Part 1 of a 2 part series on prayer.

Part two of a two-part series on prayer.

The price to be paid for unceasing prayer.

Fr. Maxym Lysack explains what differentiates the Jesus Prayer from other prayers.

Fr. Maxym Lysack addresses a question about the Jesus Prayer.

In this introductory episode to a new series on the inner person in the Orthodox tradition, Fr. Maxym discusses the meaning of the soul and the relationship between the soul, the heart and the mind.

In this second episode on the inner person, Fr. Maxym discusses the powers of the soul: nous, word and spirit. He shows how these powers were placed in us by God, reflect His image and demonstrate what a whole, balanced and healthy human being is meant to be.

Silicon Valley Sleuth reported this morning how several stories about Google buying Sun suspiciously made it to the front page of Digg.com. These "baseless rumours" were all submitted and promoted by a small group of Digg members that seemed to be working together. I found this story through Digg itself, where it was posted on the front page. It later... (381 words)

Scott Hanselman and his wife will be joining the walk for diabetes on May 6 2006. They've set a goal of raising $10,000 for this event and could use your help in reaching that goal. I encourage all of you to go to Scott's blog to find out more about this worthy cause, or go directly to diabetes.org to make... (64 words)

In my "Spam Suspects" email folder today, I noticed some spam which used Google as a redirection service, by linking to http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.somespamsite.com. When trying this technique with some other site, I found that google responds to this query with a 302 redirect to the site in question. Clearly, the spammer was using this system to lure people who trust Google... (176 words)

SharpReader 0.9.7.0 is now available at sharpreader.net. Changes since the last version are: Run internal browser in restricted security zone in order to make IE responsible for blocking restricted content, instead of just doing so by parsing and stripping tags. Allow embedded CSS styles in item descriptions (was previously disabled because of javascript exploits that are now caught because of... (128 words)

Wesley introduces his podcast, as well as the concept of human exceptionalism.

Wesley discusses the concept of human dignity.

The killing of Cecil the Lion is a bad thing. On a new "Human Exceptionalism," Wesley J. Smith explains why while differentiating between animal rights and animal welfare.

Two items in the news lately have captured Wesley's attention.

Hippocratic pro-life medical professionals are increasingly being pressured to practice their science and art without regard to their personal faith or conscience beliefs.

Once a culture accepts the fundamental premise of euthanasia consciousness, there is no way to limit doctor-administered death to those who are already at the end of their lives.

Yesterday's views of depredation have become today's banal norms.

If you think it is respectable to consider babies, whether born or unborn, to be an inferior stage of human life, you can easily come to think that they have few rights that fully developed persons are bound to respect.

Supporting another's self-destruction is not a compassionate or morally neutral act.

Wesley discusses "transhumanism"—what is quickly becoming the world's newest religion, offering adherents the kind of hope once within the exclusive province of faith and without the humbling concept of an omnipotent God to whom one owes prayer and thanksgiving.

Even if we came about through purely materialistic and Darwinian means, it is self-evident that something happened to make us so remarkably distinct from every other known life form.

The once ludicrous notion that ecological protection and fighting climate change require according legally enforceable human-style rights to nature is becoming more mainstream within the environmental movement. Wesley J. Smith examines the consequences.

Wesley demonstrates how the West is increasingly incapable of engaging in true debate, achieving broadly agreeable consensuses or finding middle-ground compromises about the most important controversies that vex us.

Should animals have the same rights of "personhood" as humans?

What do euthanasia enthusiasts really want? To eliminate suffering of any kind by eliminating the sufferer.

Is the "right to die" more important than religious liberty?

Why is our culture obsessed with death, and how can remembrance of death help us to overcome it?

Does it matter what happens to our bodies after we die? The Orthodox Christian faith says, "Yes!"

Should a human life be ended just so we can harvest their organs for another person's use? It might be closer than you think!

Is human life exceptional when compared to the animal kingdom? Some scientists do not think so!

Is the desire for meaning and purpose exclusive to those who are religious, or do all human beings long for something more?

Does it matter how "death" is defined, and who defines it?

Do the words that we use to describe the various stages and conditions of human life really matter?