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25/01/2025

Recently, I went trekking in Nepal. Sometimes upon returning from a trip, I feel the pressure to return with exciting stories—the near-death experiences and anecdotes that leave people wide-eyed and laughing.

Simple purpose By Zanita Fletcher - January 24, 2025 6 Recently, I went trekking in Nepal. Sometimes upon returning from a trip, I feel the pressure to return with exciting stories—the near-death experiences and anecdotes that leave people wide-eyed and laughing. But upon reflecting on my time awa...

22/01/2025

I have always been fascinated by God. And yet, I believe I could have known Him far better—much more deeply—if only I had better understood what He sought to teach me each day, including through my neighbour.

One of the first truths I learned about God, as it relates to the neighbor, is that love involves setting boundaries.

22/01/2025

Holiday greetings are a nice custom, but they are also an opportunity to assess how much we care about each other, how much we have grown closer or, on the contrary, how much we have grown apart over the past year.

From cold season’s greetings to the Good News By Corina Matei - January 21, 2025 5 Holiday greetings are a nice custom, but they are also an opportunity to assess how much we care about each other, how much we have grown closer or, on the contrary, how much we have grown apart over the past year. ...

17/01/2025

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?

One taken and the other left By Nicu Butoi - January 15, 2025 6 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 suc...

10/01/2025

Happy Sabbath!

07/01/2025

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them” (James 4:17). Yet Jesus asks, “Do you want to get well?” This question highlights that good cannot be done just any way or against a person’s will. Jesus shows that human will must be respected before God’s power can address sickness.

The wisdom that comes from above By Nicu Butoi - January 1, 2025 6 “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them” (James 4:17). Yet Jesus asks, “Do you want to get well?” This question highlights that good cannot be done just any way or against a p...

04/01/2025

“I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me” (Habakkuk 2:1).

I’ve always known that farewells have the bittersweet taste of unripe raspberries. Or at least, I’ve known this since the days when I diligently counted—and always came up short—the remaining days of paradise spent with my grandparents in the city. Days filled with joy, yet overshadowed by the looming, knotted thought of separation, which always took place with stoically swallowed tears at the bus station platform.

How does God answer prayers? By Carmen Lăiu - January 3, 2025 4 “I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me” (Habakkuk 2:1). I’ve always known that farewells have the bittersweet taste of unripe raspberries. Or at least, I’ve known...

30/12/2024

What if we could modify or even completely erase painful, sad, or traumatic memories? While this concept currently belongs to the realm of science fiction, advances in science may soon make memory modification possible. Yet, experts remain divided on one fundamental question: could the potential benefits of altering memories outweigh the risks involved?

From the duty to remember to the right to forget By Carmen Lăiu - December 27, 2024 13 What if we could modify or even completely erase painful, sad, or traumatic memories? While this concept currently belongs to the realm of science fiction, advances in science may soon make memory modification po...

25/12/2024

Of the hundreds of carols composed and sung at Christmas, one has managed not only to survive for more than two centuries, but also to spread its message of hope to all corners of the world.

A song of hope By Carmen Lăiu - December 25, 2024 1 Of the hundreds of carols composed and sung at Christmas, one has managed not only to survive for more than two centuries, but also to spread its message of hope to all corners of the world. It was Christmas Eve 1818, and none of the churchgoers w...

25/12/2024

The first Christmas wasn’t without stress. Imagine delivering a baby in a stable in a strange town. Mary and Joseph ate the old bread and dried fruits they brought from home. The stable was decorated with hay and oil lamps and perfumed by the scent of animals. Baby Jesus was dressed in strips of torn linen. And the shepherds turned up without an invitation. But at the heart of all this chaos was the most extravagant gift the world has ever known: God’s only Son. Jesus is a gift designed to bring peace, joy and love to everyone, everywhere.

Unpacking Christmas By Karen Holford - December 24, 2024 2 Every few years, our Christmas lasts for a week. My husband’s family rents a large house and four generations gather from England, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Netherlands, Chile and Argentina. This year there will be more than 30 of us—inc...

18/12/2024

We sometimes find ourselves surprised by how other people think about moral issues—how they distinguish right from wrong and choose to do what they think is right.

The balancing act of public morality By Corina Matei - December 17, 2024 5 We sometimes find ourselves surprised by how other people think about moral issues—how they distinguish right from wrong and choose to do what they think is right. Surprise can take various forms, from confusion to outrage....

14/12/2024

From television stories to personal experiences, we live in a world where honesty seems to be an increasingly rare commodity and suspicion and scepticism become protective shields.

Erosion of trust | The ultimate effect of conspiracy theories By Cristinel Sava - December 11, 2024 6 From television stories to personal experiences, we live in a world where honesty seems to be an increasingly rare commodity and suspicion and scepticism become protective shields. The iconic charac...

30/11/2024

To believe is not to close one’s eyes to questions or to abandon reason in favour of illusory spiritual comfort.

Why I am a Christian By Norel Iacob - November 25, 2024 16 To believe is not to close one’s eyes to questions or to abandon reason in favour of illusory spiritual comfort. For me, Christianity is not just an inherited tradition or a set of mechanically recited dogmas. It is an encounter with a tru...

28/11/2024

Article 24 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a counterpoint to the previous article in the Declaration that recognises the right to work and to do so in fair conditions. After affirming the human right to work, Article 24 reads, “Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.” It is a recognition that human beings are not intended to work incessantly, nor should they need to or be required to.

Every week’s human rights day By Nathan Brown - November 27, 2024 7 Article 24 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a counterpoint to the previous article in the Declaration that recognises the right to work and to do so in fair conditions. After affirming the human right to work, Artic...

27/11/2024

To believe is not to close one’s eyes to questions or to abandon reason in favour of illusory spiritual comfort.

For me, Christianity is not just an inherited tradition or a set of mechanically recited dogmas. It is an encounter with a truth that can withstand honest scrutiny as well as suffering or uncertainty.

Why I am a Christian By Norel Iacob - November 25, 2024 12 To believe is not to close one’s eyes to questions or to abandon reason in favour of illusory spiritual comfort. For me, Christianity is not just an inherited tradition or a set of mechanically recited dogmas. It is an encounter with a tru...

21/11/2024

The history of Christian Christological thought has swung between two extremes: the outright denial of Jesus’s divine nature, confining Him solely to humanity, and the rejection of His humanity, stripping Him of it entirely. Beginning with the Enlightenment, theologians and philosophers have sought to separate the historical figure of Jesus from the kerygmatic Christ presented in Scripture, embarking “on the quest” for the historical Jesus.

To be or to become? That is the question By Marius Mitrache - November 21, 2024 1 “The Christ of Nicea is obviously a far cry from the historical Jesus of Nazareth, an itinerant apocalyptic preacher in the backwaters of rural Galilee, who offended the authorities and was unceremoniously crucified ...

20/11/2024

The controversial story of Baruch Spinoza takes on a fascinating dimension with the explosive excommunication from the Jewish community decreed by the leaders of the Portuguese Sephardic community in Amsterdam—a decision accompanied by one of the most severe anathemas. This document made Spinoza one of the most reviled philosophers by both Jews and Christians, but attitudes towards him began to change after the German Enlightenment.

The paradox of independence: freedom at the cost of connection By Emanuel Sălăgean - November 18, 2024 8 The controversial story of Baruch Spinoza takes on a fascinating dimension with the explosive excommunication from the Jewish community decreed by the leaders of the Portuguese Sephardic commun...

19/11/2024

Christopher Hitchens was not merely an atheist but, as he described himself, a militant antitheist. It was in his home, at his invitation, that the group known as “The Four Horsemen of New Atheism” first convened. Born in 1949 in postwar England, Hitchens was shaped by the politics and intellectual currents of the 1960s.

The seasons of (un)belief in Christopher Hitchens By Laurentiu Nistor - November 19, 2024 4 Christopher Hitchens was not merely an atheist but, as he described himself, a militant antitheist. It was in his home, at his invitation, that the group known as “The Four Horsemen of New Atheism” first ...