Wonder on the Web

Holy Masquerade

Apparently Egyptian commoners had mummy masks made of papyrus, and scientists have now discovered inside of one what may be the oldest copy of a gospel we have. Imagine being the peasant who’s buried with first-century scraps of Mark’s gospel on his face. Gives new meaning to the prophet’s call to “bind [these words] on your forehead” (Deut. 11:18).

When Church Plants Run Like Startups

“How does one even start a church in the land of $3,000 studio apartments?” asks Annie Gaus in The Guardian. She profiles Silicon Valley pastors who parallel church plants and startups. “Churches are the original crowdfunders,” apparently. Gaus’s prose is that rare type that carries one along with a subtle strength, pointing through the words to the story.

Poetry for Lent

We’re en route to Easter, but for now, it’s still appropriate to contemplate our mortality. One good way to do that is reading T. S. Eliot’s famous conversion poem, Ash Wednesday. It’s wonderfully accessible, at points. And then sometimes the allusions render it incomprehensible. This annotated version eases the burden for those of who aren’t Dante scholars.

Why the Wilderness Anyhow?

Lent is not about your spiritual growth. Or so says our CT colleague Kevin Emmert. Comparing Jesus’ 40 days of temptation and our observation of Lent, he sees discrepancy: namely, that Jesus fasted on behalf of us, but we don’t focus our fasts on others. A compelling argument.

Pop, Pop

If you ever experienced the childhood delight of watching and listening as popcorn popped on the stove (or the terror the first time you forgot to put the lid on), you’ll appreciate this minute-long video on the physics of popcorn

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