From Cleveland Clinic: People who walk regularly swear by the health and psychological benefits of their daily jaunt. Here are five reasons why they’re right. 1. Walking reduces stress, cheers you up and increases self-esteem If you’ve ever gone out for a walk in a huff and come back more calm and collected, you know firsthand that walking can help reduce stress. Studies also confirm that walking benefits your mood by releasing your body’s natural happy drugs — endorphins. And you’ll be full... Read more

Source: Rome might not have been built in a day, but if MultiPod Studio has its way, you could be able to build yourself a new home in just four. The Marseille-based design firm has come up with a prototype called the Pop-Up House—made out of wood, foam, and screws—that you can supposedly assemble with just a basic screw gun. According to the designers, the whole shebang should cost about €200 per square meter, or roughly $26 per square foot. Right now,... Read more

From The Atlantic: Christmas, it seems, starts earlier and earlier every year, and so do quadrennial presidential elections. “When my father first ran for president in ’92,” Chelsea Clinton said Saturday at an event in Arizona, “campaigns were only 13 months, instead of three and a half years, as they seem to be now.” The father in question has voiced similar complaints. “I think it’s a big mistake; this constant four-year, peripatetic campaign is not good for America. We need... Read more

The term porneia is a Greek term that has two basic meanings: 1. Sex with a prostitute; prostitution. 2. Sexual immorality in general. The issue for biblical studies is two-fold: (1) which meaning is in view in this text? and (2) what does the sexual immorality in general mean? If one thinks a given NT text (say Matthew 5:32) is sexual immorality in general, and we are looking at a Jewish speaker (which Jesus was), then we are driven to one classic... Read more

The Polarization of “Biblical Christianity” A guest post by Michael W. Pahl If you didn’t hear about the World Vision kerfuffle last week, you were either still in winter hibernation or nowhere near the US (yes, the kerfuffle was about World Vision in the US, notglobally). In the space of 48 hours, World Vision US first opened their hiring gates to people in committed same-sex marriages, then slammed the gates back shut. During those tumultuous few days there were two dominant Christian voices demanding attention. Some Christians sought to rally the troops, appealing to... Read more

Where is your favorite place to drive in the Spring — to see the newness of Spring? Here is DC’s wonderful cherry blossom trees. From CNN: (CNN) — Remember when Dorothy dozes off among scarlet poppies in The Wizard of Oz? Well, those vivid flowers weren’t just a figment of Hollywood magic. Similar poppies set California’s Antelope Valley ablaze in spring, luring road-trippers from L.A. and beyond. The arrival of spring inspires us to break out from winter’s hibernation and embrace... Read more

Several months ago I began a series of posts looking at the questions addressed by Malcolm Jeeves (emeritus professor of Psychology at the University of St. Andrews) in his recent book Minds, Brains, Souls and Gods: A Conversation on Faith, Psychology and Neuroscience. For many people the most pressing questions at the intersection of science and faith these days have little to do with the details of the days of creation in Genesis 1 and everything to do with the... Read more

A number of themes arise from the following piece from USA Today: the goofiness of how much coaches earn (Duke coach 11 million!) and compmensation for players (who can be seen as employees in some cases), tied to laborers in the USA who are not paid decent wages for minimum wage… it goes on… Do you think NCAA income-generating sports should be paid more?  Do you think education and sports should be separated? USA Today LOS ANGELES – Moments after... Read more