To understand Douthat’s method, recall a scene from the end of the third Indiana Jones film. Indy is faced with a choice: Let his father die or take a leap of faith. The leap in this case is literal, a physical step into a chasm with nothing to hold him up. He takes the step, and by a miracle of movie magic, doesn’t fall. There was a bridge in front of him all along, invisible to the human eye.

For some, this is a picture of true faith: a passionate, even reckless jump into the unknown, based on blind trust, not reason. Douthat demurs. As he writes, “Joining and practicing [some faith] is fundamentally a rational decision, not just an eyes-closed, trust-your-friends-and-intuitions jump.” You can and should consider the case in your mind.

Moreover, whatever the social benefits of church—and they are many!—they aren’t the place to start. They’re a byproduct of the thing itself, and that’s of interest only if it’s true. That’s why Douthat opts to “start with religion’s intellectual advantage: the ways in which nonbelief requires ignoring what our reasoning faculties tell us, while the religious perspective grapples more fully with the evidence before us.”

This is not a case for mere Christianity, then, so much as “mere religion.” Though Douthat ends the book with a chapter explaining why he is Roman Catholic, his aim is to clear the ground for religious commitment in general, to show why Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, and Jews as much as Catholics and Protestants are not exotic residue of a superstitious past.

Read it all.

Christianity is having a moment.

Intellectuals are converting. Atheists are softening. Agnostics are hungry.@DouthatNYT’s “Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious” is a response to this moment and to the readers he’s trying to reach. https://t.co/UfEYYzZxbb

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) February 11, 2025

Waffle House is typically a port in a storm. The breakfast restaurants are so unshakeable that the federal emergency-response agency uses their closure as an indicator of a severe natural disaster. Yet on February 3rd Waffle House wobbled—it announced a 50-cent surcharge per egg, citing rising costs due to avian flu. The shell-shock is widespread: the average cost of a dozen eggs is now over $7 (see chart), a 140% increase from a year ago. Even so, supermarkets are selling out.

The outbreak of avian flu, which began in turkeys in February 2022, has already led to the death of 150m birds, including 41m in December and January alone. The disease is now rife in dairy cows and has infected at least 67 people, mostly dairy workers. In January the first person died. Even so, with no reported human-to-human spread, experts say the disease does not currently pose much threat to people.

But it does pose an economic and political risk. The Department of Agriculture (usda) has already spent over $2bn trying to contain the outbreak. The costs to consumers are likely to be much higher. And the price of eggs has a particular political salience. In September J.D. Vance, then candidate for vice-president, highlighted its rise, saying that eggs were more expensive “thanks to Kamala Harris’s inflationary policies”. There is some truth to the accusation of federal bungling: the former administration’s response to avian flu was halting. Although the Trump administration cannot undo its mistakes, it can avoid repeating them.

Read it all.

Not much can be done about current egg prices in America and the government expects them to rise even further. But other elements of the outbreak can be managed https://t.co/UJbzL6hMgQ

Photo: Getty Images pic.twitter.com/MX8yYBWOBA

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) February 10, 2025

Read it all.

The Archbishop of York @CottrellStephen , giving his presidential address at the beginning of the General Synod’s meeting in London on Monday afternoon, pleaded to be given time to lead the Church of England out of its #safeguarding crisis#synod https://t.co/AzMDrJhoNP

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) February 11, 2025

“Where does Jesus want to take us in the adventure of discipleship? Where does Jesus want to take us in the adventure of discipleship?

Every word in that question is carefully chosen. I want to focus in on that little word, adventure. Most of us don’t think of discipleship and following Jesus as an adventure, but the Bible does.

There is a great moment in Jeremiah early on in the story. Jeremiah has been called, and the Lord has known him since he was in his mother’s womb. But things have gotten started, and there have been ups and downs, and Jeremiah feels like there’s been more downs than ups. And he’s getting tired. So he prays to the Lord, and he basically says, This is getting too hard. What do you think you’re doing? Can you make it a little easier? And the Lord responds in this way, chapter 12, verse 5. If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan, (where there may be things like lions roaming around)?

“Eugene Peterson wrote a whole book on that verse and that theme. Its title is Run with the Horses, the quest for life at its best. That is the way that discipleship has been understood in the tradition that’s handed down to us. An incredible adventure, a breathtaking life of excitement and thrills, an unpredictability, a life which is full of deep purpose and faith.

Oh, it sounds like our Lord even. The glory of God, Irenaeus once said, is a human being fully alive. Well, if you want to know what God wants for humanity, look at Jesus, he’s fully alive, all the time. He’s giving life, he’s living life, he’s being life, he’s life incarnate. That’s what God wants for us.

Jesus says it this way in John 10, verse 10. I came that they might have life and have it abundantly. You all with me so far? Okay, so here’s the question. How do we do that? How do we get that kind of life? How do you live a life that is an adventure of discipleship? All right, well, I appreciate you asking a question. Turn to Luke chapter 5 and this magnificent story of the miraculous catch of fish…

You may listen directly here:

Or you may download it there.

🚶 where will your adventures take you today?

📍 Richmond Park

📸 James Kliffen pic.twitter.com/KbSmZp3QxB

— The Royal Parks (@theroyalparks) February 11, 2025

O God, the blessed assurance of all who trust in thee: We give thanks for thy servant Fanny Crosby, and pray that we, inspired by her words and example, may rejoice to sing ever of thy love, praising our Savior; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

#OTD February 5, 1864:
Already known as a poet, Fanny Crosby, at age 44, writes her first hymn. Over the next 50 years, she composes more than 8,000 hymns, including classics like Blessed Assurance and To God Be the Glory, becoming one of the most prolific hymnwriters in history. pic.twitter.com/j6RkRaG0CK

— ☧ Today in Christian History (@HistoricalRook) February 5, 2025

Lord of the hosts of heaven,
our salvation and our strength,
without you we are lost:
guard us from all that harms or hurts
and raise us when we fall;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

After a very moody day in Staffordshire, the cloud finally lifted a little to let the sun rays shine through…
This little guy was a bit more confident than his skittish friends #mood #winter #landscape #sheep #clouds #andscape #nature #countryside #farmlife pic.twitter.com/q1OZ4aeW7S

— Anne Kirkham (@anna__bella_k) February 11, 2025

Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath;
a fire was kindled against Jacob,
his anger mounted against Israel;
because they had no faith in God,
and did not trust his saving power.
Yet he commanded the skies above,
and opened the doors of heaven;
and he rained down upon them manna to eat,
and gave them the grain of heaven.
Man ate of the bread of the angels;
he sent them food in abundance.

–Psalm 78:21-25

Morning everyone I hope you are well. The road to Brothers Water. At just under 1500 feet, the highest pass in the Lake District. Kirkstone Pass has its own beauty plus a pub at the top after a long walk. Have a great day.#LakeDistrict pic.twitter.com/CU0Ya37qDJ

— Rod Hutchinson (@lakesrhino) February 11, 2025