A fleet of OF 50 Currachs (longboats) weaved its way toward the shore, where a young Roman Brit and his family walked. His name was Patricius, the 16-year-old son of a civil magistrate and tax collector. He had heard stories of Irish raiders who captured slaves and took them “to the ends of the world,” and as he studied the longboats, he no doubt began imagining the worst.

With no Roman army to protect them (Roman legions had long since deserted Britain to protect Rome from barbarian invasions), Patricius and his town were unprepared for attack. The Irish warriors, wearing helmets and armed with spears, descended on the pebbled beach. The braying war horns struck terror into Patricius’s heart, and he started to run toward town.

The warriors quickly demolished the village, and as Patricius darted among burning houses and screaming women, he was caught. The barbarians dragged him aboard a boat bound for the east coast of Ireland.

Patricius, better known as Patrick, is remembered today as the saint who drove the snakes out of Ireland, the teacher who used the shamrock to explain the Trinity, and the namesake of annual parades in New York and Boston. What is less well-known is that Patrick was a humble missionary (this saint regularly referred to himself as “a sinner”) of enormous courage. When he evangelized Ireland, he set in motion a series of events that impacted all of Europe. It all started when he was carried off into slavery around 430.

Read it all.

Happy St Patrick's day: here's St Patrick asleep on a knoll.#StPatricksDay2023 ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️
BL Royal 20 D VI; Wauchier de Denain, Lives of the Saints; 13th century; France, Central (Paris); f.213v @BLMedieval pic.twitter.com/TuQ2A2BJ1F

— Ennius (@red_loeb) March 17, 2023

Almighty God, who in thy providence didst choose thy servant Patrick to be the apostle of the Irish people, to bring those who were wandering in darkness and error to the true light and knowledge of thee: Grant us so to walk in that light, that we may come at last to the light of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever.

#OTD 17 March: feast of St Patrick, patron saint of Ireland. pic.twitter.com/Z9NmJcqJvC

— Caroline Murray (@Prof_hedgehog) March 17, 2023

O Eternal God, who through thy Son our Lord hast promised a blessing upon those who hear thy Word and faithfully keep it: Open our ears, we humbly beseech thee, to hear what thou sayest, and enlighten our minds, that what we hear we may understand, and understanding may carry into good effect by thy bounteous prompting; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

Another view of this morning's sunrise over Downtown Charleston! #chswx pic.twitter.com/4DZiHCsqYt

— Joey Sovine Live 5 (@JoeySovine) March 17, 2023

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For he who has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

–Romans 6:1-11

A quiet Friday morning sunrise on Nauset Harbor.#capecod #orleans #StormHour pic.twitter.com/ZdX7sw7OOn

— Darius Aniunas (@dariusaniunas) March 17, 2023

Matthew was ordained in the Diocese of Sheffield in 1996 and served his curacy at Christ Church in Dore. Since 2010, he has held the role of Vicar of St Michael le Belfrey in York, a resource church involved in church planting and revitalisation, with a broad range of ages including lots of students and young adults.

Matthew is an author, has recently completed doctoral studies in church planting, and in 2022 was appointed an Honorary Chaplain to the Queen, and then the King.

He is passionate about evangelism, discipleship and developing leaders, and particularly serving people in poverty and young people in the North of England.

Matthew often describes himself as ‘a follower of Jesus and a leader in God’s church – in that order.’ He believes that nothing of lasting significance happens without prayer.

He says: ‘I’m humbled and thrilled to be called to be the next Bishop of Bolton, working with Bishop David and Bishop Mark. While sad about leaving The Belfrey in York, I’m coming to the Manchester area in prayerful expectation, excited to be the lead bishop in mission, growth and church planting, and looking forward to serving the people and church of such a fantastic part of the North.’

Read it all.

The Revd Dr Matthew Porter, currently Vicar of St Michael le Belfrey in York, will be the next Bishop of Bolton, 10 Downing Street has announced this morning.

Read more 🔽 https://t.co/teJhgAhFXs pic.twitter.com/mJ0skkWvo5

— Diocese of Manchester (@DioManchester) March 15, 2023

If Texas points to the future, what lessons does it offer? One is that its leaders understood earlier than most that companies and people are mobile. Rick Perry, a former governor, went on “hunting trips” in search of business prey in other states; Greg Abbott, today’s governor, has followed suit. Covid-19 highlighted the attractions of a state which was quicker to leave lockdown than many others, such as California, and boasts a cheaper cost of living and fewer restrictions. Texas has offered some incentives to firms, but much of the growth has been down to the lure of a place with no income tax, lots of land for expansion, less red tape and a pro-business attitude. Granted, liberals and moderates abhor the state’s shrill, deep-red politics. Mr Abbott courts headlines by, for example, sending busloads of unauthorised immigrants to New York. Such stunts do not seem to have deterred many individuals or companies from moving to Texas, however; it remains to be seen whether recent draconian abortion laws will.

Another lesson from Texas is that nurturing one golden goose is not enough. The oil shock of the 1980s was painful, but the state has since diversified its economy. Finance and property have blossomed. The big cities all have different strengths: tech in Austin, energy in Houston, finance and more in Dallas. Instead of relying solely on oil and gas until the wells run dry, Texas has positioned itself on the cutting edge of new energy technologies (although listening to the rhetoric of the state’s politicians, you would not always know it). Places that have only one strong industry should start thinking about how they can use it as a platform to launch the next new thing.

The last lesson, however, is a cautionary one. For much of its history, Texas has had an exceptionally lean government. It has been loth to invest in the people and projects required for the future, including education and roads. Of late, as its formidable growth shows, it has got away with this. But the lean approach almost certainly has its limits, which it would be complacent to ignore.

Read it all.

Sometime in the 2040s, Texas is likely to pass California in population. Like it or not, America is becoming a bit more Texan every day https://t.co/qC2xA3B5ra

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) March 16, 2023

[David] Zahl argues that we are limited, doubled, self-centered creatures who spend far too much of our lives trying to evade this reality. We ignore our limitations, pretending that we are capable of far more than the constraints of time, biology, and historical context will allow. We minimize our doubleness, failing to perceive that our lives are governed by a jumbled mix of motivations that leads to an impasse between what we say we want and what we actually do. We explain away our self-centeredness, failing to see our own shortcomings while being quick to point out other people’s flaws.

Of course, these are not just religious phenomena; these types of behaviors characterize all spheres of life. Surely it does not take much imagination to see these impulses at work in the political sphere, for example. But there is grace to be found through an honest acceptance of these realities. We discover new opportunities for humility, unity, community, courtesy, humor, and compassion when we view our lives and the lives of others through such an honest lens. At this moment of extreme polarization in the United States, such fruits are welcome.

Zahl does an exceptional job of conveying difficult truths with grace and humor. His writing evinces a pastoral heart. His claims are made even more compelling by the wealth of anecdotes that he provides, drawing widely from both scholarly publications and popular culture to illustrate his points. On several occasions, I found myself stopping to check out links cited in the footnotes, which led me to some delightful YouTube rabbit holes. If Zahl is correct—and I think he is—the contemporary culture of the United States needs this kind of refreshing honesty more than ever.

Read it all.

The theological anthropologies implicit in our politics https://t.co/qB4leLki00

— James F. McGrath (@ReligionProf) March 14, 2023

Workers who have ever dreaded writing a briefing for your boss, building a digital presentation of your ideas or sifting through long email threads to get caught up on the latest projects may soon have some assistance — in the form of artificial intelligence.

At least that’s what Google aims to do for workers who use its suite of enterprise software tools called Google Workspace, which includes Google Docs, Google Sheets and Gmail. The tech giant plans to integrate its office products with generative AI that can do things like generate an entire document or create images based on a prompt. Workers will be able to access these capabilities by clicking a new wand icon that’ll appear in their apps.

Google plans to begin rolling out some features, starting with writing functions in Google Docs and Gmail, to select enterprise customers within the next couple of weeks, it said. It’s unclear when other features may become available.

Read it all.

Google Workspace, including Google Docs, Sheets and Gmail, will soon include generative AI tools that aim to aid with work. https://t.co/knON3lnVNg

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 14, 2023

The Federal Reserve is facing criticism over Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, with lawmakers and financial regulation experts asking why the regulator failed to catch and stop seemingly obvious risks. That concern is galvanizing a review of how the central bank oversees financial institutions — one that could end in stricter rules for a range of banks.

In particular, the episode could result in meaningful regulatory and supervisory changes for institutions — like Silicon Valley Bank — that are large but not large enough to be considered globally systemic and thus subject to tougher oversight and rules. Smaller banks face lighter regulations than the largest ones, which go through regular and extensive tests of their financial health and have to more closely police how much easy-to-tap cash they have to serve as a buffer in times of crisis.

Regulators and lawmakers are focused both on whether a deregulatory push in 2018, during the Trump administration, went too far, and on whether existing rules are sufficient in a changing world.

While it is too early to predict the outcome, the shock waves that Silicon Valley Bank’s demise sent through the financial system, and the sweeping response the government staged to prevent it from inciting a nationwide bank run, are clearly intensifying the pressure for stronger oversight.

Read it all.

What happened at Silicon Valley Bank? The failure has accusing fingers pointed at the Fed. And at the central bank, it's kicked off a bout of regulatory soul-searching.

with @FlitterOnFraud https://t.co/qptaFO0iSO

— Jeanna Smialek (@jeannasmialek) March 15, 2023

O Thou who hast prepared a place for my soul, prepare my soul for that place. Prepare it with holiness; prepare it with desire; and even while it sojourneth upon earth, let it dwell in heaven with thee, beholding the beauty of thy countenance and the glory of thy saints, now and for evermore.

Good Morning. #friends #chasseurdebeauté pic.twitter.com/a3FskE56et

— Catherine Benoist (@benoistart) March 16, 2023

Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”

It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightnings for the rain,
and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
Every man is stupid and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols;
for his images are false,
and there is no breath in them.
They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
the Lord of hosts is his name.

–Jeremiah 10:11-16

Oldie from Saint Mary's Lighthouse in Whitley Bay #StormHour #Sunrise #Photography #Weather pic.twitter.com/ulzcWACpwN

— Coastal Portraits – It's Grim up North (@johndefatkin) March 16, 2023

From here:

The meeting appraised and reviewed the outcomes of the Living in Love and Faith debate and motion passed at General Synod in February and considered the scope of work required between now and the next General Synod in July 2023.

The Next Steps Group then considered and refined the agenda of the forthcoming College of Bishops meeting at the end of March. They noted that it will be important for the bishops to listen to the feedback from General Synod, the response of the wider church to the decisions made, as well as to each other’s reflections before moving on to the consider how the work of drafting the Pastoral Guidance, providing pastoral reassurance, refining the Prayers of Love and Faith and establishing the Pastoral Consultative Group will be taken forward.

With the remit of the Next Steps group now having reached its conclusion, the bishops went on to discuss the necessary phases of work after the March College of Bishops and the composition of the working groups that will take forward the work that will need to be done for the July Synod.

The meeting ended in prayer.

A village’s church bells will be ready to ring out for King Charles III’s coronation in May, bell ringers say.

The eight bells at St Peter’s in Alton, Staffordshire, were removed in October under a £100,000 restoration project.

Work has begun to put them back along with two new bells, and tower captain Alan Walters says he hopes to have them ready for Easter.

“The main thing is the Coronation, we want to be able to ring for that,” he said.

“If we miss Easter then we will be fine for the Coronation.”

Read it all.

Staffordshire News: Coronation target for Alton village bells to ring again https://t.co/LqlezZEvb2

— StaffordshireUK (@UKStaffordshire) March 14, 2023

Each war teaches us something new about trauma. In World War I, hospitals overflowed with soldiers who screamed or froze or wept, described in medical texts as “moral invalids.” By the end of World War II, a more sympathetic view had emerged, that even the hardiest soldier would suffer a psychological collapse after sufficient time in combat — somewhere, two experts from the surgeon general’s office concluded, between 200 and 240 days on average.

Russia’s war in Ukraine stands out among modern wars for its extreme violence. Its front lines are close together and barraged with heavy artillery, and rotations from the front line are infrequent. Ukraine’s forces are largely made up of men and women who, until a year ago, had no experience of combat.

“We are looking at a war that is basically a repetition of the First World War,” says Robert van Voren, who heads the Federation Global Initiative on Psychiatry, which provides mental-health support in Ukraine. “People just cannot fight anymore for psychological reasons. People are at the front line too long, and at a certain point, they crack. That’s the reality we have to deal with.”

Read it all.

The war in Ukraine stands out for its extreme violence, and Ukrainian forces are largely made up of people who, until a year ago, had no experience of combat. Hospitals in Ukraine cannot manage the volume of psychiatric casualties coming in. https://t.co/43mu2NwrnE

— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) March 15, 2023

In his first convention address as Bishop of The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, Bishop Chip Edgar set priorities he hoped the Diocese would live into over the course of his Episcopacy. In the address, given March 10, 2023, in the Chapel at the Cross Schools, Bluffton, he highlighted church planting, church revitalization, the continuing education of our clergy, the updating of our constitution and canons and restoring our losses – noting, especially, the development of a new camp and conference center, Camp Jubilee.

He also offered a word of caution.

While acknowledging three of our churches are still awaiting a ruling by the SC Supreme Court, he said now that we’re at the end of the litigation with the Episcopal Church, we need not continue as “battlers.”

“We’ve come to the end of the lawsuit, and I am eager to walk with you into the future that God has for us in gospel ministry in the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina,” said Edgar. “The churches, the people, the clergy of this great diocese, are ready to put all of that behind us and to move on unfettered into gospel ministry.”

“We need to be a diocese now, not marked by our fighting ability, not hungry for the next enemy, but desiring to proclaim the gospel alone and to build those places where righteousness can take root, where the world, as we want it to be, begins to take hold.

“The war is over. It’s time to seek and save the lost. It’s time to plant and revitalize. It’s time to hone and consistently renew our minds, to answer the hard questions of the day. And it’s time to rebuild what is lost.  Read, listen to or view the full address.

Chip Edgar consecrated bishop of the Anglican diocese of South Carolinahttps://t.co/nb7IQYksRb pic.twitter.com/UBJo5fP1ui

— Anglican Ink (@anglicanink) March 22, 2022

Most Gracious God, who hast bidden us to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before thee; Teach us, like thy servants Vincent and Louise, to see and to serve Christ by feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, and caring for the sick; that we may know him to be the giver of all good things, through the same, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Vincent de Paul, Priest, 1660 & Louise de Marillac, Vowed Religious, 1660 https://t.co/FHXiOJCGff

Image: Depiction in Sedan Hospital Chapel of the 1st 2 Sisters of Charity being sent to help run the hospital. Photo: G.Garitan, CC BY-SA 4.0 pic.twitter.com/FoD2sUkErk

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) March 15, 2023

O God, who through thy Son has taught us that a house divided against itself must fall: Save us, we beseech thee, from the danger of a divided allegiance; unite our hearts to fear thy name; and grant that in all our course of life our eye may be single and our purpose one; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

Morning all! Beautiful #sunrise over a field of mist and sheep this #morning. @StormHour #norfolk #landscapelovers pic.twitter.com/yrKb3JIkOd

— William Hulbert Photography (@WLH1972) March 15, 2023

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.

While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation.

–Romans 5:1-11

Chilly #waterfrontpark #sunrise #charleston #scwx @WeatherFlowCHAS @RobStormTeam2 @livlawrencewx @joshmarthers @gracelowewx @GarofaloWX @JimCantore @chswx @weatherchannel @WeatherNation @NWSCharlestonSC @ExploreCHS pic.twitter.com/PBkB9OiUHs

— Ken Bowman (@kenbowmanphoto) March 15, 2023

The City of York Council and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England have given the go-ahead to install photovoltaic panels on the roof of York Minster.

The cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, is considered one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe.

The installation of 199 solar panels on the South Quire Aisle, dating back to 1361, will generate 75,000kWh of power annually and surplus power will be stored in underground batteries to power evening services and events.

Additionally, a panel inside the Minster will display power production and carbon savings, promoting the importance of decarbonisation to visitors.

Authorities say that the decarbonisation project can play a significant role in helping Minster achieve its commitments to sustainability.

Read it all.

Will this be the UK’s first net zero cathedral?

Nearly 200 solar panels will be installed on the roof of York Minster while excess power will be stored in underground batteries@CityofYork@churchofengland

#energycrisis #climatechange #ClimateCrisis https://t.co/ygjaM1rEW7

— Energy Live News (@EnergyLiveNews) March 14, 2023

Last week, a group of physician assistants across the state rallied at the Statehouse in Columbia calling for legislators to pass a bill that aims to address the growing need for primary care providers in South Carolina.

If passed, Senate Bill 553, proposed in February and with support from the South Carolina Academy of Physician Assistants, would allow eligible physician assistants to practice without the legal oversight of a licensed physician.

The bill stands to combat a lack of health care access for residents living in medically underserved areas of the state and those who are low income, who are currently experiencing the brunt of a worsening physician shortage.

The bill allows PAs who’ve completed 6,000 working hours under a supervising physician to practice without one.

Read it all.

Last week, a group of physician assistants across the state rallied at the Statehouse in Columbia calling for legislators to pass a bill that aims to address the growing need for primary care providers in South Carolina. https://t.co/JUzkorpVul

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) March 14, 2023

Were there any particularly transformative moments for you while listening?

I think that, first of all, the depth of Scripture and theology was amazing. There were times that I would stop and say, “Boy, this church had decades of teaching at this level.” This immersion just comes up in his preaching all the time. He gets the big picture.

He sees how things go together at a level of depth that you would go, “That’s not profound.” But the profoundness is that he puts the pieces together. There was a sense that he wasn’t preaching at but … was standing alongside and that we are together learning under the authority of Scripture.

In one sermon, he said, “I think the great difficulty any Christian communicator or preacher has today is to have the courage to face the applications of Scripture in their own lives.” He applied Scripture to himself before he came to anyone else.

Then, in another sermon, he talks about the hallmark of authentic evangelicalism. And I’d be curious to know how John would deal with that today, given what’s happened to the term. But back then, it was the high view of Scripture and Scripture being applied to the realities of the current world.

He would say, “The hallmark of authentic evangelicalism is not that we maintain the traditions of the evangelical elders. It is rather that we are prepared to reexamine even the most long-standing evangelical traditions in the light of Scripture, in order to allow Scripture, if necessary, to judge and reform our traditions. Evangelical traditions are not infallible; they need to be reexamined. They need to be judged. They need to be reformed.” Well, that’s a statement that I think rings true today.

Read it all.

John Stott: ‘Evangelical Traditions Are Not Infallible’

The late theologian’s sermons are going digital, thanks to one of his family friends.

The public will soon have access to a digital collection of hundreds of John Stott’s recorded sermons and transcripts spanning five… pic.twitter.com/O6j2id2afC

— Lagrimas DeMadonna (@lagrimasshop) March 14, 2023

The quality of Ukraine’s military force, once considered a substantial advantage over Russia, has been degraded by a year of casualties that have taken many of the most experienced fighters off the battlefield, leading some Ukrainian officials to question Kyiv’s readiness to mount a much-anticipated spring offensive.

U.S. and European officials have estimated that as many as 120,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded since the start of Russia’s invasion early last year, compared with about 200,000 on the Russian side, which has a much larger military and roughly triple the population from which to draw conscripts. Ukraine keeps its running casualty numbers secret, even from its staunchest Western supporters.

Statistics aside, an influx of inexperienced draftees, brought in to plug the losses, has changed the profile of the Ukrainian force, which is also suffering from basic shortages of ammunition, including artillery shells and mortar bombs, according to military personnel in the field.

Read it all.

A pretty bleak assessment of the state of Ukraine’s military in the Washington Post:
Ukraine short of skilled troops and munitions as losses, pessimism grow https://t.co/ySom9PZkE0

— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) March 13, 2023

Another question is what will happen to the venture debt market. svb was a major player, with $6.7bn of such loans outstanding when it went under. Startups used this low-cost lending to top up balance-sheets between equity funding rounds. Most now expect such loans to become more expensive, especially for the youngest firms. Venture-capital outfits are unlikely to lower themselves en masse to the comparatively small returns offered by this sort of lending. Other wheels on the venture-capital machine will need oiling, too. For example, svb often provided bridge financing to venture-capital firms, allowing them to strike deals while awaiting cash from investors.

All this means that the loss of svb is likely to have a chilling effect on an industry already suffering from higher interest rates. Bankers may have to wait some time to see venture capital’s dry powder hit their deposit accounts—after all, in the last quarter, the amount of money flowing into startups globally fell by two-thirds. Limits on financing and difficulties banking baby firms will make the industry’s adjustment to higher rates more painful still. After such an adjustment, trips to the bank will remind dealmakers of their own mortality. That is not necessarily a bad thing.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

Startups used low-cost lending to top up balance-sheets between equity funding rounds. Most now expect such loans to become more expensive https://t.co/9Ty10mOPhT

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) March 14, 2023

Lord Christ, almighty Saviour, we cry to thee for aid against our strong enemy. O thou who art the Stronger than the strong, deliver us, we pray thee, from the evil one, and take sole possession of our hearts and minds; that filled with thy Spirit we may henceforth devote our lives to thy service, and therein find our perfect freedom; for the honour of thy great name.

Good morning from Cape Bonavista. Have a great day.#ShareYourWeather #NLwx pic.twitter.com/v3IuvkMMUk

— Mark Gray 🇨🇦 (@GrayMarker99) March 14, 2023

The promise to Abraham and his descendants, that they should inherit the world, did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants–not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations” –in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations; as he had been told, “So shall your descendants be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “reckoned to him as righteousness.” But the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him that raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

–Romans 4:13-25

An Early Bicycle Ride. 4°C and a chilly breeze. Kestrels hovering. pic.twitter.com/a6Kt104iNi

— Yorkshire Wolds Weather (@WeatherWolds) March 14, 2023

There was a certain circularity in the reasoning here: only humans can have a soul, which is why robots don’t have a soul. Combine this with the popular pseudo-neuroscientific view — that, as Harari expressed it, when “scientists opened up the [human] black box, they discovered there neither soul, nor free will, nor ‘self’ — but only genes, hormones and neurons” — and all the ingredients for a perfect confrontation were there.

The headlines were ready. “Religious groups fight AI research because ‘it threatens the soul’.” Precisely because they overlap across the human, the potential for conflict between science and religion is always a live one, whether talking about algorithms in the 21st century or astrology in the fourth.

And yet, if the long history of science and religion has anything to teach us, it is that this conflict is only potential, not inevitable.

Indeed, if the main argument of my book is right, and it is the complex, multilayered, and varied natures of the human beast that lie at the heart of so many interactions between science and religion, then it is just possible that the age of AI might open up a space for enriching dialogue rather than closing it down in the face of defensive argument.

Read it all.

Is artificial intelligence a threat to theology? https://t.co/eiDYzjRFoN

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 10, 2023

Last June, Keller participated in an inpatient immunotherapy trial at the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute, which he said had “shown great promise in potentially curing cancer.” The 72-year-old is returning to the Bethesda, Maryland, facility next month to do another variation of that immunotherapy on new tumors.

The tumors “are unfortunately in some fairly inconvenient places,” Keller said, “so the doctors encouraged us to go through the treatment again, this time targeting a different genetic marker of the cancer.”

“It was brutal last June, so we approach this with an awareness of how much prayer we need,” Keller wrote on Twitter. “Please pray for our trust and dependence on God, for his providential oversight of the medical preparations now in process, and for our desire to glorify God in whatever comes our way. Thank You.”

Read it all.

“Please pray for our trust and dependence on God, for his providential oversight of the medical preparations now in process, and for our desire to glorify God in whatever comes our way.”https://t.co/xhlyOxhdvA

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) March 13, 2023

It wouldn’t be completely out of character for Joe Rogan, the comedian turned podcaster, to endorse a “libido-boosting” coffee brand for men.

But when a video circulating on TikTok recently showed Mr. Rogan and his guest, Andrew Huberman, hawking the coffee, some eagle-eyed viewers were shocked — including Dr. Huberman.

“Yep that’s fake,” Dr. Huberman wrote on Twitter after seeing the ad, in which he appears to praise the coffee’s testosterone-boosting potential, even though he never did.

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Making deepfakes once required elaborate software. But now there is a growing number of "cheapfakes" — convincing fake videos easily made by meme-makers and misinformation peddlers who are embracing AI. https://t.co/H2h42mr4IY

— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 12, 2023

Xi Jinping has pledged to strengthen China’s security and build the military into a “great wall of steel” to defend the country’s interests as relations with the west reach the lowest point in decades.

The Chinese president’s speech on Monday to the nearly 3,000 delegates of the National People’s Congress came at the close of the country’s annual rubber-stamp parliamentary session, during which Xi secured an unprecedented third term as president and appointed a close ally as his number two.

After thanking delegates for his unanimous re-election last week, Xi said he would “build the military into a great wall of steel that effectively safeguards national sovereignty, security and our development interests”.

He also pledged to better marry “development and security”, stating that “safety is the foundation of development, and stability is the prerequisite for prosperity”.

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Xi Jinping pledged to build China's military into a 'great wall of steel' to defend the country’s interests, including Taiwan https://t.co/3bFpc3200Y

— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) March 13, 2023

Most gracious God, by the calling of thy servant James Theodore Holly thou gavest us our first bishop of African-American heritage. In his quest for life and freedom, he led thy people from bondage into a new land and established the Church in Haiti. Grant that, inspired by his testimony, we may overcome our prejudice and honor those whom thou callest from every family, language, people, and nation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates James Theodore Holly, Bishop of Haiti, Dominican Republic, 1911 https://t.co/mD07kHRiRT

Holly went to Haiti as a missionary in 1861 & was the 1st African-American bishop in the Episcopal Church when he became Bishop of Haiti in 1874 pic.twitter.com/WOOxtdzGH9

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) March 13, 2020