Scholars claim Nero built a huge bronze statue of himself as the sun god and set it up in his Golden House. But he probably never saw the statue standing in his house.

Emperor worship inherited some of its concepts from the ancient East, where kings were considered sons of the gods.

During the period between the death of Trajan and the rise of Constantine, several emperors perpetuated the imperial cult. Here's a timeline.

Numerous first-century Roman emperors were enamored with divinity.

Fascination with poker is growing everywhere, and with it, some rather Machiavellian ideas.

In searching for solutions to the malaise of grinding poverty, some innovative approaches have been applied. Do they show the way to relieve the plight of the poor?

In the post-colonial backlash and in the face of increasing Muslim and other non-Western influence in Europe, a clash of cultures has emerged.

Almost 55 years have passed since the publication in Nature of Francis Crick and James Watson’s description of the structure of DNA.

Competing philosophies put pressure on the early church to change its doctrines and practices. One of these contenders was Gnosticism.

The Gnostic interpretation of Scripture was designed to appeal to the Hellenistic intellectual communities such as existed in Alexandria, Egypt.

Can we know what the Gnostics taught in the early centuries of the Common Era?

What is Gnosticism? English philosopher Henry More first used the new term in 1669.

Both Simon Magus and Marcion of Sinope have been considered heretics associated with Gnosticism.

Nag Hammadi is a settlement on the Nile river in Egypt, where, in 1945, a peasant dug up a large jar containing ancient gnostic writings.

The problem of how blind processes of evolution create new species and biological systems through small steps is addressed in two recent books.

Researchers, government health agencies and religions have a great deal to say about alcohol use and abuse. What does the Bible say about alcohol use?

Though Paul is manacled to a Roman guard, he continues his ministry both in person and through letters to fellow believers in outlying provinces.

Is leadership all about the leader? Or are effective leaders those who are most in tune with their followers? Vision interviews two authors on “The New Psychology of Leadership.”

Interaction between grandparents and grandchildren is almost nonexistent in many families. But the intergenerational gap can be bridged.

Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine suffers from overstatement, and at times it seems her probing enthusiasm stretches too far to fit examples to her thesis.