Boston's Charles Street jail used to be home to the city's most notorious characters. Among its former inmates was Frank Abagnale, Jr., the con artist portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the feature film "Catch Me If You Can" (Steven Spielberg, 2002). Once the paragon of prison architecture, the facility fell into disrepair by the 1960s, when it became overcrowded, riotous, and filthy with pigeon droppings. ...

If only adults showed as much sound judgment as an infant! Through a series of tests, Yale University's Infant Cognition Center has found that babies as young as six to ten months old know what's right and wrong. Researchers sat babies down in front of a roller coaster-like track to watch a cartoon-eyed wooden toy try to climb its way to the top of one of the hills. As the toy climbed, other toys ...

I had been praying regularly with the deacons for one of our members. His wife, Pat, attended our small congregation faithfully, but John hadn't been to church in years. So every Sunday afternoon before the evening service, we prayed for ways to communicate our commitment to John and his family.

It wasn't long before we received an answer. During the morning service one week, Pat told us through tears ...

Have you ever had high hopes for something and then seen those hopes crumble to pieces? It happened to one man in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His story hit the news wires as one of those sadly humorous, stupid-thief tales. Actually, if you knew him, his story is probably only very sad.

He wanted money. Maybe he desperately needed money. Perhaps he had a substance addiction or owed tens of thousands of ...

Bishop and author William Willimon tells of an encounter he once had with a dying woman:

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When I entered the room that afternoon, I could see she was very near the end.

"Would you like me to pray for you?" I asked. "Would you like me to summon a priest?"

With her last ounce of energy, she held out the crucifix toward me, which depicted the body of Christ nailed to the cross. She said, "Thank you—but ...