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
- The Shock of Faith: It’s Nothing Like I Thought It Would Be (David Brooks, New York Times): “When religion is seen as belief, then the believer lives on a continuum between belief and doubt. But when religion is seen as a longing, then the believer lives on the continuum between intensity and apathy. That’s the continuum I live on these days.”
- Highly recommended, unlocked, sent to me by multiple alumni.
- Archaeologists Found a Skeleton Wearing an Amulet That May Change the History of Christianity (Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics): “Every other link to reliable evidence of Christian life in the northern Alpine area of the Roman Empire is at least 50 years younger, all coming from the fourth century A.D.…. The scientific study is bolstered by references never found so early, such as mention of Saint Titus, a student of the Apostle Paul, the invocation ‘holy, holy, holy!’ which wasn’t more common until the fourth century A.D., and the phrase ‘bend your knees,’ which is a quote from Paul’s letter to the Philippians.”
- Recommended by an alumnus. The title is clickbait, but the article’s content is interesting.
- What if Our Democracy Can’t Survive Without Christianity? (David French and Jonathan Rauch, New York Times): “It turns out that Christianity is a load-bearing wall in democracy, and the founders told us that. They didn’t specify that you have to be a Christian, per se, but they said that our liberal, secular Constitution, it’s great, as far as it goes, but it relies on virtues like truthfulness and lawfulness and the equal dignity of every individual. And they understood that those have to come from an outside source. The Constitution won’t furnish them. And the source that they relied on principally was religion to teach those things and to build and transmit those values. And it turns out that for most of our history, Christianity has been pretty good at that.”
- Recommended by a student.
- Study claims all observables in nature can be measured with a single constant: The second (Phys.org): “ ‘In Galilean space-time, you need rulers and clocks to measure all the physical variables. In relativistic space-time, however, clocks are sufficient. This is because in relativity, space and time are so interrelated that a single unit is sufficient to describe all quantities. High-precision clocks, such as the atomic clocks used today, are capable of meeting all measurement needs,’ says Matsas.”
- Why are Top Scientists Leaving Harvard? (Alex Tabarrok, Marginal Revolution): “Mina tells an incredible story of what happened during the pandemic. At the time Mina was a faculty member at the Chan School of Public Health, he is extremely active in advising governments on the pandemic, and he brings Harvard millions of dollars a year in funding. But when he tries to hire someone at his lab, the university refuses because there is hiring freeze! Sorry, no hiring for pandemic research during a pandemic.”
- When Gen. George Patton Called on God (Alex Kershaw, Wall Street Journal): “Patton instructed his men: ‘Pray when driving. Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray by night and pray by day.’ He believed the Third Army’s nearly 500 chaplains, representing 32 denominations, were as critical to victory as his tank commanders. ‘He wanted a chaplain to be above average in courage,’ O’Neill recalled. ‘In time of battle, he wanted the chaplains up front, where the men were dying. And that’s where the Third Army chaplains went—up front. We lost more chaplains, proportionately, than any other group.’ ”
- This is one of those historical moments that I always marvel at when I read about it.
- The Abortion Lobby Endangers Pregnant Women (Rachel Roth Aldhizer, Wall Street Journal): “Reclassifying induction of labor—or, rarely, surgical resolution for PPROM—as abortion care seems to threaten women’s prenatal care nationwide. No abortion legislation in any state restricts emergency procedures to protect the life or health of the mother. Yet this linguistic shift could mislead physicians in states with abortion restrictions into believing that standard treatments for pregnancy complications may be illegal, or at least subject to a higher standard of physician judgment when determining a treatment course.… Only the abortion lobby and the politicians who support it benefit from these linguistic games.”
Less Serious Things Which Also Interested/Amused Glen
- Bay Area squirrels are killing and decapitating en masse, study finds (Suzie Dundas, SF Gate): “The researchers observed interactions between voles and ground squirrels in June and July and found that 42% involved squirrels killing voles. What makes this discovery so unusual is that the percentage should have been zero.”
- How to Honor the Intentions of Those Who Came Before You (Basic Instructions)
- Unclear If Pianist Total Beginner Or Professional Jazz Player (Babylon Bee)
- Cupcake (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). 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.