Header photo by Samuel Zeller on Unsplash

Not Boring News

How Spirituality Protects Your Brain from Despair

I ran across this article several months ago, but the concept intrigued me.

Spirituality and a person’s well-being have been linked from the beginning of time. But is the phenomenon less prevalent in today’s culture?

Dr. Lisa Miller, a Columbia University professor, examined the link between goal setting, despair, and a spiritual life.

 The mental health field minus the spiritual core makes no sense — because every single one of us is born with a natural spiritual capacity.

She suggests altruistic acts can be as a means to strengthen our spiritual core. What do you think?

Photo credit: Matthieu H.

Read the article and transcript here.

Jesus’ Disciples’ Travels

As complex as the above map appears, it emphasizes the lengths to which Jesus’ disciples could have traveled. During their time, such travel could be dangerous, and not only because these men followed Jesus.

Robbers, bandits, unfriendly soldiers, and bad weather would have hampered their trips to support and teach others.

It is humbling to realize how difficult their lives would have been.

This is just funny …

The Church of the Apostles?

New discoveries of ancient buildings often bring old beliefs into question. Many scholars, for instance, didn’t believe that the Church of the Apostles existed. That moniker refers to a site called Bethsaida that was believed to be the home of the apostles of Peter, Andrew, and Philip. Later, the Romans built a city over the area and called it Julias.

If confirmed that area would also be where “Jesus was said to have healed a blind man and fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish.”

Click here for more information.

“Indiana Jones” in real life

Perhaps the daring adventures of fictional archeologist Indiana Jones are not so far-fetched. In 2021, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) raced to excavate a cave with rare finds. The danger from robbers was real and would result in the loss of priceless artifacts.

Getting to the cave was no small feat. Israel Antiquities Authority’s director, Israel Hasson said, “The desert team showed exceptional courage, dedication and devotion to purpose, rappelling down to caves located between heaven and earth, digging and sifting through them, enduring thick and suffocating dust, and returning with gifts of immeasurable worth for mankind.”

The artifacts were significant: fragments of biblical scrolls, a mummified child, exceptional coins, and a large complete basket dating back 10,500 years, likely the oldest in the world.”

The fragments of the biblical scroll recorded text in the Books of Zechariah and Nahum. Interestingly, despite most of the text being Greek, God's name appears in ancient Hebrew script. In part, the scroll reads:

“These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to one another, render true and perfect justice in your gates. And do not contrive evil against one another, and do not love perjury, because all those are things that I hate—declares the Lord.”

Click here to read the original article.

A More Effective Way to Reduce Drug Overdoses?

Huntington, West Virginia found a new approach to dealing with drug overdoses. Instead of punishment such as arrest, the town tried compassion.

Like many communities, the town had its share of drug users. Punishment had not reduced the overall number of people who overdosed. Not many systems did reduce them.

Then something new did. According to the article, “The Quick Response Team (QRT) is a rotating group of paramedics, mental health specialists, and police officers who check up on overdose survivors within 72 hours of their overdose.”

It worked. The article went on to say, “A compassion-based outreach program has cut the rate of overdoses by more than half in less than one year.”

Read the details here.

Worship Is Not a Reflection of How You Feel | Core Christianity

Many of us go to church thinking about how we feel. But worshipping is not a reflection of how we feel; it’s a reflection of what we know to be true and what God has promised in his Word.

Reprinted with permission from J.D. Greear.

Click the blue text above to read the entire post.

#Worship, #Joy, #Feelings, #ADeclarationofOurFaith, #WorshipisAChoice

Why do some people say “Jesus H. Christ”?

Have you ever wondered where the phrase “Jesus H. Christ” comes from?

Well, me neither.

But some people have wondered, so there has been some research.

There’s a lot of information in the article, including some Greek, but stick with it.

Click to read the original article here.

#JesusHChrist, #HwasnotHismiddleinitial, #MarkTwain, #ChiRho, #IHC

Was there a fifth evangelist for Jesus?

A book claims that in addition to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, there was a fifth evangelist named Eusebius of Caesarea.

The article linked below further proclaims that Eusebius made reading the Gospels in parallel possible. Specifically, Eusebius is credited with the first coordination of what is now known as the New Testament. His work allows readers to cross-reference versions of the same story in throughout Gospels.

Link to original story.

#TheChurchinMiramar, #Eusebius, #NewTestament, #Bible, #FifthEvangelist

The Codex Argenteus

A beautiful and mysterious Bible from the sixth century is now safely stowed in Sweden.

Click on the blue text above to read the article.

#sixthcenturybible, #Sweden, #Codex Argenteus

What people said about their faith

The percentage of respondents in 2021 who said they followed a religion. Click the headline above for the article.

#TheChurchinMiramar, #Faith

JNF-USA sponsors project for Torah scrolls written atop Masada

From the Jerusalem Post

This article (click on the headline above for the complete article) describes the Be Inscribed project, in which individuals can sponsor a Torah scroll being written on Masada.

A scribe is currently writing a Torah scroll in the same synagogue that housed Masada’s sacred texts.

Do You Believe That God Determines the Winner?

An interesting comment, first spotted on Snopes, the fact-checking website, stated that fully 25% of Americans believe that God decides the outcome of a sporting event.

Photo by Alexander Schimmeck on Unsplash

That would seem to discount the efforts of the athletes, wouldn’t it?

Not so fast. The Washington Post, reporting on the same set of surveys, noted that “forty-nine percent of Americans respondents to a Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) poll said that they believed ‘God grants good health and success to athletes with stronger senses of faith.’”

Read more details here.

An Archaeological Dig Reignites the Debate Over the
Old Testament’s Historical Accuracy

In December 2021, an archaeologist looking for information on how Earth’s magnetic fields have changed found something utterly different. Once again, new data may have altered the way modern scholars view the Old Testament.

See this link to read the story in Smithsonian Magazine:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/archaeological-dig-reignites-debate-old-testament-historical-accuracy-180979011/

Original content by u/desfirsit. Used by permission.

Do people in the United States think that the Bible is truly the “Word of God?”

Veteran pollster Gallup asked and received some interesting results. Click here access the original data. If you prefer, Reddit user @academiaadvice has put the data in a friendly chart for viewing.

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/od97wo/oc_us_views_on_whether_the_bible_is_the_word_of/

Can Biblical Archaeology Prove Jesus’ Crucifixion?

While some believe that the Bible is a faithful rendition of history, others aren’t so certain. Some scientists can be found on either side of that argument.

In this article, see what have led some to believe that evidence has emerged that could settle any disagreement.

Read the article from All That Is Interesting here.

Image by Hands off my tags! Michael Gaida from Pixabay

You Can Now Send Compassionate Texts to Random Strangers—And Get Them in Return—Thanks to New Project

CLICK HERE for the original article

By McKinley Corbley -

Feb 7, 2020

Although people are using their phones more than ever before, studies say that people across all age groups—particularly millennials—are lonelier than ever.

That’s why this new texting platform is aiming to spread kindness and connection all over the world by allowing people to send and receive compassionate texts from strangers.

Text for Humanity, the world’s first texting switchboard, was launched by cloud communications company Sinch in partnership with Mental Health America as a means of fighting social isolation from people’s cell phones.

“Today, nothing is as personal and emotional to us as our phones. But although we use them 24/7 to communicate, we seem to feel lonelier, not happier,” Sinch CMO Jonathan Bean told Good News Network. “At Sinch, we believe mobile communication is the solution, not the problem. So what if people could start to get unconditional love from the phones we love unconditionally?

“We made the world’s first texting switchboard, where you send a text you would love to get, to a stranger,” he continued. “And in turn, you receive a text that someone in the world right now needs to hear. Because we’re more open and honest with strangers, these words have the potential to be relevant, personal and powerful. After all, we are human.”

All users have to do is text the word “Join” to the corresponding Text for Humanity phone number of their country.

After that, users will simply be asked for their first name and country of origin before they’re ready to write a kind message up to 160 characters long. Each text is then sent to another random user somewhere in the world. In return, the user receives a sweet text from another random stranger.

Users can send and receive up to five texts every day. Since the service launched across 23 different countries last month, more than 7,000 kind texts have already been exchanged.

Mental Health America CEO and president Paul Gionfriddo said: “We know there is a lot of negativity online these days—and by taking a minute to deliver a simple, positive message to someone who may need it, each of us can help brighten someone’s day and lift up their overall mental well-being.”

Photo by Text for Humanity

© Copyright 1997–2020 GNN, LLC

The Vatican Library has been online for years, and you can access it here

The Vatican Apostolic Library, better known simply as “VAT,” was officially established in 1475, although it is actually much older. Historians explain the Vatican Apostolic Library finds its origins in the earliest days of Christianity itself. In fact, some manuscripts from the first centuries of Christianity are (naturally) here preserved.

https://aleteia.org/2019/08/17/in-case-you-didnt-know-the-vatican-library-has-been-digitized-and-is-online/

Those Ashes for Ash Wednesday

Lent is almost here. We are on the brink of an important Christian season.

Did you ever wonder where those ashes for Ash Wednesday come from?

The answer is pretty interesting.

Palm fronds. You know, the ones used during Palm Sunday. The leftover fronds are burned and the ashes are used to mark the foreheads of congregants. One place you can read more is here.

Brooklyn Company Markets $1,425 ‘Jesus Shoes’ Filled With Holy Water — And They Sell Out Instantly

Yes, you too, can walk on (holy) water—for a cool $1,425. The water sealed inside the soles was allegedly taken from the River Jordan and blessed by a Brooklyn priest. There’s even a golden Jesus on a crucifix attached to one of the laces. More details at this link.

Image for illustration only; not intended to represent the actual topic of the article.

Catholic Church Launches $109 Bluetooth “Click to Pray” Gadget

Seriously.

In a bid to reach more Catholic youth by appealing to their use and love of gadgets, the interactive device connects to a mobile app when the user makes the sign of the cross. Click here for more details.

Spicy Enough For You? You Get One Chip At a Time. Just One Chip.

Lots of people love spicy food, and for some there seems to be no upper limit to their tolerance. One chip company is not taking any chances, though. Paqui Chips will only sell you one potato chip. The important point to note is, it is covered in flavor from the Carolina Reaper Pepper. Reportedly, some snackers could not even finish the one chip, even at $6.99 each. Just in case you aren’t convinced of the company’s seriousness, the chip comes in a coffin-shaped box. Read more here.

People Once Tried To Make “Labor Sunday” A Thing

In 1909, the American Federation of Labor declared the Sunday before Labor Day “Labor Sunday”—an opportunity to reflect on the spiritual and educational parts of the labor movement. It never really took off among the general public, but some churches and religious organizations acknowledge the holiday during Sunday services.

First Aid for Spiritual Seekers

Forms of religious devotion are shifting — and there’s a new world of creativity toward crafting spiritual life while exploring the depths of tradition. Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie is a fun and forceful embodiment of this evolution.

… Today he leads a pop-up synagogue in New York City that takes as its tagline “everybody-friendly, artist-driven, God-optional.”

Interview with Amichai Lau-Lavie, founding spiritual leader of Lab/Shul and the Storahtelling Project.

Key areas Drivers Need to Avoid Around Big Rigs to Stay Safe

Giving big trucks respect—and distance—while sharing the road is not as difficult as it seems.
Drivers of smaller vehicles should be just as vigilant when trucks are nearby, but that’s not always the case. When he talks to other truck drivers, “their biggest pet peeve is distracted driving,” says experienced trucker, Alphonso Lewis, who trains truckers and has been driving 18-wheelers for 28 years.

The Humble Cardboard Box

We don’t think much about cardboard boxes. They’re just there. We forget that they weren’t so available at one time. Let’s unpack (Sorry.NotSorry) the history of this ubiquitous object. Click here.

Ancient Gate Discovered

Biblical archaeology continues to add to the knowledge science has built over millennia. In June 2019, scientists discovered one of the oldest gates from the time of King David’s reign. And now researchers are re-thinking what they have believed about what David’s role was at the time as well. Click here.