Wonder on the Web

Issue 23: Links to amazing stuff

When Whites Were Not White

We of pale skin assume that our skin color is natural—or maybe has just always been that way. According to recent research, however, Europeans were not always as white as we are today.

Seeing Is Sometimes Skin Deep

Speaking of skin, it's a good thing that we don't use it to see. Because of both modesty and climate, we cover our skin with garments, so we'd be in the dark most of the time. That's not the case with octopi, apparently; we've recently determined that they can see with their skin.

A God Strong to Save

One of the great paradoxes of theology is this: God does not change, and yet he responds to prayer. He is perfect, so does not suffer any type of grief or loss, and yet he is described as one who empathizes with us in our pain. Theologians have been wrestling with this mystery for 2,000 years. In the last few decades, they've tried to abandon one half of this paradox, but that has created more questions than it has answered. The main one is this: do we have a God who merely suffers with us, or one who has power to deliver us from suffering?

The Beginning of Dogs

When did the version of the wolf that we call a dog first emerge? A discovery in the Arctic suggests man's best friend has a long history.

The Largest Galaxy in the Universe

We don’t really need to say anything more to get you to watch this five-minute video, do we?

Also in this issue

When the heart stops, poetry by Luci Shaw, the glory of an orchestra, and Harriet Tubman.

Our Latest

The Bulletin

Pete Hegseth’s Future, Farmers on Tariffs, and Religious Decline Stalls

Mike Cosper, Clarissa Moll

Hegseth scrutinized for drug boat strikes, farmers react to Trump’s tariffs, and a Pew report says religious decline has slowed.

The Debate over Government Overreach Started in 1776

Three books to read this month on politics and public life.

The Call to Art, Africa, and Politics

In 1964, CT urged Christians to “be what they really are—new men and women in Christ.”

Turn Toward Each Other and Away from the Screen

Perhaps technology has changed everything. But God is still here, still wiring humans for connection and presence.

Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

BONUS: Amanda Knox on the Satanic Panic and Wrongful Convictions

How elements of the satanic panic and conspiratorial thinking shaped a wrongful conviction.

Death by a Thousand Error Messages

Classroom tech was supposed to solve besetting education problems. The reality is frustrating for students and costly for taxpayers.

The Chinese Christian Behind 2,000 Hymns

X. Yang

Lü Xiaomin never received formal music training. But her worship songs have made her a household name in China’s churches.

The Surprising Joys of a Gift-Free Christmas

Ahrum Yoo

Amid peak consumerism season, I prayed for ways to teach my children about selfless giving.

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