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# September 8, 2020
- URL: https://www.jamesreeves.co/pearl/
- Published: 2020-09-08T21:58:00.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-15T03:49:53.000Z
- Author: James A. Reeves
- Tags: Notebook

The first Christian monks believed dirt was proof of faith. They walked around caked in mud with lice in their hair, which they called the “pearls of god.” This factoid has been rattling around my head for months. Maybe because it shows how our worldview can transform the abhorrent into the virtuous. Which of our beliefs today will seem superstitious and bizarre centuries from now?