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 Chris Reis, right, and his father Mike share a story of redemption in their new book.
February 1st, 2013
11:59 AM ET
Former Saint and Super Bowl great discusses new book, the big game, father's struggles and GodBy Jordan Hultine, CNN Atlanta (CNN) - As the 49ers and Ravens take the field in New Orleans’ Super Dome for Super Bowl XLVII, a man very familiar with that field, Chris Reis, will be watching the game with his family. It was only three years ago that Reis was playing in the big game for the New Orleans Saints. He burst into the national spotlight with one unusual, but game-changing play, an onside kick recovery that surprised the opposition and many say paved the path for the Saints’ 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. It was an unlikely position for a kid who grew up in a broken family, with a father who was in and out of his life and addicted to sex and alcohol. Reis broke through the obstacles to succeed, he says, in part by finding God in high school. He went on to play for Georgia Tech where he served as president of the school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He was briefly signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Falcons, but the team cut him loose before he even saw field time. The Saints then signed him as a free agent, but sent him to play in the NFL Europe league. Later that year the team called him back to New Orleans where he played the next four years with the Saints.  Though he's not Catholic, Andrew Domini walked for two days to reach a Catholic shrine in Indiana.
April 14th, 2012
01:10 AM ET
Unlikely spiritual pilgrim walks 70 miles from frat house to shrineBy Jen Christensen, CNN Andrew Domini’s feet were blistered and bloodied. He could barely walk by the time he finally made it to a pink marble church and crawled the last 90 feet to a quiet shrine tucked into the corner. As he paused a couple of weeks ago in front of the wooden coffin that held the remains of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin and prayed, the 19-year-old said he finally felt at peace. Domini had walked nearly 70 miles, becoming an unlikely spiritual pilgrim. But the religious shrine wasn’t in Rome, Jerusalem or some other officially holy city. It was in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.
February 13th, 2011
05:00 AM ET
My Faith: Suffering my way to a new tomorrow
By Rob Bell, Special to CNN One Friday evening in the fall of my senior year of college I got a headache. I took some aspirin, laid on the couch, and waited for it to go away. But it didn't; it got worse. By midnight I was in agony, and by 3 a.m. I was wondering if I was going to die. As the sun rose, my roommate drove me to the hospital where I learned that I had viral meningitis. A neurologist explained to me that the fluid around my brain had become infected and was essentially squeezing my brain against the walls of my skull. So that's what that was. 
November 27th, 2010
07:00 AM ET
My Take: How real interfaith dialogue worksBy Dave Schechter, CNN I’ve thought for some time that if more Americans had personal contact, even friendships, with their fellow Americans who are Muslims there might be less mistrust and misunderstanding about the role Islam plays in their lives. The years have convinced me that interfaith dialogue, particularly the one-on-one variety, is a more viable way to break down barriers between people than large-scale efforts. Now, before we go any further: Yes, within a worldwide population of more than 1 billion Muslims (which include a few million in the United States) there are those who, for a variety of reasons, hate the United States, would do it harm or support such action.
October 27th, 2010
01:19 PM ET
Zen at your desk: how to meditateMore on meditation here.
September 20th, 2010
10:38 AM ET
Out of the kitchen, into the priesthoodThe CNN Belief Blog occasionally shares spiritual journeys of others and offers this one from a longtime executive chef in New Orleans, Louisiana. As his city, state and region struggled this summer to make sense of what the Gulf Coast oil disaster would mean, Kenneth Smith, 50, prepared to hang up his apron and move from feeding people's bellies to feeding their souls. He was getting ready to leave the kitchen and enter the seminary, when CNN sat down with him.
September 3rd, 2010
11:02 AM ET
'My own Dad tried to kill me' survivor credits GodWhen a South Carolina mother recently was accused of suffocating her two young sons, CNN Radio's Amanda Moyer was asked to look for someone who had survived an attack by their mother or father. She found the horrific yet inspirational story of Chris Keith, now 30. When he was 5, his father killed his mother and brother in their Tulsa, Oklahoma, home. He also shot Chris in the head, before committing suicide. Chris credits God with saving him. He now speaks to youth groups and juvenile justice centers, hoping his message will resonate with a struggling teen. 
August 31st, 2010
11:10 AM ET
Baha'i woman recalls imprisonment in IranMinoo Vosough can still hear the guards' boots marching down the cold hallways of Iran's Gohardasht prison. The screams of other inmates burn her ears. She can feel the thud of a fist coming down on her head. And the world going black as she was blindfolded and shoved in a courtroom to hear her fate. She was arrested in Tehran more than 25 years ago - beaten, interrogated and thrown into solitary confinement. Once a week, she was taken out for a shower. She could tell if it was bright or overcast only by the small window high up in her cell. She cherished the chirping of birds outside. All she had was a blanket, a spoon and a broken fork. The Iranian regime accused Vosough of espionage, though she was never charged or afforded legal representation. Her crime in the Islamic republic, she says, was - and still is - her faith. She is a Baha'i. She has not spoken publicly about her terrifying experience in an Iranian jail. Until now.
August 30th, 2010
01:20 PM ET
Ramadan road trip: Not all KumbayaTwo young Muslim Americans are taking a cross-country spiritual journey at a fascinating time in the nation’s history. Just this weekend, conservative commentator Glenn Beck stood before a crowd of hundreds of thousands in the nation's capital and proclaimed that "America today begins to turn back to God." Hours earlier, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, four construction vehicles used for the groundbreaking of an Islamic mosque were vandalized and damaged in a fire suspected to be arson. The mosque has faced stiff local resistance. Aman Ali and Bassam Tariq are on Day 19 of their cross-country trip to 30 mosques in 30 states during the holy month of Ramadan. Beginning in New York, they traveled down the East Coast to the South and then onward West, covering thousands of miles and meeting Muslims of all walks of life.
August 25th, 2010
10:41 AM ET
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  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke and Eric Marrapodi with daily contributions from CNN's worldwide newsgathering team and frequent posts from religion scholar and author Stephen Prothero.  |
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