Speaking of the grit which forms the pearl is an unusual way of interpreting the parable of the pearl, which is more often assumed to focus on its value and the response of the merchant, who, “went away and sold everything he had and bought it” (Matthew 13:46). Some may say that Jesus did not speak about the grit because of his lack of scientific understanding, and that the Archbishop’s interpretation is just a case of proclaiming the faith “afresh to every generation”. Others would disagree, pointing out that Jesus used the parable of the sower to explain how the Kingdom of God grows, and would suggest that the Archbishop should have turned to the earlier verses of Matthew 13 to make her point. But that might have been awkward, because Jesus is clear that it is the word of God that is the seed that is sown and that the Kingdom of God grows as each individual, “hears the word and understands it.” (Matthew 13:23)

Despite references to the, “Gospel of Jesus Christ” and a plea that the Church would continue with, “our hope rooted in the Gospel, and our confidence rooted in God,” there was no expectation in the Archbishop of Canterbury’s first presidential address that she expected the Church to hear God’s word and understand it.

Sadly, it seems, that just like Justin Welby before her, Sarah Mullally will lead the Church of England further into the mire, the only difference being that she will be “calm, consistent and compassionate” as she does it.

Read it all.

NEW: The Prince and Princess of Wales are visiting the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, at Lambeth Palace this afternoon for the first time! 💒 pic.twitter.com/5mnTChcaMu

— Belle (@RoyallyBelle_) February 5, 2026

Artificial Intelligence poses a double challenge to the human mind. Not only will the most advanced models soon be able to think better than people, but AI has consequences for humanity which are so uncertain, so potentially vast and are approaching at such a rapid pace that even the best brains flinch. An example is Elon Musk.

In our long interview with him this week, featured in The Insider and our Business section, the engineer and entrepreneur sets out two paradoxes and one contradiction. The first paradox is that one of the world’s most power-hungry tycoons is enthusiastically helping create a technology that he says will render him—and all other human beings—powerless after as little as five years. The second is that the world’s richest man says he is preparing for a world of infinite abundance, where money, including his $750bn fortune, no longer matters. And the contradiction is that, despite these stated beliefs, Mr Musk continues to act as if they were not true.

Mr Musk is divisive. His political views, disseminated to his 240m followers on X, strike many as plain-speaking and strike many more, including The Economist, as plainly bigoted. By his own admission, his attempt to use DOGE to scythe through the federal bureaucracy went wrong.

But he is also one of a handful of men who are pioneering AI and who thereby have an outsize influence on its trajectory. When he speaks, he reflects the debates they are having. His data centres in space could power AI’s future. For all his political polemics, he has a record of being right about technology in fields such as electric cars, rockets and satellite communications that confounded other engineers and entrepreneurs. For those reasons, his claims about AI repay examination. Unfortunately, such an exercise only underlines how ill-prepared the world is for a technology that may soon throw everything up in the air.

Read it all.

AI is charging ahead. Not even its creators—including @elonmusk—know how to keep up https://t.co/8UwsIS9FQY pic.twitter.com/TndVl6q8ir

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) July 23, 2026

The United States may only have nine to 12 months to protect its critical infrastructure from AI-powered attacks. Currently, two American companies, Anthropic (for which I consult) and OpenAI, have publicly demonstrated AI models advanced enough to detect flaws in software far beyond the human capacity to find, and they are restricting the use of these models to defensive cybersecurity work.

But the United States’ adversaries, and the criminals in their orbit, will soon wield the same offensive tools. China, in particular, is already racing to build and acquire these AI capabilities and may be closer to developing its own Mythos than many U.S. policymakers hope. Advanced AI will sharpen an instrument that Beijing already prizes: the credible threat to deter a fight over Taiwan before it begins by disrupting the island’s critical infrastructure and that of any nation that seeks to defend it….

The United States has a window to bolster its critical infrastructure’s defenses, but that window is short, and those defenses are weak to begin with. In a campaign called Volt Typhoon, Chinese state-linked hackers already demonstrated how deeply they can burrow into U.S. critical infrastructure, including organizations in the water, power, and transportation sectors. Now is the time to put policy options on the table that were previously considered out of bounds: taking dramatic steps to preempt would-be attacks, making once-in-a-generation investments in cyberdefense, and helping U.S. AI labs protect themselves against the most advanced threats.

Read it all.

“As firms use Mythos to hunt and fix flaws in their products, a more urgent question looms: how to defend the United States and its allies from AI-powered cyberwarfare,” writes Michael Sulmeyer.https://t.co/uskGVY48uZ

— Foreign Affairs (@ForeignAffairs) July 22, 2026

The price of crude oil is a broken barometer. Acute pain in the world energy market has switched to the trio of refined products that we actually consume: diesel, petrol and jet fuel.

The IATA jet fuel index for global airlines has hit $154 a barrel in Europe and $149 in North America, almost double the cost of underlying crude. In trade parlance, the “crack spread” has gone mad. It is arguably worse for diesel. The spread over crude has reached $80 in Rotterdam and $88 in New York, the highest since records began. The whole global market is seizing up.

“I’ve never seen an energy environment this stretched,” said Jeff Currie, perhaps the world’s best-known oil guru. We have been lulled into complacency by deceptively moderate oil headlines and by assumptions that the Iran war has settled into a low-intensity management problem. It is nothing of the sort.

Read it all.

Beware the rising energy dangers of Trump’s Gulf war (£) https://t.co/C5vRYPohmC

— Wolfgang Schremser (@WSchremser) July 22, 2026

Holy and Mighty One, whose beloved Son Jesus Christ blessed the pure in heart: We offer thanks for the life and teachings of John Cassian that draw us to a discipline of holy living for the sake of thy reign. Call us to turn the gaze of the eyes of our soul always toward thee, that we may abide in thy love, shown to us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit is one God, living and true, to the ages of ages. Amen.

"The devil’s greatest weapon is to make us believe that our sins are too great for God’s mercy, but no sin is greater than His love."
— St. John Cassian pic.twitter.com/TtwJVWlfHV

— TheOrthodoxWay (@_theorthodoxway) August 2, 2025

Generous God,
you give us gifts and make them grow:
though our faith is small as mustard seed,
through your Spirit make it grow to your glory
and the flourishing of your kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen (edited slightly; KSH).

Every morning, I experience the beautiful sunrise on Little Bay Islands. Every morning, I stop reaching toward the life behind me or the life still to come. I stand where I am … and this place and my life becomes enough. pic.twitter.com/idvnskjb6B

— Mike Parsons (@mikep_lbi) July 23, 2026

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves; let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to edify him. For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached thee fell on me.” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

“Therefore I will praise thee among the Gentiles,
and sing to thy name”;

and again it is said,

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people”;

and again,

“Praise the Lord, all Gentiles,
and let all the peoples praise him”;

and further Isaiah says,

“The root of Jesse shall come,
he who rises to rule the Gentiles;
in him shall the Gentiles hope.”

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

–Romans 15:1-13

Sunrise July 22, Northern Bay Sands, Bay de Verde Peninsula, #NewfoundlandandLabrador. Driving here you see the scorched trees and the devastation of last summer’s wildfire. I think how devastating for everyone involved and yet the sun rises.
Happy Thursday. #explorenl pic.twitter.com/UdsrMVAsgg

— Connie Boland #querying #fiction (@BolandC) July 23, 2026