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
- FAQs by Atheists (and others) (Sarah Salviander, Substack): “I’m often informed that I ‘wasn’t really an atheist,’ because I changed my mind. I don’t know what it takes to qualify as having been a Real Atheist, but I was raised atheist by ex-Catholic, socialist, political-activist, atheist parents in a secular country (Canada), and I really hated religion. Seems like that should qualify.”
- Recommended by a student and it was quite good indeed. I clicked some of the links and really enjoyed the slideshow she made at https://sixdayscience.com/six-days‑2/ (the big idea is that Genesis is literally true — all of creation was made in six days as viewed from God’s perspective. God’s perspective is cosmic and not earthbound, and so how He sees a day changes in accordance with the principles of relativity as spacetime itself changes).
- One of the biggest mistakes the New Atheists made (Sarah Salviander, Substack): “My own journey to faith didn’t come from what I _didn’t_ understand. It came from what I _did_. As a grad student, I studied the chemistry of the early universe through observations of distant quasars. The exquisite fine-tuning, the precise convergence of physical constants and conditions needed to make those measurements possible, the underlying order that allowed the Big Bang model to hold together—it all radiated a profound sense of intentional design. To me, it wasn’t a gap screaming for a filler. It was evidence pointing unmistakably to a Creator. Lennox puts it beautifully: the more he understands the universe—its mathematical intelligibility, its laws that describe rather than create—the more it draws him toward God. He compares it to standing before a great painting. The untrained eye sees beauty; the expert, who grasps the technique and genius behind the brushstrokes, sees far more. Science doesn’t erode faith for those who see clearly. It deepens awe.” (recommended by a student)
- Free Will Is Undefeated (Rob K. Henderson, Wall Street Journal): “Suppose we ask whether an apple is red. The determinist looks closer. He realizes the apple is nothing but atoms. Because no individual atom is red, he concludes the apple can’t really be red. The error is obvious. Color exists at the scale of the apple, not at the scale of an atom. Free will works the same way. A choice exists at the scale of a person thinking, weighing and deciding. Looking at the molecules underneath and finding no choice there doesn’t prove that choice is an illusion.”
- Protestantism’s Institutional Problem (Jordan B. Cooper, Substack): “It has often been the case when someone I know personally informs me that they have decided to [become Catholic], that they justify such a move with claims of intellectual persuasion based upon the strength of RC arguments. In many cases, they have never brought any of these claims or questions to me at all before making a decision. If someone really wanted to evaluate the truth claims of two traditions, and that person had a friend who examines these issues for a living, one would think they’d at least hear that person out prior to committing. But alas, it often does not happen. It is the same story every time: someone has watched some RC apologetics videos online, has decided to join the RCC for whatever reason, and is unwilling to hear any critique. Theological reasons are constructed post hoc. This person is already convinced and uses theology to justify a conclusion already arrived at. This should not be so surprising, as human beings are not as rationally driven as we sometimes assume.”
- 100% agree with this observation (although I have a few quibbles with the larger post in which it is embedded). Earlier this week I talked with a colleague on another campus about this exact issue. I cannot recall a time when a student considering Catholicism ever asked me about the Protestant side of the argument. Ever. But then they act as though they weighed the evidence carefully. I thought it was unusual the first time I saw it, but now it’s what I expect.
- Related: Which Church Changed? (Larry Sanger, personal blog): I am quite sure people will contest some of the details or the precise wording, but I think this is a substantially correct summary rooted in church history.
- Why So Few Babies? We Might Have Overlooked the Biggest Reason of All. (Anna Louie Sussman, New York Times): “What unites these disparate cultures, policy environments and demographics, researchers are now realizing, is young people’s inescapable and crushing sense that the future is too uncertain for the lifelong commitment of parenthood. Call it the vibes theory of demographic decline.… There is, however, one low-cost fertility policy that actually seems to work: faith, perhaps the original uncertainty reduction strategy.” — Recommended by a friend of the ministry.
- Ivy League students are suffering from religious illiteracy (Gregory Conti, Washington Post): “It’s increasingly common on college campuses to encounter students who are unfamiliar with the most basic features of Christianity, such as the difference between the Old and New testaments or between Catholics and Protestants. They seldom recognize the allusions to the Bible that appear in Shakespeare’s work or in Lincoln’s second inaugural address (or in Obama’s first, for that matter). These students are bright, conscientious and curious. But they lack religious literacy — and their ignorance of religious ideas means they struggle to understand a wide array of Western art, literature and philosophy. This is a development that even nonbelievers like myself should find troubling.”
- The author is a political scientist at Princeton.
- Learning To Beg: God always provides (Sharis Hsu, Stanford Daily): “I am dubious of what this program does — potentially coercing the most vulnerable into believing in religion and becoming dependent on it. But as men of all races and ages come out in blue jeans and a navy top, I can’t help the tears that come to my eyes as they tell their stories. For the first time since I landed in Georgia, there is hope.”
- An interesting read and I await the sequel.
Less Serious Things Which Also Interested/Amused Glen
- ‘He’s Right Behind Me, Isn’t He?’ Says Thomas After Declaring He Won’t Believe Jesus Rose Until He Sees Him — (Babylon Bee)
- What Happened When the Pope Had to Call Customer Service (Julie Bosman, New York Times): “The new pope identified himself as Robert Prevost, saying that he wished to change the phone number and address that the bank had on file, Father McCarthy said. The pope dutifully answered the security questions correctly. Then, the woman on the line for the bank told him that it wasn’t enough — he would have to come to the branch in person. ‘He said,” — ’ Father McCarthy said in a video clip shared on social media, recounting the new pope’s growing frustration as the audience laughed. ‘I gave you all the security questions.’ The bank employee apologized. The pope tried a different tack. ‘Would it matter to you if I told you I’m Pope Leo?’ he asked, according to Father McCarthy. She hung up.”
- Vegan Crossfitter Cyclist Unsure What To Tell You About First — (Babylon Bee)
- Jumping The Shark: ‘The Chosen’ Criticized For Planning To Kill Off Main Character Only To Resurrect Him Next Episode — (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.