You’ve heard of TGIF? This is TGFI: Things Glen Found Interesting
On Fridays I share articles/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues likely to be of interest to Christians in college. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom. I welcome your suggestions, so if you read something fascinating please pass it my way.
Things Glen Found Interesting
- Religious People Are Happier Than Non-Religious People (Ryan Burge, Substack): “To go back to where I started — let me just say the one true thing again. Highly active religious people are happier than non-religious people. There’s no other way to spin this data than this simple conclusion.”
- Emphasis in original. The author is a political scientist at Washington University in St. Louis.
- I’ve Seen the Future of War. Europe Isn’t Ready for It. (Niall Ferguson, The Free Press): : “Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine is now in its fourth year—or its 12th, if you date it from the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Since February 2022, the country has cycled through three wars. First it was a tank war, in which columns of Russian tanks fought a bungled blitzkrieg. Then it became an artillery war, in which the two sides traded fire from entrenched positions. Now, however, it’s almost entirely a drone war, with a supporting role for small and highly vulnerable infantry units. The question is how well Europeans understand this. The people of Poland, Romania, Estonia, and (perhaps) Denmark all now know that Russian drones are capable of entering their airspace. But have they truly grasped what that implies?”
- The author is a senior fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution. I am told he is a fairly recent convert to Christianity, although I have never met him personally and only know of his faith through public sources.
- What Women Wish They’d Known Before Trying to Get Pregnant (Olga Khazan, The Atlantic): “When Anna De Souza was in her early 30s, she asked her ob-gyn when she should start thinking about having kids. ‘When you were 26,’ she remembers the doctor saying. She was surprised. She’d had some sense that fertility decreases with age but didn’t know how significant the drop-off was. No doctor had ever told her, and she certainly didn’t learn about it in school.”
- Unlocked. This is a drum I will keep beating — most of you should plan to have kids earlier than your peers!
- Some thoughts on free speech:
- The Censorship You Practice Today Will Be Used Against You Tomorrow (Greg Lukianoff, New York Times): “I don’t like having to make a case for human rights such as freedom of speech by appealing to self-interest; these are supposed to be rights whose importance transcends one’s personal needs. But for political partisans, it’s often the only argument that cuts through. So here’s my practical warning: The weapon that you reach for today will be used against you tomorrow. Using your opponents’ nastiest tools doesn’t persuade them to disarm; it inspires retaliation. Tit for tat, forever and ever.”
- How not to limit free speech (Ed Feser, personal blog): “There is a presumption, then, in favor of free expression, precisely because it facilitates the natural end of our rational powers. However, not all forms of expression are protected by this presumption, because not all forms of expression have anything to do with our rational powers. For example, pornography does not appeal to our rationality and in no way contributes to discovering truth or to debate by which we might root out error.… pornography is in no way protected by the natural right to free speech.”
- The author is a devout Catholic who is also a philosophy professor. This is a helpful essay that covers a lot of ground.
- How My Dad Helped Me Master My Autism (Leland Vittert, The Free Press): “Today, most parents would probably send a kid like me to therapy. Even back then, a diagnosis might have gotten me significant special treatment. But my dad knew that there wasn’t a teacher or therapist who could step in and suddenly make me fit in. The world wasn’t going to adapt to me, and he wasn’t going to try to make it. There would be no therapists or accommodations. If I was going to succeed, he would have to adapt me to the world.”
- I visited Gaza. The food aid surprised me. (Ken Isaacs, Washington Post): “The main provider of food assistance in the Gaza Strip today arguably is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an organization backed by the United States and Israel. GHF has faced harsh criticism for its work in Gaza, with United Nations agencies and nongovernmental organizations publishing a letter in July urging donors and countries not to fund the foundation’s work and to instead revert to a solely U.N.-led response. I arrived in Gaza a skeptic of GHF but left an advocate. Simply put, the common portrayal of this organization radically distorts reality.”
- The author works for Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian relief agency.
- Two viral clips from the same event (Charlie Kirk’s memorial service).
- Erika Kirk on Husband’s Assassin: “I forgive him.” (C‑SPAN, YouTube): two minutes
- “I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them.” (C‑SPAN, YouTube): five minutes (the famous bit is at about the one minute mark)
- Watch them both before you read the articles that comment on them. Having watched them, I think some commentators are subtly distorting them. Watch for yourself, and then mull the responses.
- Why MAGA Evangelicals Can Cheer Love and Hate at the Same Time (David French, New York Times): “Many people who saw or read about the rally were puzzled by what they perceived as a contradiction. How can you cheer love and hate at the same time? How can you worship Jesus and cheer such a base and gross description of other human beings, people who are created in the image of God? My reaction was different. Finally, I thought, curious Americans who tuned in got to see MAGA theology more completely — and what they witnessed was the best and worst of MAGA Christianity.”
- The Biggest Tent (The Dispatch): “The funeral was what I thought it would be. Until Erika Kirk spoke, and then it was something else.… The last place you would look for grace in American public life in 2025 is at a Republican political rally, especially one where the usual lust for ruthlessness has been juiced by wrath and grief. For Mrs. Kirk to muster it in this setting, at this moment, despite the singular anguish with which she’s been burdened, felt almost miraculous even to a non-believer like me.… I’ve heard of political ‘big tents,’ but I’ve never heard of one big enough to accommodate two moral systems that aren’t just contradictory but irreconcilable. ‘Christ’s message, followed by its very antithesis,’ philosophy professor Edward Feser wrote of the contrast between Kirk’s and Trump’s remarks. ‘It’s almost as if the audience is being put to a test.’ ”
- Erika Kirk and America’s Religious Revival (Maya Sulkin, The Free Press): “By dawn, the lines to get into State Farm Stadium stretched for blocks. People camped out overnight to secure a place.… By mid-morning, the 73,000-seat stadium was full. Organizers opened the arena next door for overflow, but even that quickly reached capacity. In total, an estimated 200,000 people turned out—more than Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral in 1968.”
- Is Erika Kirk the Future of MAGA? (Matthew Continetti, The Free Press): “Never had I seen someone upstage President Trump. It happened Sunday. Trump spoke for longer than Erika. But she had already brought down the house. Her forgiveness and hope moved the nation. Clearly Trump was mulling over her eulogy. When he slyly contrasted his style with Charlie’s, Trump kiddingly apologized. ‘I hate my opponent and don’t want the best for them,’ he said. ‘Sorry, Erika.’ When was the last time Trump apologized? Then he added, ‘Erika, you can talk to me and the whole group, but maybe they can convince me that that’s not right, but I can’t stand my opponent.’ Even the president can learn from Erika Kirk.”
- ‘I Hate My Opponent’: Trump’s Remarks at Kirk Memorial Distill His Politics (Nick Catoggio, New York Times): “When asked about the divergent messages from the president and Mrs. Kirk, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said on Monday that the president was ‘authentically himself.’”
Less Serious Things Which Also Interested/Amused Glen
- Meet the 2025 Ig Nobel Prize winners (Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica): “Diet sodas and other zero-calorie drinks are a mainstay of the modern diet, thanks to the development of artificial sweeteners whose molecules can’t be metabolized by the human body. The authors of this paper are intrigued by the notion of zero-calorie foods, which they believe could be achieved by increasing the satisfying volume and mass of food without increasing the calories. And they have just the additive for that purpose: polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), more commonly known as Teflon. Yes, the stuff they use on nonstick cookware. They insist that Teflon is inert, heat-resistant, impervious to stomach acid, tasteless, cost-effective, and available in handy powder form for easy mixing into food. They recommend a ratio of three parts food to one part Teflon powder.”
- I lowkey wanna eat a teflon-stuffed meal now.
- Sheep (SMBC)
- ‘Very mean squirrel’ seeking food has sent at least 2 people to the ER in a California city (AP News)
- Sinful, Rebellious Homeschooler Stays Up Past 9:30 To Read Chronicles Of Narnia (Babylon Bee)
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.