Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
In the July/August edition of the Atlantic Monthly, there is a fascinating feature story by Nicholas Carr, “Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains.”
There is no question about it, Google is a marvelous tool. The entire planet uses it, and […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
Just recently, three suicide bombers killed 52 people in Iraq, 30 in Pakistan, and a police officer in Yemen. If you pay attention to the news, you cannot help but notice what radical Islamic groups call these suicide bombers: They call them martyrs. But for Christians, […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
It no longer costs taxpayers $23,000 a year to house, feed, and incarcerate Eddie McNeil. Instead, he pays taxes. His wife, Connie, does not need welfare support-as do many women who divorce their imprisoned husbands. No, she is happily married to Eddie. Eddie’s children, rather than […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
According to a recent report by the Pew Center on the States, there are more than 2.3 million people in American prisons and jails: one in every 99 adults. We are by far the world’s largest jailer. Our closest rival, China, has a third fewer prisoners […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
For most Americans, prisoners and their families are an example of “out of sight, out of mind.” But every once in a while you come across a story that forces you to look.
One such story recently ran in USA Today. It told the story of three […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
From Starbucks, to Red Bull, to No-Doz, Americans are showing signs of addiction to caffeine. Sixty percent of us drink a cup of coffee a day. On average we will drink 52 gallons of soda this year. And Starbucks-they get a whopping $5.3 billion of our […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
Followers of Jesus are being asked by politicos, pundits, and even some pastors, to abandon abortion as a decisive and vital issue in this year’s election. Instead, we are being urged to cast our votes based on other justice issues such as poverty, protecting the […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
At the beginning of his administration, President Bush established the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The idea was as simple as it was controversial: The federal government would work with faith-based groups to tackle tough social problems.
Last June, at a conference attended by 1,500 […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
The latest in a string of superhero movies hit the silver screen this week: Hancock. It features Will Smith as a superhero who falls out of favor with the public, and ends up an alcoholic, homeless man who even does some jail time. But, like […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
You have heard us talk before about the monstrous problem of human trafficking on “BreakPoint.” The scope of this human tragedy is mind-boggling. Experts estimate that there are 27 million slaves in the world today-the greatest number in history.
A common form of slavery is sex […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
This week, Hollywood is bringing the second book of C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia to the silver screen. And whether you are a parent introducing your kids to Narnia for the first time, or looking for an excuse to recapture the magical wonder of your […]

I have a difficult subject to discuss today, but the fact that it is difficult to talk about, and so many people avoid it, makes it all the more important.
You have heard us speak before on [Chuck Colson’s Breakpoint Commentary] broadcast about the sanctity and dignity of human life. But while it is easy to debate the […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
Two weeks ago on “BreakPoint,” I shared with you the crisis facing this nation’s criminal justice system. With half-a-million prisoners being released each year—two-thirds of them re-offending, 50 percent of them being re-incarcerated—we are discovering that we simply must be changing the hearts of criminals.
Thankfully, […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.

In about a month, Hollywood will bring the second book of C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia to the silver screen. And whether you are a parent introducing your kids to Narnia for the first time, or looking for an excuse to recapture the magical wonder of your own childhood, it is a good time to dust off a copy of Prince Caspian. While you will not find the spiritual lessons in Prince Caspian quite as obvious as those you remember from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, you will find plenty of profound truths about the Christian faith-delivered in a way that only the master, C. S. Lewis, could do.

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.

According to a recent report by the Pew Center on the States, there are more than 2.3 million people in American prisons and jails: one in every 99 adults. We are by far the world's largest jailer. Our closest rival, China, has a third fewer prisoners than we do, despite having four times as many people.

The numbers get worse the closer you look: One in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 are behind bars. And for African-Americans, the number is one in nine.

Then there are the costs: an average of nearly $24,000 a year to incarcerate one inmate and that does not count the building. At least five states spend more on corrections than on higher education. For the rest, the cost of corrections is "saddling cash-strapped states with soaring costs none of them can afford."

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.

Only a few hours of technological abstinence had passed, but already Mark felt twitchy. His laptop lay abandoned, but almost as badly as a nicotine addict wants a cigarette, he was itching to go online, make a phone-call, send a text-message, do something.

But then something odd happened.

With the uninterrupted time, Mark found himself better able to think, to reflect, and perhaps strangest of all, to experience a feeling of calm that had gone AWOL from his modern life. The New York Times columnist Mark Bittman is one of a whole host of people discovering what some are terming a "secular Sabbath."

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
This year, an estimated 700,000 prisoners will be released from America's prisons. To put the number in perspective, that is an army three times the size of the United States Marine Corps.
To put it mildly, most of these offenders are not prepared to be good […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.

You probably saw the catch on TV. Or maybe you saw it on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The grab made by New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree may be the greatest catch in Super Bowl history. It certainly was a pivotal moment in the Giants' victory over the New England Patriots. But it was not the most pivotal moment in young David Tyree's life. That would be when Tyree found himself behind bars in a jail cell.

"What looked to be the lowest point in my life ended up being the greatest thing that ever happened to me," Tyree told the New York Times, referring to his 2004 arrest.

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.

The following commentary includes details from the movie Juno. Do not read on if you prefer not to read about the film before viewing it.

If Hollywood is any indicator, I think it is safe to say that the pro-life message is making serious headway. Within the past year or two, a string of movies has shown women in a heroic light for choosing to keep their babies. That includes the films Bella, Waitress, Knocked Up, and the most recent surprise-hit, Juno, which just won the Oscar for best original screenplay.

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
The film Atonement won a Golden Globe for Best Drama and has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. It may look like just another period drama, but there is something in this film that is resonating deeply with audiences. It might be the […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
For most Americans, prisoners and their families are an example of "out of sight, out of mind." But every once in a while you come across a story that forces you to look.
One such story recently ran in USA Today. It told the story of […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
Writing about the movie Juno in a recent column in the New York Times, author Caitlin Flanagan laments the plight of a pregnant teenage girl. Flanagan proclaims what she says is the "bitterly unfair truth of sexuality: Female desire can bring with it a form of […]

 Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
A woman — let's call her Caroline — was 92 years old. She was dying, in agony, but Caroline's pain was not physical. It was emotional. Caroline, you see, had been carrying a secret for more than 50 years: As a young woman, she had undergone […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley. 
From Starbucks, to Red Bull, to No-Doz, Americans are showing signs of addiction to caffeine. Sixty percent of us drink a cup of coffee a day. On average we will drink 52 gallons of soda this year. And Starbucks-they get a whopping $5.3 billion of our […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
2007 was a banner year for atheism. Anti-God manifestos by Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins were bookstore blockbusters. And The Golden Compass, a not-so-subtly atheistic children's film, hit theaters last month.
With all the attention the atheist agenda is receiving, doesn't it seem strange that most […]

It's the big question every parent confronts, sooner or later: Does Santa Claus really exist?
As a father, a lawyer, and the president of a Christian ministry, I can confidently tell you the answer: Yes! There really is a Santa Claus. But he does not live at the North Pole. He lives in South Carolina. […]

Is divorce bad for children? The data strongly suggests that it is. There is no shortage of studies that show a correlation between divorce and what social scientists call "adverse outcomes," such as drug use, teen pregnancy, depression, and other bad things.
Yet, even with the data, many scientists and academics decline to tell people […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
After months of controversy, the fantasy film The Golden Compass finally opens this weekend. Some fans of Philip Pullman's books have been tying themselves in knots over this. They have expressed their hope that the film will keep Pullman's original anti-God message. But at the same […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
Just yesterday, we received some good news concerning the InnerChange Freedom Initiative, or IFI.
As you may know, IFI is an intensive and effective faith-based program for prisoners launched by Prison Fellowship 10 years ago. Several years ago, Barry Lynn and Americans United for Separation of […]

[Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.] 
Last Thursday millions of American families gathered around the dinner table-even if some of them had to be dragged away from a football game. They did it to give thanks and to gorge on turkey and pumpkin pie. Some people-as with my family-flew or drove hundreds of […]

A few months ago on "BreakPoint," Chuck Colson talked about the movie Wristcutters: A Love Story and its controversial ad campaign. That campaign, targeted at older teens and young adults, showed people committing suicide in various ways. The campaign alone was disturbing enough to draw the ire of mental health organizations and psychiatrists. But as […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
In Aurora, Illinois, a Christian construction worker was working on a new 22,000 square-foot office building. But the owner, Gemini Office Development, wanted some unusual features. Why, the construction worker wondered, would the owners want bullet-proof windows and multiple surgical rooms?
It turned out Gemini Office Development […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
Is there an inverse relationship between prayer and crime rates? The Orlando Police Department apparently thinks so.
On October 10, just days after the seemingly gratuitous killing of Officer Alfred Gordon, the police department launched "Operation Armor All," a 40-day city-wide effort — planned long before […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
I recently told you that events in Jena, Louisiana, raised important questions about the role of race in our criminal justice system.
But there's more to this issue than just race — there is a cultural dimension to the problem as well.
That cultural dimension was […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
The anniversary of September 11 and all of the hubbub over Iranian President Ahmadinejad's speaking engagement at Columbia University are now behind us. It is easy to allow our American sensibilities about radical Islam to jump the fence from righteous anger to outright hatred. But there […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
Six years ago, we all watched in horror as the Twin Towers crumbled to the ground, the result of men filled with hate because of their extremist Islamic beliefs.
Because of concern that such extremist beliefs may be taking root in our prisons, several members of Congress […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
The case of the Jena 6 has forced us to ask once again if our justice system is color blind in America. Thousands gathered in that small town on September 20 because they are convinced that African-Americans are unfairly treated in the criminal justice system.
To […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
The models are sashaying down the runway, decked out in the latest fashions. One sports a bright cotton dress paired with a sweater. Another wears a flowered jacket over a pink pleated shirt. Yet another is modeling a green plaid dress with a matching jacket. The […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
Every week during the fall, approximately 70,000 people attend NFL games in cities like Detroit and Houston. They pay hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for the privilege, and, if all goes well, they come away with some happy memories.
Every week throughout the year in […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
Last month, federal judges "ordered the creation of a three-judge panel" to address the overcrowding crisis in California's prisons. One possible solution is a cap on prison population. That could force the state to release up to 35,000 inmates.
Sounds drastic, doesn't it? It's a shame that […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
For the past several months, the media have been full of stories about outreach efforts to evangelical voters by candidates from the major political parties. The candidates have had faith forums, websites, as well as simply talking a lot about God.
There's a place for religion in […]

In the 16th century, London's mentally ill were often kept at Bethlem Royal Hospital. The conditions inside the hospital were notoriously poor: patients were often chained to the floor and the noise was so great that Bethlem was more likely to drive a man crazy than to cure him.
The conditions were so infamous that the […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
If you were going to appoint a surgeon general to office, you'd want to make sure he had impeccable qualifications, perhaps something like a degree in medicine from Duke, a Ph.D. in anatomy and physiology, and a graduate degree in hospital administration. They'd need experience, […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
Radical feminists have got to be at their wits' end. First, they helped spur the so-called sexual revolution to "empower" women. So what do we see today? Pornography has been mainstreamed. The youngest of girls wear the tawdriest of clothing. Female co-eds settle for meaningless […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President, Mark Earley.
For thirteen weeks, former child soldier Ishmael Beah has seen his memoir, A Long Way Gone, hover in the top-ranks of the New York Times' bestsellers list. For a young man whose village and family were burned, who evaded capture amidst the war-torn landscape of […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
On Friday I discussed the sexual and spiritual wasteland where so many of our kids have ended up. And they don't even know how they got there or how to get out. Today I want to talk about how parents — and especially dads — […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
During the 1980s and 90s we heard a lot about the "war on crime": getting criminals off the streets with increased spending on law enforcement and tougher sentencing.
And in that sense, the war on crime was a spectacular success. Beginning around 1992, the number […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
A few years ago, a seven-year-old boy began to play with his three-year-old brother. Imitating a wrestling move he'd seen on television, the seven-year-old slammed his brother to the floor, accidentally killing him.
The three-year-old died because of something his brother had seen on TV. It's […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
As I mentioned on yesterday's broadcast about Peter Wood's new book, A Bee in the Mouth, anger has become the new norm for public discourse today. Just think about any arguments you have had — or heard — lately about the war in Iraq, global […]

Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
Two-and-a-half years ago, Islamic terrorists took 1,200 people hostage at a school in the Russian city of Beslan. They ultimately slaughtered 344 people, including 186 children. The attack brought back memories of the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School, in which two disaffected students shot […]