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
- Here are the two articles I alluded to in this week’s message: Why The Best Thing This Generation Can Do Is Put Down The Drink (Alexia LaFeta, Elite Daily) and The Alcohol Blackout (Sarah Hepola, Texas Monthly). The latter is particularly insightful. I have shared these both before (see volume 18 and volume 25).
- Who Is To Blame For The Greatest Myth In The History Of Science And Religion? These Two Guys (Justin Taylor, Gospel Coalition): “The so-called ‘war’ between faith and learning, specifically between orthodox Christian theology and science, was manufactured…. It is a construct that was created for polemical purposes.”
- Homeless Find Rest In Faith-Based Shelters More Than Others (Adelle Banks, Religion News Service): “In a preliminary study of 11 U.S. cities, 58 percent of emergency beds for the homeless were at faith-based organizations. That percentage ranged widely across the cities, with 90 percent of emergency beds in Omaha, Neb., provided by faith groups and 33 percent in Portland, Ore.”
- How To Protest Better (Leah Sargeant, First Things): excellent subtitle, “light hearts, not trash cans, on fire.” Related perspective from the opposite side of the ideological aisle: And Now It’s Time To Do The Real Work (Frederik deBoer). Also worth noting, Anarchists, NOT Cal students, responsible for violence in UC Berkeley protests.
- The biggest news since last Friday’s email is Trump’s immigration action. The two pieces I saw shared most by my thoughtful friends on social media are Malevolence Tempered by Incompetence: Trump’s Horrifying Executive Order on Refugees and Visas (Benjamin Wittes, Lawfare) and Trump’s Executive Order on Refugees, Separating Fact from Hysteria (David French, National Review). Two insightful follow-ups are What Conservatives Get Wrong About Trump’s Immigration Order (Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic) and Tallying Up Trump (Peter Leithart, First Things). George Wood, the leader of my denomination, penned a Response To The Executive Order on Immigration.
- An Evangelical Christian Defends Trump’s First Week In Office (Emma Green, The Atlantic): “I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt thus far because I, and many Americans, have been unfortunately trained by the press in recent years not to take their side automatically anymore. They have tremendously undermined themselves.” It’s interesting to read Fake News and Evangelicals (Alex Wilgus, Common Vision) in conjunction with this.
- Neil Gorsuch belongs to a notably liberal church — and would be the first Protestant on the Court in years (Julie Zauzmer, Washington Post): He is Episcopal, yet many Episcopals (especially clergy) are opposed to his nomination, whereas evangelicals and Catholics are mostly delighted.
Things Glen Found Amusing/Entertaining
- The multiverse explained (SMBC)
- A remarkable volleyball rally (YouTube, 45 seconds)
- Democrat Who Just Showed Up To First Protest Doesn’t Understand Why Its Platform Is Different From His (Flipside): “I got to the protest, and there was this girl holding up a sign that said ‘No Trump’ and I was like, ‘ok, cool’. But then I kept reading, and saw it said ‘No Imperialism’, and I was confused for a bit, honestly not sure where I stand on that, but then I kept reading and it said ‘No Capitalism’ and that is where I decided that I’d done enough reading for the day.”
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).
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.
Archives at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links.