Beyond our newsroom
Public conversations on faith, culture, and civic life—gathered in one calm, readable place.
Choose up to 6. Inclusion is not editorial endorsement.
Every returned set is displayed by current public upvotes. “Most upvoted” can be limited by time range.
947 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 5:28 AM UTC
Posted by /u/LurkingTamilian
It is a common trope is Sci-fi for an ancient advanced civilization to collapse leaving behind artifacts that newer people can use and maintain but not develop themselves. Do we have documented cases of this in real-life? I am not counting cases like the pyramids which might hav…
784 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 8:55 PM UTC
Posted by /u/CaptainMikul
I was watching a video of a guy putting on a chiton, and it's basically just a square, turned into a tube, and then stitched to make a neck hole. A lot of ancient garments seemed quite involved to put on. Even early modern period, buttons are on everything. What is it about a t-…
152 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 11:59 AM UTC
Posted by /u/Xanspicuous
Before certain people decide to brigade my post and write their angry messages, I fully understand the distinction between theistic and atheistic Satanists, and I am completely aware that the latter are just a bunch of edgy atheists. However, I do have lots of things to say abou…
124 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 2:47 PM UTC
Posted by /u/jocundry
There is a particular movie out right now that has created controversy because a woman of Greek mythology is portrayed by an actor of African descent. Certain people are concerned that this is not historically accurate. However, a number of the movie's cast look like they are of…
75 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 9:50 AM UTC
Posted by /u/Powerful-Mix-8592
During the 19th century, there was a wave of emigration out of Europe, driven by poverty, famine, endless warfare, etc. The top emigrants were the Germans fleeing poverty-stricken and heavily militarized/war-ravaged German states, followed by Irish fleeing the Potato Famine, Ita…
64 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 4:55 PM UTC
Posted by /u/fhota1
So Im sure the work on the tomb was brutal and a lot of people died doing it, especially given his love of mercury and how bad that is for you, but the part about how after he was buried the tomb was sealed with hundreds to thousands of skilled craftsmen inside so nobody could k…
52 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 3:36 PM UTC
Posted by /u/Hennacs
Born in a devout and revered Muslim household, I accepted Christ in 2008 and was baptized in 2011. Since then, my journey has been anything but easy. It’s been filled with far more valleys and wilderness seasons than mountaintop moments Looking back, one of the biggest surprises…
41 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 6:21 PM UTC
Posted by /u/DopplerRadio
I recently learned that Suriname has a much higher Muslim and Hindu population than most countries in the Americas, which led to me trying to understand why that was the case. To quote Suriname's Wikipedia article: "Hindus are the second largest religious group in Suriname, comp…
39 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 8:18 PM UTC
Posted by /u/OfficeIntrepid9760
This is something I've been thinking about for a long time, but I've finally found the courage to put it into words and share it openly. I'm 24F and I have lived my entire life in chastity. For as long as I can remember, I've always been clear that I wanted to experience any kin…
30 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 10:08 AM UTC
Posted by /u/Fickle_Quiet_7707
In Casablanca, there's a famous scene in Humphrey Bogart's Café where its patrons defiantly sing it in the midst of several German officers singing "Die Wacht am Rhine." Would singing La Marseillaise in public be dangerous for a Parisian in 1942?
29 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 10:05 PM UTC
Posted by /u/Extension-Beat7276
I have noticed that especially for the oldest non-divine figures we see a lot non Greeks becoming very important to the mythological lineages. For example we have Cadmus and Europa, who were both Phoenician. Then we have also the Lydian/Phyrgian Pelops where the Péloponnèse gets…
24 upvotes
Jul 25, 2026, 12:18 AM UTC
Posted by /u/Davey_BPM
We've all seen the white saviour trope, how would Balian have known to dig wells? Ignoring that why did the locals who have lived there for hundreds of years not know to dig for water?
24 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 6:17 PM UTC
Posted by /u/KonstantinKisinIsGay
Ancient Greek myth is full of mortals physically meeting or even having sex with God's, and demi-gods walking the earth. For the Greeks who were hearing the stories of the Odyssey or the Illiad, did they have any explanation amongst themselves as to why this direct interaction e…
22 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 8:40 PM UTC
Posted by /u/Beneficial_Ear_4878
I recently read an opinion piece about the DEA's proposed emergency scheduling of concentrated 7-OH, a kratom-derived alkaloid. The author argues that the proposal raises broader questions about regulatory capture, lobbying and whether emergency scheduling is being used where a…
19 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 4:23 PM UTC
Posted by /u/redfalcon1000
Since the events took place in the 90's I would like to ask this question because this is a topic that politicians in France don't mention too much or try to avoid, there have been documentaries of course but I would like to know if it is established for example, that the French…
19 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 9:50 AM UTC
Posted by /u/YoyBoy123
In Anne Rice‘s Interview with the Vampire mythos - specifically Queen of the Damned - vampires originate in Kemet, pre-ancient Egypt. In the Vampire: the Masquerade games, several clans and the “Antediluvians” trace their roots to a cult of Set in ancient Egypt. finally, in the…
18 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 2:46 PM UTC
Posted by /u/Hot-Feature-6674
Ive been a Christian for about 6 years now. For the past few weeks I've been texting a Christian i known for few years, never really got too close with him but I thought Id try to text him and get to known him more / get him to know me more. Without getting into specifics, every…
18 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 2:31 PM UTC
Posted by /u/PollutionOk9482
if masturbation is considered healthy medically then why do most religion prohibits it. and should one avoid it or embrace it?
17 upvotes
Jul 24, 2026, 8:18 PM UTC
Posted by /u/Unfair-Ad9415
To my understanding, the Iroquois system was set up specifically to keep the original 5 nations in check. But over the course of the beaver wars they expanded massively towards the del east /del west. How was that territory managed? Was it split between the 5 nations? Administer…
16 upvotes
Jul 25, 2026, 12:17 AM UTC
Posted by /u/Impossible_Sector713
I'm in my mid 20s and I feel like a massive failure. I never went to college when I got out of high school, partially due to a lack of money, and partially due to a lack of ideas for what I wanted to study, and partially due to feeling like I wouldn't be able to graduate even if…