Great expectations in friendship
How can we protect ourselves against expecting too much of our friendships? Can we do something to prepare for the disappointment? And what does one do to deal with it?
Faith, not illusions | An interview with Rusty Williams
American pastor Rusty Williams has an amazing life story to tell, as well as a story about developing his faith. The occasion was his long-term effort to build a church—a vision that took 14 years to accomplish! While preparing the written version of this interview, I attended the first worship service in the completed church, just as HopeTV was broadcasting the programme.
On the banks of a river where no one had ever been
Jim Elliot was 25 years old when he headed to Ecuador as a result of the answer he sought from God regarding his future.
The saint who hated God
Martin Luther believed that he knew exactly what God expected of him, and in the tireless endeavour to please God, he came to the point of hating Him.
Psychotronic attacks, the news aggregator, and the absurdity factory
A recent article on the website of a Romanian news aggregator claims that prayer protects against psychotronic attacks because it "raises the brain's operating frequencies". The article is a prime example of an editorial genre that proliferates precisely because of the absurdity of its claims, not in spite of them.
There is no hell
“You’re going to hell!” The words dripped with a violence, barely contained. “Repent of your wickedness,” a voice called again from the middle of a mob holding placards. I didn’t appreciate these words being directed at my wife and me.
In search of the descendants of the “Good Samaritan”
Those familiar with the Bible know the story of the Good Samaritan, who helped a Jewish man who had been robbed by giving him first aid and paying for his recovery.
From fairy tale to reality | A journey toward the happiness that matters
Before I even learned to read, I had already fallen in love with timeless stories. I would have loved to hear them every day. During the summer holidays, I would insist that my older sister—the one lucky enough to have already unlocked the secrets of the alphabet—read me one more story, and then another.
Jesus and the Goddess of Reason | Thomas Paine and the trap of contemporary deism
"I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life." This is how one of the most famous leaders of the American Revolution and an influential political writer of the late 18th century-Thomas Paine (1737-1809)-begins his testimony of faith. A few lines later in the same book, The Age of Reason, after vehemently rejecting the creed of...
A tribute to life, when life left him almost nothing
Losing one’s health and being unable to regain it are profoundly transformative experiences. The body suddenly becomes more than an appendage of the mind, as it is treated when everything is going well, while the mind becomes its prisoner.
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.
Maid review: Netflix series tackles big issues to big success
Maid continues the tradition of a made-for-television series that explores a story with depth and detail that a feature film cannot. Rather than being action packed from start to finish, each episode in Maid has a story arc that keeps you on the edge of your seat while simultaneously building the greater narrative. Unlike shows that go on forever or movies squeezed into two hours, these limited mini-series...
The mirror is part of us | Friendship and our self-image
A friend carries within him our identity’s safe box.
How our friendships change throughout life
Because life in developed societies follows a more or less regular pattern, sociologists have managed to identify the age at which conditions are most conducive to forming a friendship. It's not that people who are not of this age are unable to form meaningful connections with other people, but at other ages, life takes us on different paths, without asking for our permission.
Friendship, rarer than love? | Friendship and honesty
Romantic love is easily hurt and somewhat pretentious, especially when faced with direct honesty. Friendship is more solid.


























