I was surprised to see a half-page ad in the Independent’s Jan. 20th issue stating that Christianity is under attack. I’ve heard that there are people who actually think that’s true because they see what they believe is its effect. We have no more mandatory morning prayers or Bible verses read over the intercom in public schools.
If you were asked to write down your top-10 favorite places, it’s hard to imagine a landfill making anybody’s list. There’s nothing pretty about a landfill. There’s nothing attractive or inviting about a place where trash is piled high and deep, and you certainly wouldn’t want to take home any souvenirs!
Mortality really makes you think. I don't have any immediately deadly condition, as far as I know, but I get older this week, and I have already lived longer than either of my parents did. I would be naive to think I'll ever eat the apples from the trees I'll plant this year.
A newborn baby girl was abandoned in a cardboard egg box, in deep snow, in -20 Celsius weather outside Novosibirsk two weeks ago. Her life was saved by five teenage boys who spotted the box and picked her up as they walked on the evening of January 7.
It was Orthodox Christmas Day.
