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
- Alvin Plantinga’s Masterful Achievement (William Doino, First Things): “In the 1950’s there was not a single published defense of religious belief by a prominent philosopher; by the 1990’s there were literally hundreds of books and articles, from Yale to UCLA and from Oxford to Heidelberg, defending and developing the spiritual dimension. The difference between 1950 and 1990 is, quite simply, Alvin Plantinga.”
- The Man Behind Trump’s Religious-Freedom Agenda for Health Care (Emma Green, The Atlantic): “Severino spent seven years in civil-rights enforcement at the Department of Justice; before that, he litigated religious-liberty cases. He has experience. He just doesn’t share the ideological convictions of many who work in his field.”
- Iraqi Christians should not be deported to become victims of ISIS (Bawai Soro, The Hill): “The American government, for the first time ever, is about to deport to a country undergoing an active genocide the very people targeted in that genocide.” See US Prepares to Deport Hundreds of Iraqi Christians (Griffin Paul Jackson, Christianity Today) for more details.
- There is no Thucydides Trap (Arthur Waldron, Supchina): “For the first time this year, my Chinese graduate students are marrying one another and buying houses here. This is a leading indicator. If it could be done, the coming tsunami would bring 10 million highly qualified Chinese families to the U.S. in 10 years — along with fleeing crooks, spies, and other flotsam and jetsam. Even Xi’s first wife fled China; she lives in England.” The author is an IR professor at Penn.
- Can’t Believe You Think That (Citizen Of No Mean City): “Maybe next time before dismissing someone for their views on this subject we would do well to afford them the dignity of having thought about their position, and to dig deeper and ask ‘what has led them to think this way?’ or ‘can I learn from listening to them?’”
- Six Days and 50 Years of War (Bret Stephens, NY Times): “In June 1967 Arab leaders declared their intention to annihilate the Jewish state, and the Jews decided they wouldn’t sit still for it. For the crime of self-preservation, Israel remains a nation unforgiven.”
- Here are several links about a disturbing moment on Capitol Hill:
- Is It Hateful To Believe In Hell? Bernie Sanders’ Questions Prompt Backlash (Camila Domonoske, NPR): “Khalil says belief in hell does not have a clear-cut implication for behavior on Earth. ‘If I believe all non-Muslims go to hell … it can lead me to look down upon them, see them as just fuel for hell, and not really take them too seriously. Or I could be motivated to want to save them,” he says, “and be unusually kind and nice to them in the hopes that they will convert.’”
- Bernie Sanders’s Religious Test for Christians in Public Office (Emma Green, The Atlantic): “It was a remarkable moment: a Democratic senator lecturing a nominee for public office on the correct interpretation of Christianity in a confirmation hearing putatively about the Office of Management and Budget.”
- The Babylon Bee had my favorite take: It Is Perfectly OK For Public Servants To Be Christians, As Long As They Do Not Believe Christian Things.
- Related: Tim Farron: Christian Canary In The Coalmine (Rod Dreher, The American Conservative).
Things Glen Found Amusing
- Excited Parents Throw Gender Reveal Party For Their Teenager (Babylon Bee)
- Spandrels (SMBC)
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.