Read more of Bob Abernethy's interview with novelist Marilynne Robinson.

Read an excerpt from Marilynne Robinson's latest novel "Home."

“Being religious or spiritual has a very profound effect on our biology and our brain,” says neuroscientist Andrew Newberg. “It can change our brain and change ourselves over time.”

"My lifelong belief is that love and death interwoven are the heartstrings of religion. The greatest of all truths is that love never dies. The opposite of love is not death. It is fear."

One of the beautiful things about a terminal illness is you are invited into the present, and your friendships become stronger. Your loved ones become more vital and more present. Each day becomes more beautiful. You walk through the valley of the shadow, and it’s riddled with light.

Read an excerpt from THE CREATION: AN APPEAL TO SAVE LIFE ON EARTH by E.O. Wilson (Norton, 2006), written in the form of a letter to a Southern Baptist pastor.

Read Bob Abernethy's full interview with William Sloane Coffin.