COVID-19: Why and how do masks, gloves and other protective equipment help?
I leave the house with gloves and a mask on. When I return, I clean my shoe soles and I wash my gloves with disinfectant. Then I take off my clothes, place them somewhere outside, take off my gloves and mask and wash my hands. Is this normal? Or am I a germophobe?
How risk-free is alcohol tasting as a child?
To offer one’s child a sip of alcohol during mealtime or for other special occasions is not as rare as one might like to believe. Even if parents believe that a controlled start to alcohol consumption is protection from bingeing later on, the reality is that alcohol tasting in childhood generates major risks for the child’s development.
How to speak to be heard
“The problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.” (George Bernard Shaw)
How lethal is COVID-19, and other (un)answered questions
There have now been over 12 million cases of COVID-19 infection globally, and half a million deaths. Researchers are constantly looking for new and better information to reduce the uncertainty around the virus.
The game where nobody wins
I was only 13 when I first experienced it. My three best girlfriends handed me a letter. It said they no longer wanted to be my friends. The only reason given was, “The guys pay you too much attention.” After delivering the letter, they simply shunned me.
Self-help and spiritual paralysis
Why personalising Christianity could threaten your salvation.
How to critically evaluate a text
Almost a century ago, writer Virginia Woolf noticed people’s tendency to approach books “with clouded and divided minds, asking fiction to be true, poetry to be false, biographies to be flattering and history to chime with prejudices.”
Between 6 and 10 years of extra life make a difference
Over the past few years, several major media outlets have been talking about the increased longevity of Adventists compared to the populations they live among (CNN, BBC, DW, NBC, CBS, ABC, CBN, National Geographic, Time, Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, The Atlantic, etc.).
The final wake-up call
I remember years ago driving to my hometown of Robertson in the Southern Highlands of NSW, Australia. It was a wet, foggy evening, and as I was nearing the crest of a hill on the outskirts of the village, I noticed a small, grey form rapidly approaching. Out of nowhere, a voice told me: “Veer to the right, now!” Startled, I did as...
COVID-19: Which end is The End?
As the crisis caused by the new coronavirus deepened and spread, it was to be expected that the phenomenon would be framed in apocalyptic terms. It is something that tends to occur in such contexts.
I’m the only one who can solve my problems: True or false?
The problems that arise in our lives are nothing more than cognitive obstacles that we don't immediately have the skills to overcome. The most important question when we get stuck is: do I ask for help or do I solve my problems myself?
What do you do when you reach the end of love?
When I'm tired I can't love! Many times I have lived this reality and even assessed it as the exact end of love.
Friedrich Nietzsche, Christianity, and Jesus of Nazareth
“I condemn Christianity; I bring against the Christian church the most terrible of all the accusations that an accuser has ever had in his mouth... The Christian church has left nothing untouched by its depravity; it has turned every value into worthlessness, and every truth into a lie, and every integrity into baseness of soul... the cross as the distinguishing mark of the...
Why do we lose our friends?
“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light” (Hellen Keller).
Small changes and their remarkable impact
Changing habits is like tightrope walking: an exercise in which the balance is always fragile, but it is the small changes that pave the way to truly remarkable results.


























