Downbeats are what initiate musical measures; upbeats are what end them. For the conductor and orchestra, the downbeat creates the sense of structure and provides stability, grounding the composition with a rhythmic anchor. The upbeat is what introduces anticipation and motion. Rhythm—the necessary pulse of any piece of music—has as its basis the symbiotic relationship between these, and yet it’s...

　　Recently, my husband and our eight-year-old son went to cheer on friends who participated in an Academic Challenge competition. These trivia-style contests involve questions on such subjects as history, geography, science, math, and popular culture. One question that night, however, involved a topic near and dear to my heart: which ancient Greek philosopher died by drinking hemlock? None of the...

　　It’s not often that a distinguished scholar advises his listeners to be cautious before assigning excessive weight to his words. That, however, is precisely what the economist F. A. Hayek did in his speech at the 1974 Nobel Prize banquet. 　　“The Nobel Prize,” Hayek informed his audience, “confers on an individual an authority which in economics no man ought to...

　　A Prayer to Encourage Disheartened Mothers 　　By Lynette Kittle 　　“As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem” - Isaiah 66:13 　　Like all moms, mine wasn’t perfect, but she loved God, she loved me, and she did the best she could while working through her own upbringing, marriage, life challenges, and...

　　Athanasius Yohannan, who built one of the worlds largest mission organizations on the idea that Western Christians should support native missionaries but got in trouble for financial irregularities and dishonest fundraising, died on May 8. He was 74 and got hit by a car while walking along the road near his ministry headquarters in Texas. 　　Born Kadapilaril Punnoose Yohannan and...

　　Eye-catching election placards are popping up across the Europe Union. They appear overnight in public squares and in front of train stations, along the Autobahn and the Champs-lyses and many lesser-known rues, strassen, and calles. 　　With bright colors and bold slogans, each promises to make a difference in the European Parliament, if only passersby will vote for their party in...

　　In a widely-discussed op-ed from 2022, a pair of left-wing law professors argued that it was time to “reclaim America from constitutionalism.” Part of their call to action was an intentional and flagrant defiance of the written law of the Constitution. But it went beyond that. They recognized that constitutionalism entails not merely obedience to a particular document, but a...

　　Why We Must Remember the Past 　　By Jen Ferguson 　　Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me.”Isaiah 46:9 　　Stories are powerful. This is why we often retell them over and over again — they make us feel good, they cause laughter, they bring...

　　The website for 99.1 JOY FM in St. Louis features a scrolling playlist of its lineup of Christian pop music and a listen now button to tune in to the simulcast broadcast. But visitors may find that after a few hours of streaming artists like Lauren Daigle and Brandon Lake, the site may kick them off. 　　Because of higher royalty...

　　Rosie Villegas-Smith was spending a Saturday handing out flyers with volunteers from Voces Unidas, a pro-life nonprofit, when she noticed a group gathering signatures. 　　The woman who approached her never mentioned the word abortion, only referring to womens rights, but she quickly realized what they were campaigning for: a ballot measure on expanding abortion access in Arizona in the November...

　　Millions of Black South Africans seek guidance from sangomas, traditional healers or so-called witch doctors who use their spiritual gifts to connect with ancestors, prescribe herbs to heal illnesses, and throw dry bones to predict the future. 　　Its a centuries-old tradition that has continued in the majority-Christian country and has adapted for the internet age: A new breed of influencer...

　　Economic history—the study of economic phenomena, processes, and patterns in past time, employing tools from economics, history, and other disciplines—is a small field. For a brief time, roughly half a century ago, it was a hot area of scholarly interest, but from the 1970s until the early twenty-first century its fortunes ebbed, as historians gravitated to trendier fields such as...