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In 1982, Tylenol, made by Johnson and Johnson, was the leading pain-killer medicine. They held 35 percent of the market share. Sadly, there were seven mysterious deaths via poisoning within a short time in the Chicago area. Detectives put the details together, realizing the source of the poisoning was from extra-strength Tylenol purchased from five different Chicago stores. Someone had tampered with the product and laced the tablets with potassium cyanide. CEO James Burke was faced with a major crisis and a major decision. How would they communicate this threat to the general public ...

‘Wisdom’ my choice for 2019, for me and you

Since 2008, I’ve chosen a word to guide my new year. Selecting it involves prayer, as well as tuning into what might be needed most in the next 12 months. Some years, I struggle with my “one word” selection, but this year, I thought of my friend Vicky Westra, a partner in bringing a word along in the new year. For 2018, her “one little word,” as she called it, was “love.” There could be no better final word to surround a woman who loved well, was loved well in turn, and whose love continues to resound even after her death. Vicky and I always excitedly shared our ...

Yes, there is a war between science and religion

(THE CONVERSATION) As the West becomes more and more secular, and the discoveries of evolutionary biology and cosmology shrink the boundaries of faith, the claims that science and religion are compatible grow louder. If you’re a believer who doesn’t want to seem anti-science, what can you do? You must argue that your faith – or any faith – is perfectly compatible with science. And so one sees claim after claim from believers, religious scientists, prestigious science organizations and even atheists asserting not only that science and religion are compatible, but also that they ...

Sudanese family finds Christmas joy in Fargo

When Charles and Rosa Mukhtar left Sudan with their young son Aronah for America 14 years ago, they likely felt a bit like Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus fleeing Bethlehem more than 2,000 years earlier to escape oppression and possible death. Certainly, like the couple from Nazareth, they clung to God in uncertainty. “Leaving the country was one of our most sweet and bitter decisions that we made,” Charles says. “We loved our country, the people and our relatives, but the civil unrest gave us no choice. We left in pursuit of a better and safer life for our children.” The ...

Distraction can lead to inaction

Joseph and Mary, who was with child, traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem to participate in a mandatory census. While they were in Bethlehem the time came for the miracle baby to be born and Mary “gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no katalyma available for them.” Because of this census, Bethlehem was full of additional people. Typically, when traveling in this day, family members would stay with family. The New Testament Greek word “katalyma” can be translated inn, guest room, hostel or even a shelter. The ...

Egyptian novel explores Christians under controlling church

CAIRO (AP) — Shady Lewis Botros says his recently published novel — "Ways of the Lord" — can be broadly viewed as an attempt to answer one question: What it's like to be a Christian in Egypt? The answer, given in stories narrated by the book's chief character, is complex and often disheartening. It's giving your children neutral names that don't identify them as Christians in hopes they'll have a sporting chance of progress in the mainly Muslim nation. It means facing baseless but dangerous charges of spying for Israel at time of war. It means turning off the lights at home and ...