Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 16

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.

To that end, on Fridays I’ve been sharing articles/resources I have found helpful recently in thinking about broader cultural and societal issues (be sure to see the disclaimer at the bottom). May these give you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar. Past emails are archived at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links

1. From the recommended-by-a-student department: How To Stay Christian On Campus (David Mathis, Desiring God): I expected something very different than what I got. Recommended.
2. From the perilous times department:
   • The Refugee Crisis — 9 Questions You Were Too Embarrassed To Ask (Max Fischer and Amanda Taub, Vox): this is a useful overview.
   • Why Christianity Needs Its Own Yad Vashem (John Allen, Crux): reflections on the global persecution of Christians (related to but not identical with the refugee crisis)
3. From the unexpected-insights-from history-department: Morals Legislation, Revisited (Books and Culture, David Skeel): Books and Culture is an evangelical version of the NY Times Review of Books. This article is written by a law prof at Penn reviewing a Harvard University Press book about the evangelical origins of the living constitution approach to law.
4. From the everybody-is-quoting-it department: Microaggression and Moral Cultures (Campbell and Manning, Comparative Sociology): I have seen so many people pumping this academic article I am astounded. Three to take a look at: Conor Friedersdorf in the Atlantic, Megan McArdle in Bloomberg View, and Jonathan Haidt on his personal blog. The original article is descriptive — the response pieces tend to be evaluative.
5. From the principles-you-will-probably-need-to-know-one-day department: When Does Your Religion Legally Excuse You From Doing Part of Your Job? (Washington Post. Eugene Volokh): this one came out right after my last email update. Volokh is a law prof at UCLA.

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.