ArcaMax

BALTIMORE — Despite declining religious affiliation, Maryland’s campaign trail increasingly runs through church sanctuaries, fellowship halls and post-service meet-and-greets, where candidates see an opportunity to connect with voters in a setting that remains influential.

Reflecting the enduring political influence of faith communities, ...Read more

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: I have one daughter who is selfless and another daughter who is selfish and compares her success with her sister’s dull life. What does the Bible say about this? – M.D.

A: Most people think of the “here and now” and are determined to do what’s good for today. While the Bible tells us not ...Read more

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: I returned from a long trip hoping to find myself, but after all the excitement of travel, I’m still in a fog and wonder what I did wrong. I wasted my money and time to feel the same as when I started. Is this all there is to life? – J.W.

A: Life is a journey. Like every other journey, it has a...Read more

Pedro Sánchez is having a come-to-Jesus moment.

After eight years in office, Sánchez attended his first Roman Catholic mass as prime minister on Wednesday when Pope Leo XIV blessed the Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona. Sánchez’s Socialists have traditionally had a difficult relationship with the church — but this week, with this ...Read more

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: I’ve had to take my children out of the public school because of the brutal behavior of some of the students. Teachers are not allowed to correct the troublemakers at all, yet, we have politicians saying that education will help children grow into responsible adults. The public schools are not ...Read more

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: What does it mean to miss the mark? I’m a teacher and want to explain this to my students. – M.M.

A: The Bible says that sin is falling short of the glory of God [missing the mark]. Many people are unaware of the nature of the target, so they can’t understand why they’re told that they are ...Read more

Lots of responses to my request for your most important spiritual films. I believe that many of the beliefs we hold are taught or undermined; supported or weakened in the films we watch as kids and then re-watch as adults. Two centuries ago this cultural refining of our religious beliefs would have been limited to books, but now the ...Read more

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: I’m studying philosophy and thinking about what it means to be a natural man or woman. There’s plenty of resources but does the Bible give clarity? – N.P.

A: The Apostle Paul writes, “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can ...Read more

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: A New York Times author wrote that any attempt to make religion compatible with science is doomed to fail. I read that the German-born physicist Albert Einstein believed that science without religion was lame, and religion without science was...Read more

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: In my lifetime immorality is certainly at an all-time high, and I don’t mean just in the physical sense. It’s shocking to see the high percentage of people in our country who are running after socialism as the preferred way of life. How have we been tricked? – C.I.

A: To God, purity is first ...Read more

Pope Leo XIV called for justice for victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy during a trip to Spain, where he plans to meet with those who have suffered.

“Faced with this scourge, the ecclesial community is called to respond with listening, truth, justice, reparation and an ever-more determined commitment to prevention and a culture of ...Read more

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: I’m studying the science of psychology and find more questions than people have answers for. It’s exhausting and causes me to think about the Sunday school verse I learned as a child promising that Jesus will give us rest. – N.R.

A: Centuries ago, Augustine said, “Socrates and Plato said ...Read more

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: Is the phrase “God helps those who help themselves” true? – G.H.

A: We are taught to be independent, to make it on our own. We admire those who appear to be successful. Yet within each of us is a deep-seated frustration: “I ought to be better. I believe I was made for something more; there ...Read more

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: The three biggest headlines about children center around mental health, screen time and instability. This is heartbreaking and reminiscent of when I grew up in the 1960s. I can remember my grandmother saying that the 1960s generation was going to experience overwhelming trouble when they became ...Read more

WEST BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Except for the stained-glass windows, much of the inside of Temple Israel is now unrecognizable.

Flooring that was once inside the large West Bloomfield synagogue has been removed, revealing the building's concrete foundation. The seats inside the sanctuary are gone, too. And pipes usually hidden in the ...Read more

Pope Leo XIV’s apology for the Roman Catholic Church’s sins of slavery is long overdue. With that apology must come atonement.

Last week, Leo apologized for the Holy See’s role in legitimizing slavery and for having failed to condemn it for centuries, calling the Vatican’s record “a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot ...Read more

Q: I am a Jewish immigrant who came to America from Holland in 1948. My parents were in the Resistance during the Nazi occupation. During the war years my parents had a dog, Tyno, who quietly alerted them time and again when the Germans came close. When we came to America, they were unable to bring Tyno with them due to the quarantine ...Read more

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: The Bible says that Christ will make us strong, so I thought when I became a Christian God would give me strength to become a leader in my church, but it just hasn’t happened. – W.S.

A: God’s meaning of strength and man’s idea of strength are opposite one another. The Lord told Paul, “My ...Read more