Manly Wedding Rings for Tough Guys Who Are Dudes – Dan Brooks, The Outline – A wedding ring seems like a pretty straightforward and traditional symbol, too simple to have any room for change. But the intersecting forces of an identity-focused culture and globalized capitalism have created a new market for rings that express much more – so much, in fact, that it's questionable how much of the original meaning is retained. 

First Men and Original Sins – Adam Roberts, Image Journal – With the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing this week, this essay on the spiritual side of the space race couldn't be more timely. What transcendent grace do we imagine might be found on the unspoiled surface of the moon, and what sins of our own are we bringing with us?

Poetry and Prophecy, Dust and Ashes – Phil Christman, Plough – Translator Robert Alter's three-volume version of the Hebrew Bible is now completed, offering Phil Christman an opportunity to reflect on the glories and difficulties of the Old Testament. Reading well is always a challenge, but to honestly encounter such an alien text – and the even more alien Being to which it points – is to be truly humbled by the presence of God.