RELIGION — Books have been important to me. I blame my mama for that. She read fairytales to me when I was a little boy. Before I could read or write, I knew all about "Jack and the Beanstalk," "Snow White" and "Little Red Riding Hood." Television was not available...

RELIGION — Frederick Buechner wrote wisely about the power of forgiveness. He said, “When somebody you have wronged forgives you, you are spared the dull and self-diminishing throb of a guilty conscience.” I know that’s true from my own experience. I was at odds with...

RELIGION — A phone call at night woke me. “Would you like for me to drive you over to Seth’s home?” It was Amy, my son Steve’s wife, calling. “Why?” I asked. “Your brother is dead,” she said.  I could not believe what I was hearing. But it was true. Quite...

RELIGION — It was a simple statement. On a plaque in a friend’s office. Just 13 words: “O God, Thy sea is so great, and my boat is so small.” I liked it. I wondered who the author may have been. It did not sound like a quote from Moses, or Lincoln, or Jefferson, or...