Once spanning a large swath of Iraq and Syria, the self-declared caliphate Islamic State was delivered a seeming deathblow in October: United States special forces killed the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

But the militant group, which arose from the remnants of al-Qaida in Iraq after that group’s defeat by U.S.-led forces in 2008, spent little time mourning before pushing forward.

In fact, some believe that Christ was a hoax devised by the Romans. The thought is that, since the Jews were expecting a heroic savior to liberate them, the Romans invented an opposing belief system that taught adherents to “turn the other cheek” (Matt. 5:39) and “render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s” (22:21). Thus, Rome would have pacifist taxpayers in Judea.

The hymn of the Brazilian state of Rondonia takes pride in the region’s famously beautiful skies. “Blue, our sky is always blue,” it says. “May God keep it unrivaled, crystal, pure, and always keep it that way.”

Money cannot buy happiness. Spending it on others does.

We all know this is intrinsically true. Even science proves that giving makes us happier than receiving. A person’s brain is more engaged when giving, specifically because of increased levels of the pleasure chemical dopamine.

The massive, violent demonstrations that stopped Hong Kong in its tracks this summer—even as protesters went so far as staging the largest-ever shutdown of a major airport—had perhaps as many angles as participants.

Chile is one of the richest countries in the region. Haiti is the poorest. Ecuador has a centrist government. Bolivia’s is socialist.

Timothy Buchanan says he never consults clergy about important decisions, but it is not for lack of faith. He regularly attends a nondenominational Christian church near his home.

Tens of millions of Americans were reminded of the dangers of living near a fault line when two earthquakes struck around 24 hours apart in almost the exact same location—about 150 miles from Los Angeles in Ridgecrest, California. The first (6.4 magnitude) struck on July 4 in the morning while the second, even larger earthquake (7.1 magnitude) struck the evening of July 5.

Kim stands in front of a large, white door, the white buttons of her blue blouse a striking contrast. She says something many have felt: “I wanted to know who I am and where I came from.” She took a DNA test and was shocked when her results revealed 26 percent Native American heritage.

Idealism can seem to border on lunacy—particularly when one does not have the means to accomplish a goal.

“Teach us to pray.” This may sound like a naive request considering people had been praying for thousands of years by the time this question was asked. Yet the man decided to ask Jesus Christ anyway (Luke 11:1).

You may go your entire life without seeing an endangered species, yet the globe’s biodiversity crisis threatens all of humanity in numerous unseen or unrecognized ways, scientists say.