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THESE 12 MEN SHAPED CHRISTIANITY. BUT THERE’S A CAVEAT.

Saturday, August 12, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we learn what historians have discovered about the Apostles, surface a photo that reveals American soldiers fought on Russian soil ... and follow a bizarre trail of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites.

This image based on Leonardo Da Vinci's "Last Supper" shows Jesus Christ and the Twelve Apostles

PHOTOGRAPH BY LEBRECHT MUSIC AND ARTS PHOTO LIBRARY, ALAMY

They are a faith’s most important eyewitnesses. There was most likely a Peter and a John, definitely a James (the brother of Jesus), and probably a Thomas.

Beyond that? It gets mighty cloudy, no matter what the New Testament states, writer Tom Bissell says. And James, the Bible says, wasn’t even one of the 12 first followers, or disciples, of Jesus.

Why should we believe Bissell, even if he went to Kyrgyzstan on a search for Matthew’s remains? And what about Judas Iscariot, who Bissell calls an “electromagnet of wickedness?”

HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW

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The existence of James, Jesus' elder brother (shown here in a painting by El Greco), is supported by historical evidence—but contradicts the idea of a "Virgin Birth."

PHOTOGRAPH BY HERITAGE IMAGE PARTNERSHIP LTD, ALAMY

Big brother: The existence of James, Jesus’ elder brother (shown above in a painting by El Greco), is supported by historical evidence. At top, an image of Jesus and his apostles, based of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Last Supper.” Read more.

Dive deeper: What archaeology is telling us about the real Jesus
Does belief have the power to heal? Even science says it might.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

An aerial image taken Thursday of the wildfire destruction in Maui

PHOTOGRAPH BY PATRICK T. FALLON, AFP/GETTY IMAGES

The deadly fire: What was lost in Lahaina, a Maui tourist center and onetime glittering jewel of the Hawaiian Kingdom (An aerial image taken Thursday of the destruction.)

Submerged ancient altar reveals remote Roman outpost of Arab desert merchants

What really caused the collapse of the Mayan civilization?

Many women struggle to breastfeed. Scientists are starting to ask why.

NASA spacecraft that smashed into asteroid created unintended swarm of boulders

It looked like a bizarre alignment of meteors. It was something else.

How you should dispose of unused or expired medications

Would the world really face chaos if the Atlantic's ocean currents slowed down?

Why a placebo can work—even when you know it's fake

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

In this photo from January 7, 1919, Private Alfred Schuck of Cicero, Illinois looks across a snowy expanse at a church near Ust Padenga, Russia, used by Bolshevik forces as an observation post and a firing position against U.S. troops.

PHOTOGRAPH BY UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN BENTLEY HISTORICAL LIBRARY

Lesser-known American history: Above is picture proof that U.S. troops ended up embroiled in the Russian Civil War at the end of WWI—something both Presidents Nixon and Reagan incorrectly declared never happened. The 1919 photo shows Private Alfred Schuck looking across a snowy expanse at a Russian church used by forces of the Communists, who won—and remained America’s adversary for much of the last century.

THE HISTORY BEHIND THE PHOTO

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Wolves pick at the remains of a muskox.

PHOTOGRAPH BY RONAN DONOVAN

Predators of the tundra: Wolves are often compared to dogs, but according to Nat Geo, that’s only to put “us at ease in the presence of a creature that for ages has been mythologized as a heedless killer.” (Above, arctic wolves pick at the remains of a muskox.) For International Wolf Day tomorrow, we enter into the territory of the wolves of the far north. It gets a little dicey.

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY

a woman jumps above the Grand Canyon at Mather Point

PHOTOGRAPH BY KENT KOBERSTEEN, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Feelin’ good, like I should: From serotonin to dopamine to endorphins, what if we told you can tap into your happy hormones on demand? It’s called “hormone hacking,” and based on lifestyle, exercise, and dietary choices, you can trigger a natural happy high. (Above, a woman jumps above the Grand Canyon—safely—at Mather Point.)

HERE’S HOW TO HACK HAPPINESS

Today’s soundtrack: Howlin' For You, The Black Keys

This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard, Hannah Farrow, Nancy San Martín, and Jen Tse. Amanda Williams-Bryant, Alisher Egamov, Rita Spinks, and Jeremy Brandt-Vorel also contributed this week. Thanks for reading!

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