Too much self-reflection is actually a poison

Christian mobile ministries are trusting God for provision amid soaring gas prices from the Iran war.

Psychologist Michael Valdovinos’s new book on the aftermath of moral injuries offers advice on how to cope, Myles Werntz writes in a review. But its solutions fall short of what is really needed.

Are you stuck in social media navel-gazing? A piece from the Inkwell archives reminds us that too much self-reflection is actually a poison.

A dinner party turns into an opportunity for apologetics in this excerpt from Louis Markos’s new book.

The Bulletin’s crew tackles the headlines over the weekend: a rescue mission of a downed airman in Iran, the dismissal of US attorney general Pam Bondi, and the Artemis II moon shot.

The invitation of Easter Tuesday is a sacred tension between the joy of the Resurrection and the grief of a world not yet fully redeemed.

Behind the Story

Today we have Sarah Jane Souther on an unhealthy aspect of social media consumption. At CT, Caroline Fea runs our social media accounts, so we asked her to reflect on how she maintains a healthy relationship with social media.

Here’s what Caroline had to say: As CT’s associate engagement editor, I spend nearly 40 hours a week looking at social media platforms, thinking about social media strategy, reading social media comments, and moderating social media content. It can be a lot for my brain, especially when my job involves some less pleasant sides of the internet.

To offset this in my personal life, I have tried to spend intentional time on my more "analog" hobbies. A friend taught me to bake sourdough bread, I’ve planted a garden and learned to compost, I read lots of books, and I walk more than I ever have. My friends joke that I am the grandma of our friend group, but this spring I’m excited to try pottery and, if I have time, learn to knit.

I still sometimes doomscroll on my own accounts after logging out of CT’s, but I‘ve found that hobbies that keep me off my phone offer much-needed time for my mind to wander. Two Iranian Christians in immigration detention are facing persecution and potentially execution if they are deported, due to Iran’s apostasy laws, which make conversion from Islam to Christianity a severe crime. Artemis II astronaut Victor Glover, a Christian, shared Easter Sunday thoughts from space.  The Nigerian army rescued 31 hostages who were captured during a Sunday-morning attack on churches in Ariko village. Today in Christian History April 7, 1498: Franciscan friars arrange an "ordeal by fire" in Florence to settle the dispute between reforming preacher Jerome Savonarola and Pope Alexander VI. Alexander had excommunicated Savonarola for preaching against papal corruption; Savonarola responded by calling for the pope to step down. If Savonarola’s friend Fra Domenico could walk safely between two walls of fire, God was supposedly on the Florentine city-manager’s side.