Dickens vs. Darwin: A Question of Worldview

"Two of the most famous books in the Western canon turned 150 years old in 2009—On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

But these anniversaries were celebrated in vastly different ways. While Darwin’s book was honored around the globe with films and websites and much more, relatively few people took notice that Dickens’s book had reached the same milestone."

Click here for more of Chuck Colson's commentary.

Blind woman learning to be a chef

"A kitchen is a spiritual place for Laura Martinez, a space that arouses her senses, excites her imagination. It's not where she imagined herself finding such satisfaction. When she was too young to understand that she was blind, she dreamed of being a surgeon. She grew up and out of such fantasies and studied briefly to be a psychologist.

But the kitchen beckoned. It lured her away from her family in Moline, Ill., to the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu culinary program at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago."

For more on this amazing woman's experiences, click here.

Transit Archeology: Tour of abandoned subway network offers a glimpse of how the T was built

"Boston’s bars have poured their last drinks. Stragglers are stumbling home. But beneath the modern metropolis, in the bowels of the city, a group of six men wanders abandoned tunnels with heavy coats and flashlights, dodging the occasional rodent, to uncover the lost relics of America’s first subway system."

Click here for a look at Boston's transit past.

Greater Love

"At Christmastime, we’re reminded that our God is the God of great reversals. As we set out humble nativity scenes, we may forget how unthinkable it is that the King of Kings lowered himself not just to be born in human flesh, but in a lowly stable amidst the braying of animals and the smell of manure."

Click here for more on Mark Earley's commentary.

How not to overdo it during the holidays

"Tis the season of temptation -- food temptation, that is. If your office is anything like ours, you've been inundated by sweets galore. At our holiday potluck breakfast, my dear coworkers actually had the nerve to bring super-rich brownies, sugary danishes and the most decadent chocolate cake I've ever tasted. Sigh."

For a healthy dose of good advice, click here.

The Problem of Pain: The Intolerable Compliment

"Why would a good God allow pain and suffering? It’s the age-old question. When we’re experiencing pain ourselves, or watching someone we love experience pain, no answer seems adequate, and our faith faces its severest test.

That’s why, as Ken Boa says on his latest Great Books Audio CD, it was a daring and risky project for C. S. Lewis to write the book The Problem of Pain."

Art for Government’s Sake: Why Art with an Agenda Fails as Art

"Philip Kennicott is uneasy.

As art critic for the Washington Post, it was Kennicott’s job to review a new book called Art for Obama. Now, this art critic is no conservative—on the contrary, he’s about as liberal as they come. And yet, this particular book of art has got him down."

Click here for more on Chuck Colson's commentary.