The self-esteem movement and the unhappiness of a generation
They say self-esteem is a vital ingredient for success in life. But what if everything we were taught about self-esteem is wrong?
Saving discipline: God’s rod?
The saying Spare the rod and spoil the child is deeply rooted in some cultures as saving discipline. Where does this idea come from and is it true that using the rod is next to godliness?
The mirror is part of us | Friendship and our self-image
A friend carries within him our identity’s safe box.
The need for meaning: life’s oxygen mask
“Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life.”— Bertolt Brecht
The big impact of small acts of kindness
An unexpected act of kindness can change a day—whether you are on the receiving end or the one who initiates it. And that change can echo far beyond a single day, because when measured by their effects, acts of kindness are never truly small, despite the language we use to describe them.
A second chance: faith in the forgiveness that transforms us
Many years ago, while I was still in high school, our Romanian language and literature teacher assigned us the task of writing a framed story, complete with characters and a plot of our choosing.
Why should you tell your friends your secrets?
In 2004, Frank Warren, an American businessman, had "a crazy idea," as he himself describes it. He printed 3,000 postcards, wrote his address on them and a series of instructions, then left space on the back for the sender to write secrets they had never shared with anyone before.
Daddy issues in the White House
Recently, I became a dad for the first time (that is, if you don’t count my miniature schnauzer, Banjo). Ever since my daughter was born, I’ve had a single thought going through my head: how do I ensure I don’t screw up my child?
Sugar and venom: pitfalls of the freedom to buy and sell sex
More than 19 years ago, the Netherlands experimented with legalising prostitution, an approach that many countries looked at with interest and curiosity. After all, after the failure of the "noble experiment" of American prohibition, people wanted to see the result of the opposite approach with regards to sex.
For better or for worse | How to love for a lifetime
"Marriage: a book of which the first chapter is written in poetry and the remaining chapters written in prose." (Beverley Nichols)
What’s growing on your family tree?
From a distance, it looked like a simple picture of a tree: nothing very artistic—more of a sketch in subtle shades of brown and green. But as I looked closer I noticed something unusual. The tree had been constructed out of words and phrases. Someone had collected snippets of information about their family and their ancestors, and written it down to form the...
The dilemma of parents raising their children under pressure
Lucy is an 8-year-old girl who has a range of interests broader than that of an ordinary adult. She is enrolled in an international school, where classes are taught in French by native speakers. Her classmates are children of expats from different cultures, which amuses her nanny, who, when picking her up from school, says that she "took her from the children's UN."
The fall of communism
“Communism is the only serious rival to Christianity.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
Communist prisons were filled with Christians of every denomination, from lay believers...
“Immortality of the Soul or Resurrection of the Dead?” | Book review
The obvious opposition to one of the most widespread Christian teachings is likely to provoke strong reactions, which is what happened with the book Immortality of the Soul or the Resurrection of the dead?,[1] by the renowned Lutheran theologian Oscar Cullmann (1902-1999).
What is the use of general knowledge?
"No man can be called friendless who has God and the companionship of good books." (Elizabeth Barrett Browning, British poet)


























