2010. It's a new year. I can't help noticing the evenness and symmetry of the number. Is it a good thing to make New Year resolutions? Is it biblical? I was recently reading an article that compared and contrasted Judaism and Christianity with other forms of religion. Our God may not live in time, but He is fundamentally interested in time. Ours... More...

One of the greatest mistakes we humans make—one that we all make daily—is the sin of hypocrisy. Recall the last ten times you were hypocritical. Can you recall? Hmm.... Can you recall even one time you acted in a hypocritical manner? When I first heard the poll in which 90 percent of Americans said they were kinder than average, I... More...

Last month, when I spoke at the Catalyst conference in Atlanta, I came across a study called "Beyond the Trend." The premise is that while trends may govern the world, they don't have to rule our lives. I could not agree more. For example, Christians should take advantage of the weekly gift of Sabbath rest. In the report I found two trends to... More...

A few years ago, on a sunny fall afternoon, I sat on a worn granite step just east of Saint Peter’s Basilica. I had taken an article written twenty years earlier outside to study. The article, by John Paul II, was an impassioned plea to Christians, particularly wealthy Westerners, to stop harming the environment. Throughout his later... More...

It was a beautiful fall day in New England, the kind that sends calendar makers running for their cameras. The hospital stood just a few feet from the shore, a brick structure with the added charm of functioning windows. I was the chief of staff and head of the emergency department, and I was just beginning a 24-hour shift in the ER. I sipped... More...

 Two decades ago, I took care of a young asthmatic girl in the emergency room.  It was a hot summer day, and Etta was having a severe asthma attack.  I promised her that I would not let her die. Etta was not my first asthma patient, nor would she be my last.  In the last twenty years, asthma rates among children under age four... More...

Sometimes we must lose ourselves in order to find our way. I live in a small college town near Lexington, Kentucky. One summer, my wife and I and a couple of friends were invited to share the evening with a group of families who dwell together in an intentional manner, about sixty miles from our home. The road there narrows from four to two to... More...

On April 22, we will celebrate the thirty-fifth anniversary of Earth Day. This year, all living things around the planet will have a new ally: Evangelical Christians. What will this partner be like? Will Evangelicals collaborate with traditional environmentalists? Will they celebrate Earth Day? It is only fair to tell you I belong to a... More...

The news of Greenland’s melting icecap is the latest in a long list of scientific warnings. In 1992, hundreds of the world’s leading scientists, including the majority of living Nobel laureates, signed a joint declaration titled “The World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity.” These 1,600 scientists accurately predicted... More...

Many of us have built lives in which we have neither rest nor work. Our jobs do not stress our muscles and joints. Our rest is a series of events in which we give our minds over to machines such as televisions, computers, and DVD players. We use machines to chop vegetables, brush teeth, wash our dishes, and record our thoughts. But what is the... More...

A few weeks ago Mrs. Sleeth and I were traveling, and on Saturday evening we lodged overnight in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.  The hotel served a complimentary breakfast the following morning.  While enjoying toast and orange slices, I looked over at my fellow travelers. Twenty-five or so adults were present, plus some energetic children... More...

Hurricane Katrina has come, and raged, and passed. Our nation faces a moment as crucial as July 4, 1776, December 7, 1941, or September 11, 2001. We are at a crossroads and have vitally important decisions to make. As a physician, evangelical Christian, and environmental lecturer and writer, I would like to explore the events that led up to... More...

This Earth Day could mark the birth of new alliance between environmentalists and Christians - and that's good news for our planet. Evangelicals believe that God not only made everything, but that he loves his creation, enjoys it, and claims ownership of it. Yet for the past two centuries Christians and non-Christians alike have taken God's... More...