Day 76: War Against Midian (2024)

The Hero With a Thousand Faces explores the common themes and story elements that define the world’s mythologies—the hero’s journey. Through the cycle of initiation, separation, and return, the hero undergoes great trials and tribulations, experiences death and rebirth, and gains new powers that enable mankind’s ultimate redemption.

Far from being obsolete relics from long-extinguished civilizations, the myths of the ancients have profound lessons for today’s reader. By studying the struggles, transformations, and redemptions of the great heroes, we come closer to discovering the universal truths of the human condition and unlocking the divine potential that lies inside us all.

In a vital update from NPR News Now, correspondents including Korva Coleman, Eleanor Beardsley, Kinnan Abdalhamid, and Bobby Allyn take us through the latest on global and domestic fronts. The battle for peace in the Middle East hits yet another snag, as Korva Coleman delivers a succinct breakdown of the collapsed cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, including the heavy implications and the subsequent surge in hostilities that have disrupted the region's pursuit of tranquility. Eleanor Beardsley delves into the nuances behind the allegations from Israel's Prime Minister's office, while grappling with the sobering reality of increasing casualties in Gaza.

On U.S. soil, Coleman brings the spotlight back home with the account of a tragic shooting of college students in Burlington, shedding light on the victims' Palestinian heritage and underlining the breached sense of security in academic institutions. The episode also covers the involvement of the FBI in a possible hate crime investigation, signifying a rise in concerns about gun violence and its underlying motives. Meanwhile, political ethics take center stage as the case of Congressman George Santos unfolds, examining the balance between allegations of federal corruption and the legal processes within the House of Representatives. Finally, Bobby Allyn explores free speech debates, centering on Montana's legal skirmishes over TikTok bans and data security, which paints a broader picture of the digital landscape and its regulatory challenges. Each segment underscores NPR News Now's commitment to delivering comprehensive, on-the-ground reporting.

Like many people, you might feel that you’re simply existing in life, going through the motions without understanding what it all means. In The Purpose Driven Life, Pastor Rick Warren reveals the meaning of life from a Christian perspective—five purposes that you were created by God to fulfill: worship, unselfish fellowship, spiritual maturity, your ministry, and your mission.

In living for your purposes, you’ll start to find meaning in every moment of your life. You’ll learn to see the glory of God everywhere, deepen your love for others, find the unique service you were made for, and prepare your character for the promise of eternal life.

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis sets out to explain and defend Christian beliefs to a skeptical modern audience through a series of essays—originally delivered as a series of radio addresses in the United Kingdom between 1941 and 1944. Through these essays, Lewis—whom many Christians regard as an important lay theologian—argues for the existence of God, the divinity of Christ, and the benefits of a virtuous life.

In this guide, you'll learn about the objective nature of morality, the personal surrender required to align your life with Christian virtue, and whether Christians hold God responsible for creating evil. Our guide will also explore the philosophical traditions behind Lewis's arguments while comparing his ideas to other variations of Christian doctrine.

What does it mean to live like Jesus and become love in the world? That's the question Bob Goff attempts to answer in Everybody, Always. Through spiritual guidance and examples from his own life, Bob provides a blueprint for how to grow deeper in your faith and become the person God meant for you to be. Part of fulfilling your purpose in God’s world is learning to open yourself up to His love and mirror it back to others. If you can find the courage to live as Jesus did, you will experience the power of His love in your life.

Like many people, you might feel that you’re simply existing in life, going through the motions without understanding what it all means. In The Purpose Driven Life, Pastor Rick Warren reveals the meaning of life from a Christian perspective—five purposes that you were created by God to fulfill: worship, unselfish fellowship, spiritual maturity, your ministry, and your mission.

In living for your purposes, you’ll start to find meaning in every moment of your life. You’ll learn to see the glory of God everywhere, deepen your love for others, find the unique service you were made for, and prepare your character for the promise of eternal life.

All the alarming statistics about child abuse and neglect—millions of cases reported each year, killing nearly five children each day—don’t begin to illustrate how victims experience abuse. In A Child Called 'It', author Dave Pelzer provides a rare and grisly glimpse into his experience of severe physical and psychological abuse at his mother’s hands.

In one of the worst child abuse cases reported in California’s history at the time, Pelzer was starved, burned on the stove, regularly locked in the bathroom with a noxious mixture of ammonia and Clorox, and forbidden from speaking to or looking at any of his family members. Through it all, Pelzer maintained an indomitable will to survive that’s a testament to the strength of the human spirit even under the bleakest circumstances.

Many people live as victims of their own minds, consumed with negative thoughts that seem to control them. But as a Christian, you have the ability to consciously choose your thoughts and replace ungodly lies with scriptural truths.

In Get Out of Your Head, Jennie Allen, founder of the influential IF:Gathering discipleship conference for Christian women, presents a comprehensive strategy for winning the war for your mind. First, she uncovers Satan’s master plan for trapping you in a life of defeat by poisoning your mind with toxic thoughts. She then draws on the Bible, personal examples, and the findings of modern brain science to teach you how to “put on the mind of Christ” by literally reprogramming your brain, resulting in a victorious life that fulfills God’s plan for you.

What was the secret that kept ancient Greeks and early Christians from fearing death? In The Immortality Key, attorney and scholar Brian Muraresku argues that the origins of Christianity are rooted in the psychedelic rituals of ancient Greek life and that these rituals allowed people to embrace their mortality.

Presenting a decade’s worth of research and evidence, Muraresku delves into the origins of Christianity, its overlap with pre-existing pagan customs, and its eventual diversion. Along the way, he asks how we might glean some wisdom from those ancient traditions to reconsider the place of psychedelics in the modern world—can a transcendent experience provide a key to our immortality?

In this guide, we’ll discuss the evidence and arguments Muraresku presents about Christianity and its connection to Greek paganism, as well as his questions about what psychedelics have to offer humanity. We’ll also explore current research and varied viewpoints regarding the use of psychedelics for therapeutic purposes.

Like many people, you might feel that you’re simply existing in life, going through the motions without understanding what it all means. In The Purpose Driven Life, Pastor Rick Warren reveals the meaning of life from a Christian perspective—five purposes that you were created by God to fulfill: worship, unselfish fellowship, spiritual maturity, your ministry, and your mission.

In living for your purposes, you’ll start to find meaning in every moment of your life. You’ll learn to see the glory of God everywhere, deepen your love for others, find the unique service you were made for, and prepare your character for the promise of eternal life.