After spending two months recovering in an Iranian hospital, Saeed Abedini has been returned to Rajai Shahr Prison, according to a report released today by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ). 

Family members said he was beaten at the hospital before officials dragged him back to the prison. 

California lawmakers are preparing to “modernize” the family. A new bill, passed by the state assembly a few weeks ago, allows gay fathers and mothers to choose whether they want to identify themselves as “father,” “mother,” or just “parent” on a child’s birth certificate. The bill is currently on its way to the state Senate. 

I like space and time travel stories as much as the next person. I grew up on Star Wars, watched Star Trek in hotel rooms while my parents explained the cultural significance, and am still in denial about how much I enjoy Doctor Who. But I have noticed a trend among space stories. In the case that they have any underlying philosophy at all, it is often atheistic, progressive, or even straight up evolutionary. The closest to “religious” is probably Star Wars, with its yin-and-yangish Force.

A proposal for a pro-life movie is breaking records for crowdfunding, despite one popular website’s refusal to continue hosting its fundraising campaign.

This week we’re going to hop back into the world of pre-Christian classics and take a look at one of the most influential Greek writers: Plato.

Platonic works take the form of dialogues, a form of literature that other philosophers have used since. Dialogues look like scripts: Different characters represent or argue for different positions. This form often makes for more dynamic and approachable reading for people interested in philosophy but hesitant to pick up some of those dense treatises.

Jesus is trending in China. 

It is quite unfortunate how often “Christian” fiction is interpreted to mean “nice” fiction. After all, the gospel (and most of the Bible) is not very nice. It is often necessary to forgo nice if you want to write something deeply true. Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment is a perfect example. While a story about an ax murderer and a prostitute is not exactly an easy sell as a Christian novel, it’s arguably one of the best Christian novels ever written.