On Fridays I share articles/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom. I welcome your suggestions. If you read something fascinating please pass it my way.

Things Glen Found Interesting

1. Why Did God Favor France? (Ross Douthat, New York Times): “[Joan of Arc’s] story is one of the most extensively documented cases of a miraculous-seeming intervention into secular history, calculated to baffle, fascinate and even charm like almost nothing else in Western history. Everything in the story sounds like a pious legend confabulated centuries after the fact. A peasant girl with zero political or military experience shows up at a royal court, announces a divine mission and makes a series of prophecies about what God wants for France that she consistently fulfills — a fulfillment that requires not merely some fortunate happenstance, but her taking command of a medieval army and winning an immediate series of victories over an intimidating adversary with Alexandrine or Napoleonic skill.”
   • Worth a ponder.
2. Physicists disagree wildly on what quantum mechanics says about reality, Nature survey shows (Elizabeth Gibney, Nature): “Nature asked researchers what they thought was the best interpretation of quantum phenomena and interactions — that is, their favourite of the various attempts scientists have made to relate the mathematics of the theory to the real world. The largest chunk of responses, 36%, favoured the Copenhagen interpretation — a practical and often-taught approach. But the survey also showed that several, more radical, viewpoints have a healthy following. Asked about their confidence in their answer, only 24% of respondents thought their favoured interpretation was correct; others considered it merely adequate or a useful tool in some circumstances. What’s more, some scientists who seemed to be in the same camp didn’t give the same answers to follow-up questions, suggesting inconsistent or disparate understandings of the interpretation they chose.”
3. How a Christian college ministry glorified a sex offender and enabled him to keep abusing students (Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News): “The pastors who shepherded hundreds of high school and college students to Savala’s home were part of Chi Alpha, a Christian ministry that evangelizes on university campuses. Students seek out Chi Alpha to connect with God and each other, through small Bible studies and rollicking worship services — and, for more than 30 years, through Savala. Generations of Chi Alpha leaders hailed him as a spiritual savant who could answer life’s deepest mysteries.”
   • Heartbreaking. I’ve posted about this scandal in Texas before (in other words, this is the same scandal from a few years ago with additional reporting). Now that it is being covered on NBC the higher-quality journalism is uncovering even more tragic details.
4. Put Down the Shofar (Brad East, Christianity Today): “You’re likely familiar with shofars blown in public, Seder meals for Passover, and circumcision for baby boys. But as common and well-intended as these may be, I want to explain why I told my student that, yes, his house church was wrong—or at least, misguided.”
   • A theologically rich article.
5. The Simple Truth About the War in Gaza (Coleman Hughes, The Free Press): “Amid these developments, it may seem cartoonish, even obscene, to say that in the war between Israel and Hamas, Israel is the good guy. But it’s the truth. And it’s a truth that’s incredibly easy to forget amid the day-to-day coverage of this terrible war.… Israel’s goal is to live in peace with its neighbors. Throughout its 77-year history, it has agreed to half a dozen peace deals with the Palestinians. It voluntarily left Gaza in 2005. If it had any interest in wiping Gaza off the map, it could have done so any time in the last several decades.”
6. How the Elite Changed Its Mind on Christianity (Emma Camp, Reason): “As the decline in religious attendance has slowed, the past few years have also seen a clear rise in the status of religion. It’s becoming more and more socially acceptable to be religious in elite intellectual spaces—something that could have a real impact on how religion is perceived by everyone else.… Religion became cool again among the educated elite once it gained an association with good aesthetics, high art, and sacred music—not Bush-era Republican soft theocracy.  Today, one can belong to the ideas-making class—an aspiring public intellectual or artist—and still be religious, so long as one steers clear of evangelical kitsch. Whether or not a real religious revival is underway in American public life, one thing is clear: The cool kids aren’t the smug, strident atheists anymore—they’re the Christians.”
   • Fascinating, although it reminds me I need to write that essay I’ve been mulling over defending low-church Protestantism as the best and most authentic expression of Christianity.
7. Influencer Missionaries (Lauren Jackson, New York Times): “Churches are turning to the internet to reach new audiences. Evangelical pastors are bringing their famously high-production sermons into vertical video. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is presenting a diverse, younger image to its 1.4 million Instagram followers.”
   • A short article, not super-informative. Mostly interesting because of the trend reaching the point that the Times is taking note of it. Also because of some of the small vignettes: “Perhaps that explains the celebrity of Father Rafael Capo, 57, a bodybuilding priest in Miami who fuses fitness with faith for his 112,000 Instagram followers. He often posts photos of himself lifting weights and consecrating communion.”

Why Do You Send This Email?

In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar produced shrewd warriors “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do” (1 Chron 12:32). In a similar way, we need to become wise people whose faith interacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar.

Disclaimer

Chi Alpha is not a partisan organization. To paraphrase another minister: we are not about the donkey’s agenda and we are not about the elephant’s agenda — we are about the Lamb’s agenda. Having said that, I read widely (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass the ideological Turing test and in part because I do not believe I can fairly say “I agree” or “I disagree” until I can say “I understand”) and may at times share articles that have a strong partisan bias simply because I find the article stimulating. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with everything an author says in an article I mention, much less things the author has said in other articles (although if I strongly disagree with something in the article I’ll usually mention it). And to the extent you can discern my opinions, please understand that they are my own and not necessarily those of Chi Alpha or any other organization I may be perceived to represent. Also, remember that I’m not reporting news — I’m giving you a selection of things I found interesting. There’s a lot happening in the world that’s not making an appearance here because I haven’t found stimulating articles written about it. If this was forwarded to you and you want to receive future emails, sign up here. You can also view the archives.