Last week, as I watched footage of Artemis II blasting off, I realized I was holding my breath. Why? Call it Gen X trauma. I’m old enough to remember the 1986 Challenger, the space shuttle that broke apart 73 seconds into flight, killing all seven crew members. With that tragedy burned into my brain, I could only relax once Artemis II became a faint dot in the upper atmosphere.
Thankfully the Artemis II voyage has gone smoothly, except for some toilet troubles on the spaceship (apparently NASA has mastered aerospace engineering but not plumbing). After sling-shotting around the moon, the crew is set to return tomorrow.
In between checking for mission updates, I managed to find some stories from down here on earth—and one about the crew hurtling through space.
A quick recap of what you might have missed this week
I love seeing pictures of earth from space. Those images of a bluish-green ball floating in the dark chasm of space underscores the fragility and beauty of our terrestrial home. It also fills me with awe at the One who spoke it all into existence. When Artemis II Astronaut Victor Glover was asked to reflect on Easter from space, he offered this powerful perspective: “You guys are talking to us because we’re in a spaceship really far from Earth, but you’re on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe. Maybe the distance we are from you makes you think what we’re doing is special, but we’re the same distance from you. And I’m trying to tell you — just trust me — you are special.”
I’m a big fan of Tom Holland. Not the Spiderman Tom Holland (everyone knows Tobey Maguire was better). I’m talking about Tom Holland, the British historian who writes books about the ancient world, including Dominion, a magisterial work chronicling Christianity’s pervasive influence. Though Holland has identified as an agnostic, recently he’s found himself gravitating to the Christian faith. Why the shift? A realization that compassion, equality, and human rights are the unique inheritance of the Christian tradition … and that he possibly experienced a miracle in his own life. Read CNN’s story about how a prominent historian investigating the death of Jesus experienced a conversion—and a brush with the supernatural.
Imagine a pastor who scrolls constantly but never reads—and has no desire to change. In our post-literate culture, this is no hypothetical. Or, as the young writer Ben LeBlanc argues, it won’t be long. Read why he’s worried about the rise of “The Post-Literate Pastor” in his generation and why he believes a commitment to the written word is essential to ministry, even in an increasingly visual world.
The latest theological dustup on the world wide web
During Holy Week, Ross Douthat hosted the scholar Bart Ehrman on his podcast to debate the question, “Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?” Ehrman recounted his journey from born-again believer to agnostic Bible skeptic and the two sparred about the reliability of the gospel narratives. The exchange served as a sort of Rorschach test for people on both sides of the debate. Some skeptics claimed Ehrman “schooled” Douthat, while believers were surprised by how easily Douthat poked holes in Ehrman’s arguments. Near the end of the conversation, Ehrman seemed to display a little tenderness towards the faith he left behind. Ehrman confessed he found the idea “that God had entered into the world and suffered with us … a very powerful message.” Though he no longer believes he said, “It’s so contrary to the way of the world that it has a special poignancy to it.”
Odd stories I thought you should know about
Louis Vuitton, the border-crossing cat (source: CBC Radio)
It’s time to build the wall … on our northern border. That’s my conclusion after reading a story about a Canadian cat that’s made a habit of crossing the Canada-U.S. border on a daily basis. The cat, named Louis Vuitton, routinely leaves his home in the border town of South Surrey, B.C. to explore the American side. His owner insists they are innocent excursions but admits the pet has smuggled contraband—snakes, mice, and squirrels—across the international boundary. It’s just a matter of time before this little scofflaw starts smuggling drugs or stealing jobs from hardworking American felines.
Nerdy, intriguing news for the happily over-informed
The Shroud of Turin has a long and controversial history. Is the linen cloth, imprinted with the image of a crucified man, the burial cloth of Jesus? Or is it a medieval forgery? A new DNA analysis could further complicate matters. It suggests the shroud may have Indian origins. But that doesn’t rule out the possibility that it bears the image of Christ. The Romans may have imported linen from India, or it could simply be a sign the shroud was handled by individuals from India.
On the Holy Post, the team discusses what’s driving the recent surge of Catholic converts.
On The Esau McCaulley podcast, Esau, Mike, and Malcom Foley share optimistic takes on new sci-fi blockbuster, Project Hail Mary, and weigh in on the current revival debate.
On Curiously, Kaitlyn, Kaitlin responds to the question: “Why did Jesus intentionally confuse people?”
Fresh updates across the religious landscape
