Tag: apologetically interesting

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 30

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.

To that end, on Fridays I’ve been sharing articles/resources I have found helpful recently in thinking about broader cultural and societal issues (be sure to see the disclaimer at the bottom). May these give you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar. Past emails are archived at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links

Without further ado, I give you the interesting things:

  1. A Carved Stone Block Upends Assumptions About Ancient Judaism (NY Times, Isabel Kirshner): I find the title amusing (the finding lines up perfectly with my assumptions about Judaism before the destruction of the temple).
  2. Jesus’ Leftward Bias (Pacific Standard, Tom Jacobs): warning — this is not about what you think it probably is. It is based on the study Did Buddha Turn The Other Cheek Too? A Comparison of Posing Biases Between Jesus and Buddha and weaves together art, selfies, and the role of emotions in Christianity. Really.
  3. Shutting Down Conversations About Rape at Harvard Law (New Yorker, Jeannie Suk): a Harvard Law prof comments on how campuses should handle rape accusations, and points out that a rigid “believe the accuser” stance will result in great injustice against black men.
  4. American Christians Could Take A Lesson From Angela Merkel (Religion News Service, Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons): I did not know Merkel (German Chancellor and Time Person of the Year) was pious. See the comments for clarification about what tribe of Christianity she belongs to. As always, take claims about the faith of public figures with a grain of salt, especially when they are from another culture. I was also interested by Multiculturalism Is A Sham, Says Angela Merkel (Washington Post, Rick Noack)
  5. Beyond Fight or Flight: $1 Million Reveals How Christians Cope with Persecution in 30 Countries (Christianity Today, Sarah Zylstra): Fascinating research on what Christians actually do when they face intense persecution. Related: Globally, Religious Persecution is Christian Persecution (Crux, John Allen): I appreciated the selection of stories in this article. They avoided the crazy, gory stories that make you put this into a special place in your brain and chose much simpler anecdotes that make you see what this is a like on a day-to-day basis in certain parts of the world. See also, The Biggest Apology For Christian Persecution of Other Christians Ever. (Christianity Today, Sarah Zylstra).
  6. Quick Links

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.

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.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 29

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.

To that end, on Fridays I’ve been sharing articles/resources I have found helpful recently in thinking about broader cultural and societal issues (be sure to see the disclaimer at the bottom). May these give you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar. Past emails are archived at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links

Without further ado, I give you the interesting things:

  1. C.S. Lewis Was A Secret Government Agent (Christianity Today, Harry Lee Poe): It’s not as exciting as the title sounds, but it’s still cool. C.S. Lewis did some work for MI6. That’s the same agency as James Bond.  JAMES BOND.
  2. Why I worry experimental social science is headed in the wrong direction (Chris Blattman, personal blog). This is an excellent piece by a political science professor at Columbia.
  3. Utah Reduced Chronic Homelessness By 91 Percent. Here’s How. (NPR, Kelly McEvers). Props to the Mormons. It reminds me of an old piece by Malcolm Gladwell: Million Dollar Murray.
  4. Philanthropy Should Be Controversial (Bloomberg View, Justin Fox): Fascinating throughout — the last two paragraphs were quite surprising to me.
  5. John Kerry Should Recognize Christian Genocide (USA Today, Kirsten Powers): I’ve posted about this before and will likely keep doing so. The situation is insane.
  6. Why Christians Must Speak Out Against Donald Trump’s Muslim Remarks (Washington Post, Russell Moore). Related: Is An Immigration Ban on Muslims Unconstitutional? (Eric Posner, a law prof at U Chicago).  Moore has been on a tear lately, see also his What We Lose When We Prayer Shame Politicians After A Mass Shooting (Washington Post, Russell Moore). “The first response to a word of our fellow citizens in peril should be a human response of empathy. For religious people, that means a call to pray for them, and to encourage others of like mind to do so…. When that becomes just another culture war battlefield, we’ve lost more than a set of policy proposals. We’ve lost the social cohesion we need to do anything.”
  7. How Obama’s Gun-Control Push Inverted the Politics of the No-Fly List (The Atlantic, David Graham): this is a depressing commentary on the polarization of American politics. See also Eric Posner’s comments: The Republican-Democratic Divide on Civil Liberties. Related — Partyism Now Trumps Racism (Bloomberg View, Cass Sunstein) and Political Identity Is Now Fair Game For Hatred: How Republicans and Democrats Discriminate (Vox, Ezra Klein).
  8. Quick Links:

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.

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.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 26

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.

To that end, on Fridays I’ve been sharing articles/resources I have found helpful recently in thinking about broader cultural and societal issues (be sure to see the disclaimer at the bottom). May these give you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar. Past emails are archived at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links

On this half-year mark, I give you the interesting things:

  1. Religious Liberty and Human Dignity: Tale Of Two Declarations (Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, Kevin Hasson). This article from 2003 argues that religious freedom is the fundamental freedom. It starts slow as it lays a foundation, but picks up about halfway through.
  2. While you’re on Thanksgiving break, please register to vote if you have not already done so. I strongly suggest you register as a Permanent Vote-By-Mail Voter, which simply means that you will receive a ballot in the mail before every election. It gives you plenty of time to research the candidates and issues from the comfort of your dorm room with your ballot in front of you. If you prefer to vote in another state then visit http://www.brennancenter.org/student-voting). If you’re a citizen of another country, do whatever you’re supposed to do there. 🙂
  3. Some global perspective:
  4. More campus activism links: President Obama weighs in (really). See also A Crisis Our Universities Deserve (NY Times, Ross Douthat): this is a helpful big-picture overview of the college scene. Also, Yale’s Activists Deserve Constructive Criticism (The Atlantic, Conor Friedersdorf).
  5. Are Non-Religious Children Really More Altruistic? (Robert Woodberry) — this is probably the last thing I will post on this. I almost didn’t, but WOW what a smackdown. Woodberry is the author of that article I keep sharing about Christianity and democracy.
  6. Quick Links:

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.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 25

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.

To that end, on Fridays I’ve been sharing articles/resources I have found helpful recently in thinking about broader cultural and societal issues (be sure to see the disclaimer at the bottom). May these give you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar. Past emails are archived at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links

There’s a lot of heavy content in this one. Buckle your seatbelt. Without further ado, I give you the interesting things:

  1. Alcohol, Blackouts, and Campus Sexual Assault (Texas Monthly, Sarah Hepola): I think this is the most thoughtful secular piece I’ve read on the issue. “Consent and alcohol make tricky bedfellows. The reason I liked getting drunk was because it altered my consent: it changed what I would say yes to. Not just in the bedroom but in every room and corridor that led into the squinting light. Say yes to adventure, say yes to risk, say yes to karaoke and pool parties and arguments with men, say yes to a life without fear, even though such a life is never possible… We drink because it feels good. We drink because it makes us feel happy, safe, powerful. That it often makes us the opposite is one of alcohol’s dastardly tricks.”
  2. Fatal Flaws In That Religion And Generosity Study (The Stream, George Yancey). Yancey is a sociology prof. Related: Are Religious Kids Really Meaner Than Their Counterparts? by a social psychologist.
  3. Now for a ton of links related to the racial incidents and responses at Yale and Mizzou (which seem different to me but which happened in such close proximity that they are linked in the national dialog).
  4. In global news: On The Brink: Christianity Facing Middle East Purge Within Decade, Group Says (Fox News). Stories like this have led one lawmaker to introduce a bill to Prioritize Refugee Status For Christians Fleeing ISIS (The Hill). See also Islam Is A Religion Of Violence by Joel Miller, wherein he argues that the lack of Trinitarian doctrine corrupts the Muslim conception of God.
  5. Christian Belief Cost This Man His Job: (Wall Street Journal, Jason Riley): apparently the fire chief of Atlanta was fired because of something he said in a book he wrote. Note that this is an op-ed, not a news story.
  6. Hating Queerness Without Hating The Queer (The Atlantic, Emma Green): basically an article-length interaction with Albert Mohler’s book We Cannot Be Silent.
  7. Quick Links:

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 24

News News News 98/365In 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.

To that end, on Fridays I’ve been sharing articles/resources I have found helpful recently in thinking about broader cultural and societal issues (be sure to see the disclaimer at the bottom). May these give you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar. Past emails are archived at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links

Without further ado, I give you the interesting things:

  1. I heard a moving Radiolab episode: Gray’s Donation. If you’ve never listened to Radiolab before, I highly recommend the episodes Colors and Oops. If you’re into podcasts, check out a list of thoughtful Christian podcasts I compiled a while back.
  2. ’A Tour of Burned Churches’ Explores Race, Resilience, and Religion in America (Huffington Post, Christopher Mathias): an interview with a podcaster about a series he did on the burning of black churches in America. I have not listened to the series, but the interview was good.
  3. Data about Adults Who Do Not Believe In God (Pew Forum) — one of the charts makes me think of a funny clip about atheism as white privilege [the whole thing is worth watching, but you can jump to the sound bite at 5:45]. There is a good summary of some of the takeaways at GetReligion. On a related note, there is a study in Current Biology: The Negative Association Between Religiousness and Children’s Altruism Across The World. The comments on reddit are interesting (more interesting to me than the study itself).
  4. A somewhat contrarian piece: Liberals Are Losing The Culture War (Molly Ball, The Atlantic). A semi-response piece: This Isn’t A Culture War, It’s A War On Culture (The Federalist, David Harsanyi).
  5. File under sad: The State Department Turns Its Back on Syrian Christians and Other Non-Muslim Refugees (National Review, Nina Shea)
  6. The story I alluded to in my sermon: How Prop 47 Helped One Man Keep His Job (KQED,  Sara Hossaini). This is an illustration of what justification involves — a legal decree that exempts you from penalties the law would otherwise apply (when I quote stuff in my sermon I try to remember to share it here).
  7. Quick Links:

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.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 20

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.

To that end, on Fridays I’ve been sharing articles/resources I have found helpful recently in thinking about broader cultural and societal issues (be sure to see the disclaimer at the bottom). May these give you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar. Past emails are archived at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links

Without further ado, I give you the interesting things:

  1. From the Glen-alluded-to-this-in-his-sermon department:
  2. From the current events department
  3. From the all-things-sexual department:
  4. From the Stanford department: this Daily op-ed caught my eye: Petition To Student Activities and Leadership to End Open Membership. There was a swift nuh-uh from the administration. The petition itself is on change.org. For the record, Chi Alpha has no desire to exclude people from our ministry. I do, however, think that Stanford’s open membership policy needlessly abridges students’ constitutional right to freedom of association. As a private institution, Stanford is allowed to do that… but it is unwise to do so.

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.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 14

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.

To that end, on Fridays I’ve been sharing articles/resources I have found helpful recently in thinking about broader cultural and societal issues (be sure to see the disclaimer at the bottom). May these give you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar. Past emails are archived athttp://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links

  1. From the big-bang-faith department: Mayim Bialik: Hollywood is not friendly to people of faith (Sasha Bogursky, Fox News): Bialik, a devout Jew, is an actress on the Big Bang Theory and in real life holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience. This interview caused such comment that she posted a follow-up on her blog: Where Faith Meets Science.

  2. From the historical analysis department: Did Religion Make The Civil War Worse? (Allen Guelzo, The Atlantic): the author is a respected professor with a seminary background. I’m not sure what I think of his argument, but I did find it interesting. The article made me think about Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, which is always worth a re-read.

  3. From the happy news department: Christian Missions and the Spread of Democracy (Greg Scandlen, The Federalist): This is a summary of some rather wonderful research Robert Woodberry published in The American Political Science Review back in 2012: The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy. If it looks familiar it’s because I allude to it from time to time in my sermons and conversations.

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.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 12

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.

To that end, I share articles/resources I have found helpful recently in thinking about broader cultural and societal issues (be sure to see the disclaimer at the bottom). May these give you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar. Past emails are archived at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links

  1. From the too-close-to-home department: The Coddling of The American Mind (Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, The Atlantic): the thesis of this essay is that a “campus culture devoted to policing speech and punishing speakers is likely to engender patterns of thought that are surprisingly similar to those long identified by cognitive behavioral therapists as causes of depression and anxiety.” This is a long piece but is worth reading even if you suspect it will infuriate you. There is some insightful commentary on Reddit arguing that it’s not students who have changed but administrators.
  2. From the race-and-religion department: A Year After Ferguson, Have White Christians Learned Anything? (Russell Moore, Washington Post)
  3. From the contemporary events department:
  4. From the ISIS department:
  5. From the eat-your-wheaties department: Want ‘Sustained Happiness’? Get Religion, Study Suggests (Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Washington Post): if you have the desire, check out the original study in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

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.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 9

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.

To that end, I share articles/resources I have found helpful recently in thinking about broader cultural and societal issues (be sure to see the disclaimer at the bottom). May these give you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar. Past emails are archived at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links

  1. From the party-with-puritans department: Our Puritan Heritage (Democracy, Jim Sleeper): the author, a political science lecturer at Yale, is not a Christian. I think parts of his argument are wrong, but I found the whole thing stimulating (the comments are worth reading as well). For something more practically helpful, see Puritan Resources For Biblical Counseling (Journal of Biblical Counseling, Tim Keller): good stuff about how to grow spiritually.
  2. From the sister-in-Christ-doing-good department: Grieving Gov. Nikki Haley Forever Changed By Church Massacre (Post and Courier, Jennifer Berry Hawes): Nikki Haley, the governor of South Carolina, is an adult convert to Christianity. There’s a 2012 interview about her faith at Christianity Today.
  3. From the still-working-to-show-the-world-that-we-are-one department: Dear Pastor, Can I Come To Your Church? (Christianity Today, Bradley Wright): an interesting study on implicit racial bias in welcoming newcomers to church. It may be behind a paywall — I was able to access the whole thing but someone else told me they only got a snippet. The author, a sociologist at U Conn, gives references on his website (the Christianity Today article is a popularization of a forthcoming academic article).
  4. From the it-sounds-clever-the-first-time-you-hear-it-department: Why Privatizing Marriage Would Be A Disaster (The Week, Shikha Dalmia): I’ve heard some Christians suggest that we erect a wall of separation between marriage and state. This article suggests that is a foolish idea. For a Christian take (the author of the previous article is agnostic) that comes to similar conclusion, read Douglas Wilson’s In Which First Things Does Some Fourth Things (Doug Wilson is a fascinating and polarizing figure: read The Controversialist from Christianity Today to learn more about him).
  5. From the making-a-difference-is-hard department: The Myth of the Ethical Shopper (Huffington Post, Michael Hobbes): I posted a similar piece a few weeks ago. You have less control as a consumer than you think because companies have less control than you think.
  6. From the in-our-backyard department: Spiritual Opportunity in Silicon Valley (Leadership Journal, Daniel Darling): an interview with the author of a forthcoming book about Christianity in Silicon Valley. The book looks interesting. The author blogs at http://findinggodinsiliconvalley.com/

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.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 3

In the time of King David, the Bible says that 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.

To that end, I share articles/resources I have found helpful recently in thinking about broader cultural and societal issues (be sure to see the disclaimer at the bottom). May these give you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar.

  1. From the everyone’s a critic department: The Media Loves The Gates Foundation — These Experts Are More Skeptical (JuliaBelluz, Vox). This piece never mentions God, but I found it theologically fascinating for three reasons:
    1. This article reminds me that no matter how much good you do there will always be critics. Jesus was perfect and the world nailed him to a cross.
    2. This article reminds me that it is far easier to criticize than to accomplish. The article left me far more impressed with the Gates than with their critics. And I reflected upon the fact that the critics are unwittingly storing up judgment for themselves in heaven where they will be measured by the same standards they apply to Bill and Melinda Gates (Romans 2).
    3. But Bill and Melinda do not get off scot-free. This article also reminds me of Isaiah 64:6 — our righteous deeds are like filthy rags before the Lord. These criticisms (at least those which are well-founded) are mere hints of the limitations God sees in the righteous deeds of Bill and Melinda Gates. All of us need Jesus — even our most moral friends.
  2. From the responding to criticisms department: On Conservative Religious Activism, The Numbers Speak For Themselves (originally Washington Post, but better-formatted at RNS)  People sometimes claim that Christians spend too much of their time and money fighting political battles rather serving the poor. This op-ed provides numbers to rebut the claim. A related article by a non-Christian journalist explains why many people believe the charge despite the data:  Verily I Say Unto You: Christians Care About the Poor (Megan McArdle, Bloomberg  View).
  3. From the self-deception department: If You Use Facebook to Get Your News, Please — For the Love of Democracy — Read This First (Caitlyn Dewey, Washington Post): Nancy sent me this interesting article about how Facebook’s filtering algorithms subtly reinforce our biases. In related news, Ezra Klein at Vox explains Why The Most Informed Voters Are Often The Most Badly Misled.
  4. From the laughter is good department: Dilbert meets an Internet star. The last panel kills me. Yesterday’s strip about brainstorming was insightfully funny as well.

Suggestions for a better title/frequency/best day to send the email on/articles to consider/etc are welcome. My current plan is to send out an email with 3–5 topics every Friday.

Disclaimer

Chi Alpha is not a partisan organization. To paraphrase another minister: we are not about the donkey’s agenda and 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 will 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.