Ethics of Intelligence Gathering: Can a Christian Be A “Faithful” Spy?

In John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, fictitious British secret service officer Alec Leamas concludes that spies are a “procession of fools, traitors, and pansies.”[1] If Leamas is correct, this article ends abruptly before it even begins. Are the various actions of a nation’s intelligence agencies (e.g. espionage, counterintelligence, covert political [ Read More ]

Navigating a Heavy Fog: 7 Tips for Friends and Family Members of a Depressed Person

Depression does not happen in a vacuum. It affects not only the depressed person, but many other people—including, especially, family members and friends. As a depressed person continues to struggle for months and often years, friends and family members struggle to offer wise counsel and practical help: What should they do or say? What should [ Read More ]

What the Doctors Missed: My Experience of Depression and Spiritual Disconnection

The first therapeutic assessment in my record, from July 2021, reads: “47 y.o. M with history of trauma and anxiety, with symptoms of PTSD, GAD, and depression.” In other words, some of this and some of that: post-traumatic stress disorder, general anxiety disorder, and depression. With a tip of the hat to my recent crisis, [ Read More ]