In 2008, neurosurgeon Eben Alexander suffered a case of bacterial meningitis, a disease seen in only one in ten million adults each year. Rarer still is that he survived with no neurological deficit. And rarer than that is that he claims that during his comatose week with no brain activity, his soul was getting a personal tour of heaven.

I have a confession: after boldly trumpeting here on the blog that I don't turn on my computer from Saturday night to Monday morning, this weekend I violated my own rule. (It was the Olympic Games, see, and I was desperate to know how the gymnastics competition was going, see . . . .) And you know what? I don't feel very rested this week. Matthew Sleeth's forthcoming book 24/6 (out in November) explains this emptiness, arguing that the Sabbath isn't a luxury but a necessity. Oh.

According to a Pew survey released this month, 19% of Americans can be classified as "nones," confessing no religion. People in the church have responded with predictable handwringing and frustration to the idea of secularization, while secular "free thought" blogs are crowing that the end of affiliation in America means the death of faith. Both sides are wrong.

Yeah, so this post has nothing to do with religion. But it's the Olympics, people! As someone who has spent way too many hours watching gymnastics, I'm gearing up for the Olympics like it's a part-time job. Here's a viewer's guide to the U.S. women's Olympic gymnastics team.

Christian Piatt didn't want to be a father a second time. But when his wife got pregnant, he decided to write about pregnancy from a man's POV, resulting in the funny and honest memoir PregMANcy: A Dad, a Little Dude, and a Due Date. Here he talks to FS about the ups and downs of being an expecting dad.

"Jesus was crystal clear on the question of whether violence is an acceptable response to violence, on whether arming ourselves with fists or swords or guns is the way to protect ourselves from fists and swords and guns." So says Ellen Painter Dollar today in response to the horrific deaths of twelve people. Why are American Christians so slow to question our society's knee-jerk protections of the right to bear arms?

In a majestically grumpy new book, social critic Os Guinness tells Americans something we need to hear: our freedom is in peril. The first step in safeguarding it? Study history.

You've got your iPad, your smart phone, your laptop. They're great, but how can you disengage from the pull of social media and digital life enough to enjoy a peaceful, old-fashioned Sabbath? Guest blogger MaryAnn McKibben Dana, author of the forthcoming book Sabbath in the Suburbs, describes 8 tips for taming the tech (even if you have kids whose cell phones seem to be glued to their hips).

This week the Bloggernacle hills are alive with the sound of outrage about a white Mormon editor at Utah Valley magazine who claimed the handle “women of color” to describe the colorfully dressed but all-Caucasian females on her staff. What does this debacle tell us about Mormonism, race, and persecution?

As part of this month's spiritual focus on Sabbath-keeping, I've been thinking about what makes for "good shabbos." I get concerned when I hear the Sabbath presented only in negative terms -- i.e., what not to do. I prefer to think about the Sabbath in positive terms: these are the things that I get to do on Sunday. And some of them are things that I only get to do on Sunday (nap), which makes them special (nap). What about you?

With Pioneer Day coming up next week, I’ve been thinking about how Mormons tell pioneer stories—and all that we leave out.

The last month has been a whirlwind for me. And at the risk of wanton self-promotion, I'm posting links here to three talks or interviews I've given in the last few weeks -- at Ideacity in Toronto, at the Mormon Stories conference in Salt Lake City, and over the interwaves (is that a word?) courtesy of Darkwood Brew's nifty online TV show.

Everything about Logan Mehl-Laituri urges us to reconsider the tidy equation of religion and war, even down to his t-shirt, which reads, “God > U.S.” In his new book Reborn on the Fourth of July, the former U.S. soldier reflects on violence and the Christian conscience -- important ideas to chew on this Independence Day.

Today's New York Times features a fine article on the explosion of the field of Mormon Studies. "Books relating to Mormon history are appearing in the catalogs of top academic presses, while secular universities are adding courses, graduate fellowships and endowed chairs," the article observes.