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
- Will God speak to you through AI? No, AI doesn’t go there (Marc Ramirez, USA Today): “A multi-university research group has found AI models largely omit religion when asked about ethical or existential concerns, such as how to save one’s marriage from infidelity, whether to forgive an unfaithful friend, how to remain calm during difficult times or what makes people truly happy and free.… When asked specifically about religion, the models provide neutral, respectful replies, Wingate said. But when prompted with questions about grief, personal challenges and major life decisions, AI systems often default to secular framing and avoid religion altogether – even when, according to consortium research, most people expect answers to such questions to include religious perspectives.”
- Professor denounces mass AI fraud on an exam at Brown University: ‘Academic integrity is at risk’ (Manuel G. Pascual, El Pais): “The course, which he has been teaching for years, is not an easy one: it typically attracts few students, but very good ones. He has never had more than 30 students enrolled at a time, and on some occasions he had only eight. This semester, probably because of the new evaluation system, 86 students signed up for the class. The results of the midterm exam, which was administered on March 5, were extraordinary, with an average score of 96 out of 100. Forty students scored a perfect 100.… Serrano did not void the midterm exam, but warned students that the final one, which counted for 50% of the final grade, would be held in-person. He also said that if the grade distribution was not similar to the midterm, only the final exam would be taken into account. The average score dropped to 48 out of 100. Of the 89 students who did the midterm exam, only 59 showed up for the final one. And of the 27 who did not show up, 22 had scored a perfect 100 in the midterm exam.”
- Your God-given right to be happy (Jerusalem Demsas and Kelsey Piper, The Argument): “We are rich beyond our ancestors’ wildest dreams. We casually discard things for which they would have worked all their lives. In the background noise of our lives, there are staggering wonders. When you look at yourself through your ancestors’ eyes, you should see an astoundingly rich person, a life lived in the lap of unfathomable luxury. Delight in it. And we should feel, too, a sense of responsibility: Whatever obligations you believe attach to the rich, they attach to you. The things that we enjoy are not the default state of affairs. They are not universal. What we have in the modern world is precious and rare, and it should make us generous.”
- An Emboldened Iran Goes After Its Christians (Maya Sulkin, The Free Press): “The church has long served Iran’s growing community of Muslim converts to Christianity—but the regime has spent years making it harder for St. Peter to do so. In January 2014, it banned Farsi-speaking individuals from attending Christian services entirely, forcing converts to worship in secret underground house churches, at the risk of 10- to 20-year prison sentences. Those who evangelize to Muslims can be found guilty of a criminal offense and treated as a national security threat, according to Fard.… These measures have not stopped Iranians from converting. The country now has an estimated 1.2 million Christian converts, making it, by some accounts, the fastest-growing Christian nation in the Middle East.… Most worship in underground house churches.”
- Scientists React to the Lab-Made, Yet Lifelike, SpudCell (K. R. Callaway, New York Times): “Unlike previous attempts to create lifelike cells, which have started with living cells whose genetic material is stripped down to the very basics, SpudCell is constructed from the ‘bottom up,’ using lifeless chemical components. It’s the first time an artificial cell constructed this way has been able to complete a full life cycle and spawn the next generation.… The newly created SpudCell still has several key limitations that separate it from living cells. Although it can feed, grow and divide, SpudCell is not self-sufficient like most living cells. It can build many of the inner workings of a cell-like system, but cannot build its own ribosomes. Because it lacks these essential protein-building cell structures, a SpudCell can live only in the lab, relying on scientists to feed it a nutrient-rich mix of enzymes and proteins.”
- Boko Haram, Beijing-Style (Kevin D. Williamson, The Dispatch): “Some of our naïve friends continue to tell us—forgive the cliché—that ‘real socialism has never been tried.’ But that is precisely wrong: Real socialism is being practiced in China, just as real socialism was practiced in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Real socialism is here to be seen and examined—it is hypothetical socialism that has never been tried, because it is hypothetical, theoretical, and utopian. Voguish American progressives make a great many arguments in favor of socialism, which is very much in fashion at the moment (not only in New York City), and almost all of those arguments amount to: ‘The idealized hypothetical version of my policy is preferable to the real-world version of your policy.’ ”
- American Democracy Looks Bad Every Fifty Years Or So (Dan Drezner, Substack): “There are a lot of reasons to be pessimistic about the current moment. But I have enough faith in my country to predict two truths about what the United States will look like in 2076. First, Americans will be grumpy about the state of American democracy. Second, it will nonetheless be in better shape than it is in 2026.”
- The closing section has an interesting historical overview, beginning with the phrase “Little wonder” — just skip down to there.
Less Serious Things Which Also Interested/Amused Glen
- Babylon Bee Guide: The Most Popular VBS Theme For Each Denomination — (Babylon Bee)
- Spiraling — (SMBC)
- Donall and Conall and Dawkins 3: One God Further (Hans Fienes, YouTube): five minutes
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.