to have a discussion about sin.

The stakes are high when it comes to identifying the one to whom we should pray, and we can discover who by answering an apparently simple question: Can we expect prayers to be heard no matter who we address them to?

Two strangers walk hurriedly through the busy streets of Constantinople. The great bells are quietly ringing out the call to mass, while the semantrons are hastening the footsteps of the faithful towards the place of worship. St Sophia's Cathedral stands majestically, its gates wide open, awaiting pilgrims seeking salvation.

Many people know the Lord’s Prayer, having learned it from a parent or grandparent. But few know that it was given as a response to the disciples’ request for Jesus to teach them how to pray.

Money is essential in our Western world. It allows us to purchase the necessities of life—food and shelter, for instance. It pays the bills for heating and cooling. There may even be enough for some luxuries.

To know God is an aspiration inherent in the rational being who recognises His existence.

We know how to do normal things in peacetime, but how do we keep our life going and maintain our hope in times of war?

Some people who have avoided death in a plane crash by missing a flight, whether through being delayed or being denied boarding, say with great conviction: "God was with me." But for those who seek comprehensive explanations for such things, the obvious question is: why was God with them and not with those who perished?

The book “Proofs of God's Existence” describes Richard Wurmbrand’s experience, who, in the dungeons of communist horrors, turned suffering into a very successful teacher of character and well-balanced words.

There have always been people who relish a debate—though all too often, even when the subject hardly matters, the whole exercise amounts to little more than intellectual gymnastics in a thimble and scholarly squabbles over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

Pray! If not to God, then to a god. Admit that we are defeated, because this is the first step towards victory.

Women work an average of 68 hours per week, while men work 55 hours—a total that includes both professional commitments and household responsibilities. This was the conclusion of a 2007 study conducted by sociologists at the University of Cambridge across European Union countries.

Even the most rigorously researched statistics are not immune from misinterpretation, and they can often be used in a way that obscures the truth.