Most people are familiar with the Chanukah menorah's nine branches—one for each night, plus the tall, center branch for the shamash (literally "the attendant"). But have you ever wondered why these menorahs don't look the same as the famous menorah on the Arch of Titus in Rome, or like the one on the official emblem of the State of Israel? Those menorahs, which only have seven branches—three on each side, with one tall, straight branch in the center—are meant to symbolize the... READ ON

Like millions this weekend, I eagerly saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I'm ready to give it rave reviews and apparently I'm not the only one. The Vatican also gave the movie two thumbs up, as it were. The Pope has been down on the boy wizard in the past, saying that the series has the power to "corrupt the Christian faith in souls even before it could properly grow." But a review in the Vatican's official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, praised the new movie for... READ ON

Slave, traveler, evangelist, abolitionist, and saint. A scant 400 years after Jesus' birth, the priest known as Patrick took the Great Commission seriously, to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth by converting the frightening barbarians of that scary outpost known as Ireland. Dates and details of Patrick's life are somewhat ambiguous since written records from fifth-century Ireland are scarce. A lot of what we know comes from what little Patrick himself wrote, or from biographies written long after... READ ON

Epistolary history is full of open letters, those that are written with the intent that they'll be read by a wide audience. Here we've collected six of the best (or at least, most influential) open letters of all time. 1. Letter from Birmingham Jail Writer: Martin Luther King, Jr. Recipients: "Fellow Clergymen" Key statements: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere"; "Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds."... READ ON