Sunspots 751

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else:

Christianity: Catherine Rampell on President Trump's attacks on Christian values, and on the Constitutional separation of church and state.
Relevant has an article on how to find hope, no matter the circumstances.
Relevant also reports that the Chinese government ordered the demolition of a 3,000 member megachurch, starting in the middle of a service, in spite of government recognition of the church.


Computing: Gizmo's freeware recommends a web page with 55 image-editing tools, available for free use.

History: The History blog reports on the oldest pearl used as a decoration/ornament by humans.

Politics: FiveThirtyEight analyzes the October 15th Democratic debate.

Michael Gerson says that President Trump's foreign policy is betraying decades of beneficent American ideals.

Catherine Rampell says that Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren seem to be following political expediency, in their health care proposals.

Science: The Scientist reports that genetics, by itself, does not determine what types of people you are sexually attracted to. Unfortunately, there is an app which claims to do just that.

Gizmodo reports on a possible new source of earthquakes in California.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.
 
Thanks for looking!

BIG pearls: Revelation 21:21

Some time ago, I heard a devotional. The speaker said that Revelation 21:21 says that the holy city, after the end of things, will have twelve gates, each one made from a single pearl. I checked this, and found complete agreement among several versions of the Bible. They all say that each gate will be made from one pearl!

The idea is astonishing. So is the agreement among translators! I know that Revelation uses figurative language, and that we should be very careful in taking it literally. But, anyway, I want to muse about the idea of gates of pearl for a bit. (There is an expression, pearly gates, that refers to the gates of heaven.)

A pearl is an object produced by a clam, mussel, or similar mollusc. Layers of Calcium Carbonate are deposited around a foreign object in the mantle of the mollusc. Natural pearls, which develop spontaneously, are considered very valuable, at least if they are spherical in shape. A quick on-line search turned up a necklace, with 25 natural pearls, probably not very large, in gold, selling for more than $18,000. Cultured pearls are produced by inserting a foreign object into the mantle of a mollusc. Different types of material are used.  There are also imitation pearls, which are manufactured, with no help from a mollusc.

Why do oysters produce pearls? Scientists don't seem to be sure, but it is probably a type of immune response -- sequestering a foreign object.

How could there be a gate made from a single pearl? I don't know. The God who made the universe from nothing could certainly prepare a mollusc large enough to produce such a pearl, or He could make pearls with no molluscs at all. Why pearl? My guess is because of their value.

Jesus warned about throwing pearls to pigs. (Matthew 7:6) I suppose that He meant to be careful to value things as God sees them, and not to reject the life with Christ, the most valuable thing. Jesus also talked about a pearl of great price, so desirable that a man sold all that he had to obtain it. He was talking about life with Christ, again. (Matthew 13:45-6)

Thanks for reading.