Category: Links

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 505: porn, divorce, and a delightful philosopher

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

  1. The Delusion of Porn’s Harmlessness (Christine Emba, New York Times): “Despite significant evidence that a deluge of pornography has had a negative impact on modern society, there is a curious refusal, especially in progressive circles, to publicly admit disapproval of porn. Criticizing porn goes against the norm of nonjudgmentalism for people who like to consider themselves forward-thinking, thoughtful and open-minded.… But a lack of judgment sometimes comes at the expense of discernment. As a society, we are allowing our desires to continue to be molded in experimental ways, for profit, by an industry that does not have our best interests at heart.”
  2. Divorce, Family Arrangements, and Children’s Adult Outcomes (Andrew C. Johnston,  Maggie R. Jones  & Nolan G. Pope, NBER): “We find that parental divorce reduces children’s adult earnings and college residence while increasing incarceration, mortality, and teen births.” 
    • This paper will have significant influence — expect to see its findings quoted in op-eds and public debates. The authors are at UT Austin, the Census Bureau, and U of Maryland. Excerpt is from the abstract. It’s a 30 page paper with about 30 more pages of graphs and charts.
  3. Two perspectives on AI: 
    • Everyone’s Using AI To Cheat at School. That’s a Good Thing. (Tyler Cowen, The Free Press): “Unlike many people who believe this spells the end of quality American education, I think this crisis is ultimately good news. And not just because I believe American education was already in a profound crisis—the result of ideological capture, political monoculture, and extreme conformism—long before the LLMs. These models are such great cheating aids because they are also such great teachers. Often they are better than the human teachers we put before our kids, and they are far cheaper at that. They will not unionize or attend pro-Hamas protests.”
    • Why We’re Unlikely to Get Artificial General Intelligence Anytime Soon (Cade Metz, New York Times): “It is indisputable that today’s machines have already eclipsed the human brain in some ways, but that has been true for a long time. A calculator can do basic math faster than a human. Chatbots like ChatGPT can write faster, and as they write, they can instantly draw on more texts than any human brain could ever read or remember. These systems are exceeding human performance on some tests involving high-level math and coding. But people cannot be reduced to these benchmarks.”
  4. Remembering Alasdair MacIntyre (1929–2025) (Christopher Kaczor, Word on Fire): “MacIntyre was proud never to have earned a PhD: ‘I won’t go so far as to say that you have a deformed mind if you have a PhD, but you will have to work extra hard to remain educated.’ However, his prolific research won him ten honorary doctorates and appointments as Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, an Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Academy, and Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He held academic positions at Oxford, Yale, Manchester, Leeds, Essex, University of Copenhagen, Aarhus, Brandeis, Boston University, Wellesley College, Vanderbilt, London Metropolitan University, Duke, and three appointments at Princeton. But he found a lasting home at the University of Notre Dame.” 
    • Full of delightful anecdotes about an amazing Catholic philosopher.
  5. An Efilist Just Bombed a Fertility Clinic. Was This Bound To Happen? (Katherine Dee, Substack): “In 2006 the South African philosopher David Benatar published Better Never to Have Been, arguing that existence itself is harm, because, according to him, the absence of pain is always good while the absence of pleasure matters only to someone forced to miss it. His book supplied the term antinatalism and the asymmetrical equation that sustains it: any new birth inevitably adds suffering to the ledger.… To make a long story short—too short, in fact, there’s a documentary worth of story in this—Gary Mosher, an irascible vlogger and erstwhile amateur physicist best known as Inmendham, ended up coining efilism—‘life’ spelled backwards—during this period to insist that every sentient organism is a factory for pain and ought to be snuffed out.” 
    • Actually wild. I often criticize utilitarianism and its offshoots, this story illustrates the things I warn about in a tragic way.
  6. The Man Who Knew When to Step Down (David French, New York Times): “We live in a country that is positively obsessed with career success and thus defines people through their work more than through their family — or even their individual virtue. In many of America’s elite circles, you are your career, and when your career is over, how much of you remains? Again, this isn’t simply a problem for judges and politicians. The problem isn’t solely how the powerful define themselves; it’s how we define them. It’s how we choose whom to respect and honor. It takes a person of real fortitude and self-respect simply to walk away.”
  7. The myth of the single market (Luis Garicano, Substack): “The IMF puts the hidden cost of trading goods inside the EU at the equivalent of a 45% tariff. For services the figure climbs to 110%, higher than Trump’s ‘Liberation day’ tariffs on Chinese imports—measures many saw as a near-embargo.… As a result, actual trade between EU countries is less than half that between US states.” 
    • The author is a professor of public policy at the London School of Economics and a former EU member of parliament.

Less Serious Things Which Also Interested/Amused Glen

  • Hidden In Oklahoma Is The Only All-You-Can Eat Chick-Fil‑A In America (Natalie Avila, Mashed): “Since 2005, the University of Oklahoma has offered its students all-you-can-eat Chick-fil‑A, serving chicken sandwiches, nuggets, waffle fries, and sauces. It’s located inside the Couch Restaurants Diner, a food hall attached to a freshman dorm that always offers unlimited bites. The dining hall welcomes current university students, employees, and guests of both.”
  • Move Toward The Light (Loose Parts)
  • Gently (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.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 504: AI Caution, Christian Racial Dynamics, and USA > Europe.

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

  1. The Whispering Earring (Scott Alexander): “The earring is a little topaz tetrahedron dangling from a thin gold wire. When worn, it whispers in the wearer’s ear: ‘Better for you if you take me off.’ If the wearer ignores the advice, it never again repeats that particular suggestion.” 
    • A brief story. 10/10 recommend. You should all read this. It is a few years old yet you will find it timely.
  2. These Internal Documents Show Why We Shouldn’t Trust Porn Companies (Nicholas Kristof, New York Times): “What goes through the minds of people working at porn companies profiting from videos of children being raped? Thanks to a filing error in a Federal District Court in Alabama, releasing thousands of pages of internal documents from Pornhub that were meant to be sealed, we now know.… Internal memos seem to show executives obsessed with making money by attracting the biggest audiences they could, pedophiles included. In one memo, Pornhub managers proposed words to be banned from video descriptions — such as ‘infant’ and ‘kiddy’ — while recommending that the site continue to allow ‘brutal,’ ‘childhood,’ ‘force,’ ‘snuffs,’ ‘unwilling,’ ‘minor’ and ‘wasted.’ One internal note says that a person who posted a sexual video of a child shouldn’t be banned from the site because ‘the user made money.’” 
    • This is a distressing read. Kristof has been persistent on this issue and it is much to his credit. Unlocked.
  3. What Were the Real Origins of the Christian Right? (Daniel K. Williams, Mere Orthodoxy): “There’s a better way to tell the story of the Christian Right’s origins that makes sense of all the data – the timing of the Christian Right’s formation, the commitment of evangelicals to the Republican Party, and even the enthusiasm of evangelical voters for Donald Trump.” 
    • The author is a history professor at Ashland University.
  4. A Battle That Shaped Black Evangelicals (Jessica Janvier, Christianity Today): “In universities, the history of the early Black church found a home in Africana studies, which focused more on the growth of Christianity among Black people and less on the type of Christianity they practiced. In contrast, the written history of early evangelicalism predominantly followed the lives of its white leaders and subscribers. But even though we’ve inherited segregated stories, history paints a picture of an integrated story in which Black evangelicals always existed.”
  5. Continental Divide (Yascha Mounk, The Dispatch): “Today, to an extent that few people on either continent have fully internalized, a significant economic gulf separates America and Europe. On average, Americans are now nearly twice as rich as Europeans.” 
    • A thoughtful article that anticipates and effectively responds to the most common objections to its thesis.
  6. The Professors Are Using ChatGPT, and Some Students Aren’t Happy About It (Kashmir Hill, New York Times): “The Times contacted dozens of professors whose students had mentioned their A.I. use in online reviews.… There was no consensus among them as to what was acceptable. Some acknowledged using ChatGPT to help grade students’ work; others decried the practice. Some emphasized the importance of transparency with students when deploying generative A.I., while others said they didn’t disclose its use because of students’ skepticism about the technology. Most, however, felt that Ms. Stapleton’s experience at Northeastern — in which her professor appeared to use A.I. to generate class notes and slides — was perfectly fine.”
  7. ‘We Are the Most Rejected Generation’ (David Brooks, New York Times): “…I had phone conversations with current college students and recent graduates, focusing on elite schools where I assumed the ethos of exclusion might be strongest. I asked the students if the ‘most rejected generation’ thesis resonated with them. Every single one said it did. Several of them told me that they had thought that once they got into a superselective college, the rat race would be over. On the contrary, the Hunger Games had just begun.” 
    • Unlocked.

Less Serious Things Which Also Interested/Amused Glen

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.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 503: unwise vulnerability, college cheating, and imperfect moms

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

  1. How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love L.A.(Natalie Benes, Palladium Magazine): “Here was the truth that the L.A. girls understand better than anyone: when you are ‘vulnerable’ and ‘authentic,’ when you ‘destigmatize your trauma’ the way we were always encouraged to do, you are advertising that other people in your life have treated you badly. When you mention at a cocktail party that you had a mom who threw dinner plates at you, or an ex-boyfriend who said mean things about your eyebrows, or a landlord who shafted you on your security deposit, or whatever else, the wrong person hears ‘he got away with it, why can’t I?’ He spots a wounded deer unable to protect itself, perpetually separated from the happy herd by its injuries. There is a deep unfairness in the fact that people who have been dealt the most hardships in life are the least served by ‘living their truth.’ ” 
    • A fascinating article. The wisdom it offers is incomplete but real — and it is wisdom many young people need to hear. The author is a Yale grad and I think many Stanford students could benefit from her insight.
  2. Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College (James D. Walsh, New York Magazine): “It isn’t as if cheating is new. But now, as one student put it, ‘the ceiling has been blown off.’ Who could resist a tool that makes every assignment easier with seemingly no consequences? After spending the better part of the past two years grading AI-generated papers, Troy Jollimore, a poet, philosopher, and Cal State Chico ethics professor, has concerns. ‘Massive numbers of students are going to emerge from university with degrees, and into the workforce, who are essentially illiterate,’ he said. ‘Both in the literal sense and in the sense of being historically illiterate and having no knowledge of their own culture, much less anyone else’s.’ ”
  3. On mothers:
    • On Mother’s Day: Stop blaming moms and start taking responsibility for your life (Zachary Gottlieb, Stanford Daily): “Then one night, the ‘Morning Show’ video popped up on my phone. Among the GenZ influencers talking about why they cut their ‘toxic’ and ‘narcissistic’ moms out of their lives, the algorithm fed me its counterpoint. And while Alex might have seemed unhinged in her outburst, what she said about the weight of her daughter’s expectations rang true. Mesmerized, I watched it several times in a row, and then I had a realization: maybe we kids were guilty of a kind of narcissism too?” 
      • There is a weird rabbit trail in this article about gender which greatly weakens it (because some of y’all blame your dads instead of / in addition to your moms), but the core point hones in on a great weakness many young people possess. To all college students: your parents are people, too. They did some things well and some things badly and now we are where we are. If they did something criminal then prosecute them, but otherwise many people need an epiphany like the author of this article.
      • Having said that, some of you have some truly bad parents. I’m not saying treat unhealthy people like they’re wonderful in every way and invite them to come mess up your life. I am saying that at some point you have to take responsibility for who you’ve become regardless of your folks’ health or unhealth. 
      • Another way to put this: most of you will go on to be good parents who nonetheless cause your children pain and frustration in addition to all the good you do in their lives. Follow the Golden Rule and regard your parents now like you hope your own children regard you someday. 
    • My Mom was a Praying Woman…But not Like You Think (Mike Glenn, Substack): “To understand my mother, you have to know she had no adolescence. Her mother died when she was twelve and overnight, my mother became an adult. She had three younger sisters, and she felt it became her responsibility to raise them. My mom started driving when she was fourteen. She didn’t go get a license. She just started driving. The sheriff pulled her over once and told her to get a license, but he didn’t give her a ticket. My mom kept driving.” 
      • A beautiful (and instructive) story.
  4. People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies (Miles Klee, Rolling Stone): “Speaking to Rolling Stone, the teacher, who requested anonymity, said her partner of seven years fell under the spell of ChatGPT in just four or five weeks, first using it to organize his daily schedule but soon regarding it as a trusted companion. ‘He would listen to the bot over me,’ she says. ‘He became emotional about the messages and would cry to me as he read them out loud. The messages were insane and just saying a bunch of spiritual jargon,’ she says, noting that they described her partner in terms such as ‘spiral starchild’ and ‘river walker.’ ‘It would tell him everything he said was beautiful, cosmic, groundbreaking,’ she says. ‘Then he started telling me he made his AI self-aware, and that it was teaching him how to talk to God, or sometimes that the bot was God — and then that he himself was God.’”
  5. The Three Layers of the Marriage Pyramid (J. D. Greear, blog): “Marriage, in other words, is fundamentally about friendship. Not child-rearing. Not sex. Friendship. Which means that what you should most be looking for when you date is someone who can be your friend. Because that’s God’s earthly purpose for marriage. Think of it like building a pyramid with spiritual, emotional, and physical layers.”
  6. Yes, Harvard Deserves Due Process (Greg Lukianoff & Adam Goldstein, Persuasion): “This isn’t the first time the Civil Rights Act has been misused in this way. Under the Obama and Biden administrations, the Departments of Justice and Education issued Title IX enforcement letters pressuring universities to rewrite sexual misconduct procedures and to adopt unconstitutionally overbroad definitions of sexual harassment. It was wrong then to use enforcement letters to make unconstitutional demands of institutions, and it is wrong now. If the government believes it has the power to do this through ordinary processes, it should use them. If the government does not believe it has that power, it shouldn’t.”
    • FIRE (with which the two authors are associated) and the Becket Fund are two praiseworthy law firms. Each has taken up part of the mantle the ACLU claims to bear, and we are all blessed by their principled advocacy.
  7. The Resistance Is Gonna Be Woke (Yascha Mounk, Substack): “As I have written many times before, it is a profound mistake to think that left-wing identitarianism and right-wing reaction are implacable enemies. In reality, every victory for one of these ideological currents immediately strengthens those who fight for the other. The way out of this dangerous spiral is not to pick one side as the lesser evil and shut up about its dangers; it is, calmly and consistently, to resist both.”

Less Serious Things Which Also Interested/Amused Glen

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.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 502: political faith, sexual mores, young adulthood

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

  1. The Christian Right Is Going Extinct (David French, New York Times): “The Christian right is dead, but the religious right is stronger than it’s ever been. Another way of putting it is that the religious right has divorced itself from historical Christian theology but still holds its partisan beliefs with religious intensity. The religious fervor is there. Christian virtues are not.” 
    • Unlocked. This article generated more discussion when shared with my students this week than any other.
  2. God’s Guidelines for Sex Aren’t Arbitrary (Trevin Wax, The Gospel Coalition): “Just as sin is like leprosy that deadens our ability to feel, so also with pornography there follows a deadening of the senses and the searing of the conscience. What once was sexually stirring no longer holds any power. That’s not because the person watching porn has become more alive but because they’ve become more dead. Could there be a better example of the wages of sin being death?” 
    • I wish he had chosen a different topic for his second example (perhaps promiscuity), because the contentiousness around his second example will limit his article’s overall appeal. I commend him for stating his views forthrightly.
  3. A Global Flourishing Study Finds That Young Adults, Well, Aren’t (Christina Caron, New York Times): “Young adulthood has long been considered a carefree time, a period of limitless opportunity and few obligations. But data from the flourishing study and elsewhere suggests that for many people, this notion is more fantasy than reality. A 2023 report from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, for example, found that young adults ages 18–25 in the United States reported double the rates of anxiety and depression as teens. On top of that, perfectionism has skyrocketed among college students, who often report feeling pressure to meet unrealistic expectations. Participation in community organizations, clubs and religious groups has declined, and loneliness is now becoming as prevalent among young adults as it is among older adults.”
  4. Don’t Wait for Your Teacher (Aliza J. Fassett, The Dispatch): “By the end of my first week of work, three people told me Middlemarch was their favorite book. I had never heard of it.  It would have been easy to shake my fist and curse the course crafters for the sorry state of my literary repertoire, but nobody had actually stopped me from reading the great works. In other words, it was at least partly my own damn fault—and it would be my own job to fix the problem. So, I committed to reading what I perceived to be the most referenced works of literature—commonly referred to as the ‘great books.’ And once I started, I gained access to what felt like a whole new method of understanding the human experience.”
  5. Marry Early and Flourish Together (Kasen Stephensen, Institute for Family Studies): “During my junior year at Stanford, I remember an assignment where we filled out a five-year plan with a professional and personal goal for each year. I planned to marry my then-fiancée that year, so my personal goals were straightforward: have a wedding and start having kids over the following years. I knew my situation in life relative to my classmates was unusual, but I didn’t realize how different my approach was until I shared my plan in a small group setting.” 
    • I do not believe I ever met Kasen while he was a student. I had absolutely zero influence on this guy: he has arrived at his conclusions independently. I encourage all young people to read this data-driven article.
  6. How to have friends past age 30 (Noah Smith, Substack): “…make new friends by inviting them to join an existing friend group.  Basically, instead of ‘Hey, want to come hang out with me?’, it’s easier to ask a new acquaintance ‘Hey, want to come hang out with me and my friends?’. The first is a bigger ask — it’s basically like a friend date (and might sometimes get mistaken for an actual date). The latter is much lower stakes. Your friend group also serves as a source of ‘social proof’ — basically, a new friend can see that people like you, which makes them less afraid of becoming your friend.” 
    • The article is full of good advice for soon-to-be-grads
  7. Testing AI’s GeoGuessr Genius (Scott Alexander, Astral Codex Ten): “When I was younger, I liked to hike mountains. The highest I ever got was 18,000 feet, on Kala Pattar, a few miles north of Gorak Shep in Nepal. To commemorate the occasion, I planted the flag of the imaginary country simulation that I participated in at the time (just long enough to take this picture — then I unplanted it). I chose this picture because it denies o3 the two things that worked for it before — vegetation and sky — in favor of random rocks. And because I thought the flag of a nonexistent country would at least give it pause. o3 guessed: ‘Nepal, just north-east of Gorak Shep, ±8 km’ This is exactly right. I swear I screenshot-copy-pasted this so there’s no way it can be in the metadata, and I’ve never given o3 any reason to think I’ve been to Nepal.”

Less Serious Things Which Also Interested/Amused Glen

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.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 501: college students, colleges, and youth in general



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.

I’ve had a scattered week, so a lil’ less content than usual here. Enjoy!

Things Glen Found Interesting

  1. Secular College Students Find Ordinary Christianity Persuasive (Dylan Musser, The Gospel Coalition): “I serve as a campus minister at one of the most prestigious and secular universities in the South, and I’ve noticed that many students have become disenchanted with secularism.… The visible beauty of ordinary Christian living is a persuasive apologetic for today’s students. It may encourage even skeptical students to reconsider a faith they’ve dismissed.” 
    • The author does campus ministry at Vanderbilt.
  2. How Gen Z Became the Most Gullible Generation (Catherine Kim, Politico): “It’s a startling reality about Gen Z, backed up by multiple studies and what we can all see for ourselves: The most online generation is also the worst at discerning fact from fiction on the internet.”
  3. The Road to Campus Serfdom (John O. McGinnis, Law & Liberty): “Today’s circumstances starkly illustrate how expansive federal control over civil society, originally celebrated by progressives, returns to haunt its architects. The left’s outrage ought to focus not on this particular administration but on its own reckless empowerment of the state.” 
    • The author is a law professor at Northwestern.
  4. The Christian and Jewish Israelis Protecting West Bank Palestinians (Jill Nelson, Christianity Today): “Jonathan Pex is concerned about his Palestinian Bedouin neighbors in the West Bank’s South Hebron Hills. They’re sheepherders who live in an expansive cave outfitted with solar electricity, ten minutes from Pex’s home. The region has seen an uptick in Israeli settler violence against Palestinians since the October 2023 Hamas attacks, and the Palestinian family is afraid they may be next on the settlers’ hit list, as they’ve had several disputes with their neighbors over grazing rights.… ‘I’m going to do whatever I can to support them,’ Pex said. ‘Jesus would have really had a heart for these people.’” 
    • A fascinating story.
  5. Make Christianity cool again: Why Gen Z is flocking to church (Helen Coffey, The Independent): “Interestingly, a major piece of research on teenage wellbeing conducted by scientists at the University of Oxford and Swansea University last year found that just three elements strongly correlated with better adolescent mental health: getting enough sleep, regular exercise and – wait for it – attending religious services.” 
    • A British perspective on religious renewal among young people.

Less Serious Things Which Also Interested/Amused Glen

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.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 500: faith, China, and Trump

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.

This is the 500th time I’ve composed this email. I thought I might do something special this week to commemorate that milestone, but there are too many interesting articles I’ve run across — this will a regular installment. Enjoy!

Maybe when we get to volume 520 — that will signify ten years of emails.

Things Glen Found Interesting

  1. Americans Haven’t Found a Satisfying Alternative to Religion (Lauren Jackson, New York Times): “America’s secularization was an immense social transformation. Has it left us better off? People are unhappier than they’ve ever been and the country is in an epidemic of loneliness. It’s not just secularism that’s to blame, but those without religious affiliation in particular rank lower on key metrics of well-being. They feel less connected to others, less spiritually at peace and they experience less awe and gratitude regularly.” 
    • Unlocked. Note that this is not in the opinion section (somewhat surprisingly, it is in the style section). The author is an ex-Mormon.
  2. Ross Douthat: Why It’s Logical to Believe in God (Bari Weiss interviewing Ross Douthat, The Free Press): “The book of Genesis begins with an admonition: Fill the Earth, and subdue it. We’ve done that. We have reached an interesting point in history from a religious point of view. And there’s a really open question—where do we go next? Do we collapse? Do we go to the stars? Do we become transhuman? Do we merge with the machines and so on? So, it’s a high-stakes moment. And if God exists and he has intentions for us, it’s really important at a high-stakes moment to take those intentions into account. I think of people like Musk and Altman. The contest for their literal souls is really important to the whole future of the human race. If God exists, it’s a big moment. You want belief to win out over the alternatives.”
  3. The Conventional Wisdom Is That China Is Beating Us. Nonsense. (Tyler Cowen, The Free Press): “The bottom line is that the smartest entities in the world—the top AI programs—will not just be Western but likely even American in their intellectual and ideological orientations for some while to come.… Moving to a world where the AIs are the smartest entities in China, rather than the CCP, is for China a radical change—and one the CCP is probably very afraid of. Much of the legitimacy of the CCP sprang from its claim to be a wise manager of the Chinese legacy. But now it will be outsourcing that management to Western-based AI models. From a Western geopolitical point of view, that could end up a lot better, and more effective, than planting a bunch of spies in the Chinese government.”
  4. Chris Tomlin’s New Song Resurrects The World’s Oldest Known Hymn (Bob Smietana, The Roys Report): “A new version of the Oxyrhynchus Hymn debuted last week, courtesy of a new translation from Dickson and help from Chris Tomlin and Ben Fielding, two of the most popular modern worship songwriters.… ‘I think the most theologically significant thing is that it’s a hymn to the Trinity — Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the century before the Nicene Creed,’ he said.” 
  5. Belief in an Afterlife is Increasing in the United States (Ryan Burge, Substack): “In that first data collection in 1973, about 76% of folks believed in something beyond this life. But by 1990, that figure had crept up to just about 80% and it continued to rise very slowly from there. Really, from 2000 all the way through 2022, the estimates are all basically the same. Even today, the share of Americans who believe in life after death is 82%. When people ask me, “Is the United States a religious country?” This is the stat that I’m going to trot out.’ ” 
    • Emphasis removed for readability.
  6. The Rotten Fruit of Obergefell: On the Kelly Loving Act (Jake Meador, Mere Orthodoxy): “For the past ten years we have already held, as a nation, that the state defines marriage. Why then should the state not also get to define what a parent is or what good parenting is? The Kelly Loving Act, in other words, is an obvious outworking of the logic of Obergefell, the Supreme Court ruling that redefined marriage.”
  7. Trump is all over the news. Here are some things that caught my interest. Remember that my sharing an article is not a sign that I agree with it completely, it is a merely a sign that I think it makes points or tells a story worth considering. See the disclaimers at the bottom: I assure you they are heartfelt. 
    • Get Out by Good Friday, Feds Say to Afghan Christians (John McCormack, The Dispatch): “Ahmad’s conversion to Christianity after attending a university in Afghanistan led to his imprisonment by the Taliban—where he said he was beaten and tortured via electric shock—before fellow Christians were able to ransom him from Taliban captivity. The same Christians who got Ahmad out of prison then got him out of Afghanistan by helping him travel to Brazil. Ahmad traversed on foot the Darién Gap that connects Central and South America for three days and ultimately—after presenting himself at the southern U.S. border seeking asylum—made a home for himself in Raleigh.…  Ahmad, like some other Afghans legally living in the United States, received a letter from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) telling him he must leave the country by Good Friday.”
    • Precedent Trump (Jonah Goldberg, The Dispatch): “It has been a dream of the left for ages to get rid of the tax-exempt status and relative autonomy of religious institutions—Christian universities, charities, hospitals, etc. If Trump succeeds in making the IRS revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status, based in no small part on personal opposition to what Harvard teaches, what will be the principled objection to a President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Elizabeth Warren when the Eye of Mordor swings rightward?”
    • No, the President Has Not Defied a Supreme Court Ruling (Jeb Rubenfeld, The Free Press): “Due process is a bulwark of the Constitution and the rule of law, and the courts must not allow its violation. But Trump opponents, like Professor Snyder, are making a mistake when they try to paint this case as a massive assault on due process. For now at least, this case is another example of the hyperbole over a Trump run-in with the courts outrunning the facts of the case.” 
      • The author is a professor of constitutional law at Yale. I found this article reassuring in the abstract, while still being displeased over the particulars of this case. There’s a significant difference between deporting someone from the country and deporting them into a foreign prison.
    • Inside the ‘Tropical Gulag’ in El Salvador Where U.S. Detainees Are Being Held (Annie Correal, New York Times): “Deaths and physical abuse in CECOT remain undocumented because of a lack of access to inmates or anyone who has been released, said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. But, she added, ‘Based on the torture and mistreatment we have documented in other prisons in El Salvador, we have every reason to believe that people sent to CECOT are at high risk of abuse.’ The U.S. government itself spotlighted atrocities in El Salvador’s prisons in 2023. At El Salvador’s two dozen other jails, rights groups have documented systematic torture, forced confessions and what Noah Bullock, the executive director of the Salvadoran human rights group Cristosal, calls ‘the intentional denial of access to basic necessities like food, water, health care, hygiene.’” 
      • I find these allegations plausible because of my belief in depravity. Humans do bad things when they have people completely under their control, especially when there is little external oversight or accountability. We may learn in time that the details are off, but the essential complaint is almost certainly correct.
    • White House of Worship: Christian Prayer Rings Out Under Trump (Elizabeth Dias & Ruth Graham, New York Times): “Routinely, and often at Mr. Trump’s enthusiastic direction, senior administration officials and allied pastors are infusing their brand of Christian worship into the workings of the White House itself, suggesting that his campaign promise to ‘bring back Christianity’ is taking tangible root.… Mr. Trump’s team has hosted briefings and listening sessions billed as opportunities for the leaders to share their particular concerns, which have ranged widely: religious liberty, adoption and foster care, the breakdown of the nuclear family, human trafficking, urban poverty and antisemitism, among others.”
    • All the President’s Pastors: Who’s Advising Trump? (Harvest Prude, Christianity Today): “The president hasn’t publicly attended a church service since his inauguration day, he doesn’t hold membership in a particular congregation or denomination, he’s gone back and forth over whether he needs to ask for God’s forgiveness, and he avoids speaking in detail about his personal devotional life, so what we know about Trump’s faith comes largely from the pastors around him at the White House—starting with Paula White-Cain.”

Less Serious Things Which Also Interested/Amused Glen

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.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 499: OCD, Morality, and Tariffs



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.

Next week is volume 500. I can’t decide whether it will be just another issue or something a lil’ different.

Things Glen Found Interesting

  1. In his own words: Colts RT Braden Smith’s desperate, life-threatening fight vs OCD (Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star): “Smith has always gone to church, but he’d committed fully to his Christian faith, and an obsessive-compulsive disorder began to warp his faith into something sinister. From the outside, it looked like Smith was diving deep into his faith. He devoured the Bible, quoted Scripture, sought out believers for conversations. He prayed constantly and started listening to Christian music exclusively. Internally, a disorder Smith didn’t realize he had was twisting the words. ‘There’s the actual, real, true, living God,’ Smith said. ‘And then there’s my OCD god, and the OCD god is this condemning (deity). It’s like every wrong move you make, it’s like smacking the ruler against his hand. “Another bad move like that and you’re out of here.“ ‘” 
    • A gripping story.
  2. Appealing to Moral Sentiments in an Amoral Age (O. Alan Noble, Substack): “…the moral sentiments people have can be real indications of spiritual realities.
    The anxiety a young woman feels about her identity may be a real indication that expressive individualism is hollow. The loneliness a young woman feels in vapid, greedy sexual relationships may be a real indication that sex was created for union (and procreation). Instead of treating emotions as random or irrelevant or conceding that negative emotions are exclusively the purview of the therapist and psychiatrist, we acknowledge that the felt experiences of young women are a sign pointing them to who they were created to be. And this isn’t just true for young women. I think there are many young men who need to hear this approach as well.”
  3. About the tariffs: 
    • Trade deficits do not make a country poorer (Noah Smith, Substack): “Does using your credit card to buy a washing machine from Target mean that Target has ripped you off? No. Does it make you poorer when you use your credit card to buy a washing machine from Target? Nope. You now have less money, but you have more stuff. In just the same way, a trade deficit means that the U.S. has less money and more stuff. It does not mean America is poorer, or that it has been ripped off by foreigners.” 
      • This is a helpful explainer of some key concepts which are in the news.
    • Donald Trump’s economic masterplan (Yanis Varoufakis, Unherd): “Though we risk the abyss staring back when we attempt to gaze into Trump’s mind, we do need a grasp of his thinking on three fundamental questions: why does he believe that America is exploited by the rest of the world? What is his vision for a new international order in which America can be ‘great’ again? How does he plan to bring it about? Only then can we produce a sensible critique of Trump’s economic masterplan.” 
      • Recommended to me by an alumnus. The things I find most interesting about this one is (a) it’s by a foreign expert [an economist who served as the Greek minister of finance] and (b) although written in February it anticipated the type of tariff that was implemented (trade imbalance tariffs) instead of what had been expected (reciprocal tariffs).
    • There’s a Method to Trump’s Tariff Madness (Jennifer Burns, New York Times): “Mr. Trump’s tariffs aren’t really about tariffs. They are the opening gambit in a more ambitious plan to smash the world’s economic and geopolitical order and replace it with something intended to better serve American interests. This plan is often referred to as the Mar-a-Lago Accord.” 
      • The author is a history professor at Stanford.
  4. What Age Do People Around the World Think Is Best to Reach Major Life Milestones? (Janell Fetterolf et al, Pew Research): “When is the right time in life to get married or have a child? What is the best age to buy a home? Is there an ideal age for retirement? We asked adults in 18 mostly middle-income countries what they think is the best age to reach these life milestones. Overall, there is a lot of agreement around the world. On average across the countries surveyed, people say it is best to get married and have a first child around 26 years old.… Generally, people across the 18 countries surveyed think it’s best to get married in one’s mid-20s. Average ideal ages range from 21.2 in Bangladesh to 28.9 in Argentina.” 
    • Emphasis in original.
  5. Why Palestinian Christians Feel Betrayed by American Christians (Nicholas Kristof, New York Times): “Fewer than 2 percent of West Bank Palestinians today are Christian, but they are an influential minority who endure the same land grabs and hardships as the majority Muslim population.” 
    • It is a short column, but one thing I wish Kristof had parsed out were the differences between Palestinian evangelicals and Palestinian Catholics and Palestinian mainline Protestants. I think they each have different things to say. 
    • Recommended by a student.
  6. Nearly 300 Students Have Had Visas Revoked and Could Face Deportation (Vimal Patel, Miriam Jordan & Halina Bennet, New York Times): “Nearly 300 international students were abruptly stripped of their ability to stay in the United States in recent days, according to universities and media reports, sowing fear among students and confusion at schools scrambling to help students facing detention and possible deportation.… In some cases, immigration officers have arrested international students related to their involvement in pro-Palestinian causes. In other cases, students had committed legal infractions, such as driving over the speed limit or while intoxicated, often years ago, several immigration lawyers said in interviews. But lawyers said the Trump administration had often given no reason at all, leaving them to guess why students were targeted.… The United States issued more than 400,000 visas to students in 2024.” 
    • While I am sure almost all international students find the policies distressing, they should find the data in this article reassuring. To date fewer than one tenth of one percent of international students have had their visas revoked. 300/400000 = .00075 
  7. Institutions Don’t Maintain Themselves (James Diddams, Christianity Today): “Jesus told Peter to forgive the brother or sister who sins against him ‘not seven times, but seventy-seven times’ (Matt. 18:21–22). I’ve come to think Christians have some obligation of forgiveness to our institutions, too—some duty of love and sacrifice to preserve and repair these rightfully time-honored ways of organizing and shaping our lives.… Where did we ever get the idea that these institutions would somehow maintain themselves? That they would always be there for us, meeting all our hopes, in perfect working order, without repair or forgiveness from us?”

Less Serious Things Which Also Interested/Amused Glen

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.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 498: Armageddon, arXiv, and penguins

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

  1. Archaeologists find first evidence of epic biblical battle at ‘Armageddon’ (Rossella Tercatin, The Times of Israel): “For the first time, a team of Israeli archaeologists has uncovered ancient artifacts at northern Israel’s ‘Armageddon’ site that might offer proof of an epic battle documented in the books of Kings II and Chronicles between a king of Judah and an Egyptian pharaoh. Two academic papers published earlier this year explained how an unprecedented amount of 7th-century BCE Egyptian pottery was found in recent excavations at Megiddo, suggesting that Egyptian soldiers were indeed in the right biblical place at what could be the right biblical period.”
  2. ‘I Applied for a Work Visa—and Was Thrown in Prison for Weeks’ (Jasmine Mooney, The Free Press): “Then I was taken to the nurse’s office for a medical check. She asked what had happened to me and said she had never seen a Canadian here before. When I told her my story, she looked at me, grabbed my hand, and said, ‘Do you believe in God?’ I told her I had only recently found God, but that I now believed in God more than anything. ‘I believe God brought you here for a reason,’ she said. ‘I know it feels like your life is in a million pieces, but you will be okay. Through this, I think you are going to find a way to help others.’ She asked if she could pray for me. I held her hands and wept.”
  3. Inside arXiv—the Most Transformative Platform in All of Science (Sheon Han, Wired): “For scientists, imagining a world without arXiv is like the rest of us imagining one without public libraries or GPS. But a look at its inner workings reveals that it isn’t a frictionless utopia of open-access knowledge. Over the years, arXiv’s permanence has been threatened by everything from bureaucratic strife to outdated code to even, once, a spy scandal. In the words of Ginsparg, who usually redirects interview requests to an FAQ document—on arXiv, no less—and tried to talk me out of visiting him in person, arXiv is ‘a child I sent off to college but who keeps coming back to camp out in my living room, behaving badly.’”
  4. Rubio Orders U.S. Diplomats to Scour Student Visa Applicants’ Social Media (Edward Wong, New York Times): “As a senator from Florida, Mr. Rubio pressed the Biden administration’s State Department, run by Antony J. Blinken, to cancel the visas of students involved in campus protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Since becoming secretary of state in late January, Mr. Rubio has revoked perhaps 300 or more visas, many of them belonging to students, he told reporters last Thursday. He said he had been signing letters daily revoking visas.”
  5. Trump’s intuitions on tariffs won’t help Americans (or penguins) (Megan McArdle, Washington Post): “…I spent the twilight hours goggling at the Trump administration’s new tariff schedule, trying to grasp its logic. For example, the tariffs on the Heard and McDonald islands, which have populations of zero, except for the penguins and assorted other animals. I mean, I’m glad that the rapacious waddlers will no longer fleece American consumers by dumping their shoddy goods on our markets. But still the thing vexed me … what do penguins export? Besides nature documentaries, I mean. Obviously someone at the White House, possibly a soon-to-be-ex intern, pulled up a list of territories without checking whether those territories were, you know, inhabited.” 
    • Unlocked. As McArdle notes, a single absurdity like that is not unusual for a massive federal policy. She moves quickly to a substantive critique.
    • Related: Kakistocracy as a Natural Result of Populism (Richard Hanania, Substack): “The formula of ‘reciprocity’ being used is so stupid I approach the topic with awe, and have an almost superstitious feeling that if I even describe it I’ll somehow become stupider myself… The word ‘kakistocracy’ means rule by those least suited to govern. His argument, similar to one I’ve made before, is that Trump only cares about loyalty, and a movement that prioritizes loyalty to a single extremely flawed man is going to facilitate the worst people rising to the top.” 
      • A wild rant, plus I learned a new word.
  6. The Greatest Hate Hoax of All Time? The Canadian ‘Mass Graves’ Lie Unravels (Wilfred Reilly, National Review): “…there is a roughly 0.00 percent chance that there are actually 200 dead Native kids interred on the grounds of a well-known boarding school that operated until 1978. Such things happen in the Saw movies, not in urban modern Canada. And, as I note in my earlier piece on this topic: ‘Kamloops Residential School is located smack-dab in the middle of both the well-known Kamloops Indian Reservation and the 100,000 person city of Kamloops in British Columbia.’ Noting this himself, Dr. Rouillard asks: ‘Is it really credible that the remains of 200 children were buried clandestinely in a mass grave, on the reserve itself, without any reaction from the Band Council, until last summer?’” 
    • The author is a political scientist at Kentucky State (which I learned today is a HBCU) whose scholarship focuses on hate crime hoaxes.
  7. ‘Our Kids Are the Least Flourishing Generation We Know Of’ (Ezra Klein, New York Times): “Teenagers are desperate for prestige. And what the social media companies did — and we know this from things that insiders have said — is they hacked that. Normally, throughout history, to become prestigious, you had to become a good archer or a good leader or a good basket weaver. You had to do something in the world. And then people would respect you, and you would gain social status. That’s the way it always used to be. What social media is able to do is say: You don’t have to do anything. Just do whatever it takes to get people to follow you. And bingo — you’ve got prestige.” 
    • Recommended by an alumnus. Long but worthwhile. I should mention that at the end Haidt recommends three books he wants every 20something to read. I am happy to endorse the latter two. Replace the first with the New Testament.

Less Serious Things Which Also Interested/Amused Glen

  • An AI Generated Comic (on Twitter)
  • Authorship Theories (SMBC) — let the reader understand its relevance to Biblical scholarship
  • ‘Monster’ under bed in Kansas town leads to arrest (Wil Day, KSN): “The Barton County Sheriff’s Office says a babysitter was putting the children to bed when one of them told her that a “monster” was under their bed. The babysitter, hoping to comfort the child by showing them there was nothing, looked under the bed and came face-to-face with a man hiding underneath. There was an altercation, and the babysitter and a child were knocked over.” 
    • THERE WAS ACTUALLY A MONSTER UNDER THE BED. That kid ain’t never falling asleep again.
  • Basic Instructions (Basic Instructions): the first panel is what got me: “for now”
  • Penguin Tariffs (Dork Tower)

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.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 497: Christianity in Space, Redeeming Turkish Delight, and How To Sneeze

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

  1. Stranded Astronaut Held Onto Faith in Darkest Moments: ‘God Was There’ (Sylvia St. Cyr, The Roys Report): “After being stranded for nine months in space, veteran NASA astronaut Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore is sharing how his faith in God kept him going.… Wilmore, a member and elder of Providence Baptist Church in Pasadena, Texas, stayed connected with his church throughout his time in space. He even made a few calls to some elderly church members throughout his time stranded on the station, to encourage them.”
  2. What Follows from Lab Leak? (Alex Tabarrok, Marginal Revolution): “First, and most importantly, the higher the probability that SARS-CoV‑2 leaked from a lab the higher the probability we should expect another pandemic. Research at Wuhan was not especially unusual or high-tech. Modifying viruses such as coronaviruses (e.g., inserting spike proteins, adapting receptor-binding domains) is common practice in virology research and gain-of-function experiments with viruses have been widely conducted. Thus, manufacturing a virus capable of killing ~20 million human beings or more is well within the capability of say ~500‑1000 labs worldwide. The number of such labs is growing in number and such research is becoming less costly and easier to conduct. Thus, lab-leak means the risks are larger than we thought and increasing.” 
    • Some very practical suggestions in this short piece.
  3. The Hidden Hands: Amanuenses and the Letters Behind the Letters (C. Michael Patton, Credo House): “Yes, the secretaries could write competent Greek. But often, due to the personal additions at the end of these letters, I was able to compare the handwriting and style of the author himself. And get this: in many cases, the author’s own Greek was better than the scribe’s. More refined. More fluid. More legible. This shattered my assumptions. It meant that we can’t assume that people used secretaries only because they were illiterate, uneducated, or of low status. On the contrary, people who were clearly capable writers—sometimes better writers—still made use of amanuenses.” 
    • This is a fascinating look at the way ancient letters were written with the help of assistants — including letters in the New Testament.
    • Vaguely related (in the sense that it’s about the historical background for Bible stuff): Did Jesus teach in Greek? (Ian Paul, blog): “The argument about Jesus and Greek has several layers, starting with the most general. Were the regions Jesus taught in multilingual (polyglot), and how do we know? Is it likely that Jesus himself was multilingual? And is there specific evidence of this in the New Testament, in examples of his teaching?”
  4. Why Christian Men Need Friendship, Not Just “Accountability” (Samuel D. James, Substack): “Accountability is a fruit from a much larger tree. In an age in which millions of American men are so lonely it’s literally killing them, the urgent issue is not finding someone to receive a report of your web activity. It’s finding someone who’ll talk to you at all. Why? Because friendship has a sanctifying power. Not only is it easier to be honest and transparent with someone whom you’re convinced is a true friend, but the friendship itself is a means of grace in the fight against lust.”
  5. The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans (Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic): “I had very strong doubts that this text group was real, because I could not believe that the national-security leadership of the United States would communicate on Signal about imminent war plans. I also could not believe that the national security adviser to the president would be so reckless as to include the editor in chief of The Atlantic in such discussions with senior U.S. officials, up to and including the vice president.” 
    • A wild story. Lots of follow-up in the news. Just google for it.
    • Seven Ways of Looking at a Group Chat (Nick Cattogio, The Dispatch): “There are three distinct scandals here and different culprits in each one. The first is using Signal instead of secure government channels to discuss something as sensitive as military strikes. Everyone involved, save Jeffrey Goldberg, bears responsibility for that. The second is mistakenly including Goldberg in the discussion, for which Waltz would seem to be at fault. And the third is going so far as to share ‘operational details’ in the chat, potentially placing people in the field at risk, which sure sounds like reckless mishandling of classified information—a subject on which Republicans have had a lot to say in recent years. The blame for that would appear to land on Hegseth.”
    • Investigation Reveals DOGE Had Just Laid Off The Guy Whose Job It Was To Make Sure Jeffrey Goldberg Wasn’t In The War Group Chat (Babylon Bee)
  6. The Inklings:
    • Why JRR Tolkien Made March 25 the Day the Ring Was Destroyed (Joseph Pearce, National Catholic Register): “Frodo Baggins, as the one chosen to be the Ring bearer, is the Cross bearer. He is, therefore, a Christ figure. This is why Tolkien has him leaving Rivendell on Dec. 25 and arriving at Mount Doom (Golgotha) on March 25 (Good Friday). Frodo’s journey, or pilgrimage, begins on Christ’s birthday and ends on the date of Christ’s death.”
    • In Search of Turkish Delight (Valerie Stivers, First Things): “Işin quotes American Naval physician James McKay, writing in 1830: Turkish delight was ‘a delicious pasty-mass which melts away in the mouth, and leaves a fragrant flavor behind.’ The French artist and writer Pretextat Lecomte described it as ‘beautiful’ in color and ‘warm and transparent.’ To make it, Turkish confectioners used hand-sifted wheat starch (produced by a domestic process with a long local tradition), and employed a laborious technique that called for several hours of continuous stirring. They used musk and rose water as flavorings, and also sprinkled musk on the powdered sugar coating. They rubbed the trays used to mold it and the scissors used to cut it with fragrant almond oil. By the 1880s, Işin says, the flavors had multiplied to include clotted cream, mastic, almond, and pistachio. In the 1900s came pine nut and hazelnut, and flavors from essences or syrups such as violet, lemon, and bitter orange. This starts to sound like a dessert a child could dream of, or that an open-minded and pleasure-loving adult like C. S. Lewis would find tempting. It seems likely that very few modern eaters have ever tasted true Turkish delight, at least outside the Grand Bazaar. All contemporary recipes use corn starch. Musk oil is illegal.” 
      • I am both personally disappointed that I can’t taste it and thrilled that Lewis wasn’t crazy.
  7. How worried should legal immigrants be about Trump’s deportations? (Nicole Narea, Vox): “These are uncertain times for many immigrants in the US. There have been reports of individual visa and green card holders and tourists who have been detained and deported. However, the Trump administration does not seem to be indiscriminately targeting legal immigrants who have authorization to be in the US on a large scale. Some have reportedly been targeted based on their political activism.…  And it’s not just immigrants who have been affected. A US citizen said he was walking down the streets of Chicago when he was arrested by immigration agents, who confiscated his ID and held him for 10 hours before releasing him. Even though limited in number, these cases have been going viral — and are understandably causing fear in immigrant communities.”

Less Serious Things Which Also Interested/Amused Glen

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.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume #496: Christianity in Silicon Valley, Bogus World Happiness, and Smut

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

  1. Christianity Was “Borderline Illegal” in Silicon Valley. Now It’s the New Religion (Zoë Bernard, Vanity Fair): “It used to be that the 20-something whiz kid who coded a viral game and dropped out of Stanford was a venture capitalist darling. ‘VCs used to throw money at that guy,’ said a woman who manages communications at a top-tier venture firm. ‘Now if someone comes in and says, ‘I love my parents so much, I grew up going to church, and then I joined the Army and that’s what gives me my work ethic,’ VCs will be like, ’Oh my God, that guy. Let’s fund that guy.’’ ”
  2. Sex Without Women (Caitlin Flanagan, The Atlantic): “…the force that through the green fuse drives the flower (and the money) is heterosexual male desire for women. And here was porn so good, so varied, so ready to please, so instantly—insistently—available, that it led to a generation of men who think of porn not as a backup to having sex, but as an improvement on it. They prefer it.”
  3. The World Happiness Report Is a Sham (Yascha Mounk, Substack): “When you walk around the—admittedly beautiful—centers of Copenhagen or Stockholm, you rarely see anybody smile. Could these really be the happiest places in the whole wide world? So, to honor World Happiness Day, I finally decided to follow my hunch, and look into the research on this topic more deeply. What I found was worse than I’d imagined. To put it politely, the World Happiness Report is beset with methodological problems. To put it bluntly, it is a sham.” 
    • The author is a political science professor at Johns Hopkins.
  4. We Were Badly Misled About the Event That Changed Our Lives (Zeynep Tufekci, New York Times): “If anyone needs convincing that the next pandemic is only an accident away, check out a recent paper in Cell, a prestigious scientific journal. Researchers, many of whom work or have worked at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (yes, the same institution), describe taking samples of viruses found in bats (yes, the same animal) and experimenting to see if they could infect human cells and pose a pandemic risk.… Why haven’t we learned our lesson? Maybe because it’s hard to admit this research is risky now, and to take the requisite steps to keep us safe, without also admitting it was always risky. And that perhaps we were misled on purpose.” 
  5. The reality of prostitution is not complex. It is simple (Rachel Moran, Psyche): “So many of these women’s stories stay with me: the 19-year-old French girl who got into prostitution as a direct result of watching a TV series that depicted prostitution as glamorous and empowering; the mid-20s Australian woman who believed – because well-funded NGOs told her to believe – that ‘sex work’ was legitimate employment; or the early 20s German woman who told me that, because pimping had been decriminalised in her country, she’d got the message that what was legally sanctioned surely had to be OK. Just about every man in Germany seemed to have got the same message, and the result was social carnage.” 
    • The author was a prostitute from the ages of 15 to 22.
  6. As Trump Attacks Elite Colleges, Their Usual Allies Are Nowhere in Sight (Ginia Bellafante, New York Times): “Prestigious universities have come to find adversaries in many worlds, among the working class, among rich alumni, among highly educated progressives who find them self-regarding.”
  7. Power of Babel: Real-Time AI Translation May Be Coming to Church Near You (Aleja Hertzler-McCain, The Roys Report): “John Mehl, a teaching pastor at Colorado’s Timberline Church, and Miguel Flores Robles, the drummer in the worship band at Timberline’s Windsor campus, get along well, even though they don’t understand each other’s language. Flores, who is only fluent in Spanish, also is unable to communicate directly with the leader of the worship band he plays for, even as he enjoys Mehl’s sermons, which are in English. The answer to this riddle is artificial-intelligence real-time translation, a technology that has yet to become widespread in houses of worship but is already providing a way for congregations to welcome members who don’t speak their language.” 
    • I find it amusing that in the article Timberline is described as “nondenominational” although it is an Assemblies of God congregation.

Less Serious Things Which Also Interested/Amused Glen

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.