Category: Links

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 89

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. Are Gender Feminists and Transgender Activists Undermining Science? (Debra Soh, LA Times): “Distortion of science hinders progress. When gender feminists start refuting basic biology, people stop listening, and the larger point about equality is lost.” The author has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and considered herself transgender as a child. 
  2. The Masada Mystery (Eric Cline, Aeon): some fascinating insights on one of the most famous tragedies that occurred shortly after the events described in the New Testament. The author is a professor of classics and anthropology. 
  3. Use Of Weaponized Drones By ISIS Spurs Terrorism Fears (Joby Warrick, Washington Post): “They’re now showing that these devices can be effective on the battlefield,” said Steven Stalinsky.… “With the way these groups use social media, my worry is that they’re also putting the idea into people’s heads that this is something you can now do.” 
  4. 4 Recent Examples Show Why Nobody Trusts Media ‘Fact Checks’ (Mollie Hemingway, The Federalist): “The upshot is that the article does a nice job of proving Mark Twain’s point that the three types of lies are lies, damn lies and statistics, as it uses a statistical analysis of questionable merit to ‘disprove’ a statement that was literally true.”
  5. I Ignored Trump News For A Week. Here’s What I Learned. (Farhad Manjoo, NY Times): “On most days, Mr. Trump is 90 percent of the news on my Twitter and Facebook feeds, and probably yours, too. But he’s not 90 percent of what’s important in the world.”
  6. 4 Ways To Make Sure Your Protest Really Makes A Difference (David Christopher Bell, Cracked): “But what if I told you that if you follow the rules history has laid out, protests and boycotts absolutely can work? For when you look down the annals of successful civil disobedience, a clear pattern emerges.” This being Cracked, language warning. Also, the URL is funny: the slug is a‑beginners-guide-to-overthrowing-government
  7. Two articles that I did not expect to find fascinating but did: Sportswriting Has Become A Liberal Profession: Here’s How It Happened (Bryan Curtis, The Ringer): “I’m a liberal sportswriter myself. The new world suits me just fine. Would it be nice to have a David Frum or Ross Douthat of sportswriting, making wrongheaded-but-interesting arguments about NCAA amateurism? Sure. As long as nobody believed them.” This article led to the conservative followup The Arrogant Thinking Of Liberal Sports Writers (Michael Brendan Dougherty, The Week): “Has no one stopped to notice there is something odd about an anti-racism that will cause an evermore diverse country to declare rooting for white-faced mascots the only safe thing to do? How will this deletion of all non-white faces look in 50 years?”

Things Glen Found Amusing

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).

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.

Archives at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 88

1 Chronicles 12:32 - they "understood the times"
1 Chronicles 12:32 — they “understood the times”

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. Sleep-Deprived Judges Dole Out Harsher Punishments (Chris Barnes, Harvard Business Review): this is clever. The author turned daylight savings time into a natural experiment and analyzed the effects of mild sleep deprivation on judge’s decisions. After losing 40 minutes of sleep the judges apparently became 5% harsher in their verdicts. Apply to your own sleep debt and moral conundrums. 
  2. The Hottest Invite In Town: Donald Trump’s Supper Club (Sara Murray, CNN): “Long after the President’s official day has ended, his workaholic tendencies have him hosting a rotating supper club at the most coveted address in Washington. At least four nights a week, he welcomes a steady stream of Cabinet members, staffers and members of Congress to the residence to brush up on national security issues and foreign affairs over steak, fish and salads, according to Trump aides.” This is surprisingly informative.
  3. Watching Wikipedia’s extinction event from a distance (Andrea James, Boing Boing): “Wikipedia went from people writing an encyclopedia to people writing rules about writing an encyclopedia…” I can attest to the tendency the author describes and am genuinely worried about Wikipedia’s trajectory.
  4. The Soul Of Evangelicalism: What Will Become Of Us? (Scot McKnight): “Let’s get the standard definition of evangelicalism on the table first: an evangelical is committed to these four elements: the Bible, the cross as the place of atonement, the necessity of personal conversion, and an active Christian life both in missions/evangelism as well as justice, peace and reconciliation. On top of this, evangelicalism is non-denominational and cross-denominational.”
  5. The Great Shame Of Our Profession: How The Humanities Survive on Exploitation (Kevin Birmingham , The Chronicle of Higher Education): it doesn’t get good until paragraph six (search for the word ‘remiss’ and begin there). “If history is any guide, there will be about nine times as many new Ph.D.s this year as there are jobs…. Why do our nation’s English departments consistently accept several times as many graduate students as their bespoke job market can sustain? English departments are the only employers demanding the credentials that English doctoral programs produce.”
  6. An Ivy League professor who spent 4 months working in a South Bronx check-cashing store says we’re getting it all wrong (Alex Morrell, Business Insider): “Over and over again, Servon heard and observed that check cashers met customers’ needs better than banks did. She discovered there were three main reasons people used these services instead of banks: cost, transparency, and service.”

Things Glen Found Amusing

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).

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.

Archives at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 87

1 Chronicles 12:32 - they "understood the times"
1 Chronicles 12:32 — they “understood the times”

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. I Helped Create the Milo Trolling Playbook. You Should Stop Playing Right Into It (Ryan Holliday, The Observer): “It was a masterful bit of trolling that admittedly felt a lot more meaningful and exciting when I was younger than it does to me today: We encouraged protests at colleges by sending outraged emails to various activist groups and clubs on campuses where the movie was being screened. We sent fake tips to Gawker, which dutifully ate them up.” Fascinating. Highly recommended.
  2. Meet the Pastor Who Challenged Africa’s Oldest Dictator with Surprising Success (Ann Thompson, Christianity Today): “Last summer, Mawarire led national protests against the government, including calling for everyone to stay home from work for a day; hundreds of thousands did. Mawarire was arrested in July and charged with inciting public violence. After thousands rallied to support him and a court tossed the charges, Mawarire and his family fled to America. The pastor returned to Zimbabwe alone last week.”
  3. Remind me what was so great about trade? (Tim Harford, Financial Times): “…there are two ways to make cheese in the UK: the obvious way, using cows, and the indirect way, by making cars and then trading the cars in exchange for cheese. The British cheese industry is, in a very real sense, directly competing with the British car industry. Protect one with a tariff, and you hurt the other.”
  4. The Preacher and the Sheriff (Nathaniel Rich, NY Times): “The police said that Victor White III, while detained in the back seat of a locked police car, his hands shackled behind his back, had committed suicide by shooting himself in the back with a handgun that an officer had not found during an earlier search.”
  5. Not ‘Lone Wolves’ After All: How ISIS Guides World’s Terror Plots From Afar (Rukmini Callimachi, NY Times): “Investigation documents from Europe show that a growing share of attacks bear signs of contact with the Islamic State’s stronghold, even though the attacker was initially described as acting alone.”
  6. The Comforts of the Betsy DeVos War (Ross Douthat, NY Times): “It’s not that liberals aren’t genuinely worried about everything that makes Trumpism potentially abnormal and un-republican and authoritarian. But a more normal threat to a deep-pocketed interest group’s preferences still turned out to be a more natural rallying point than the specter of creeping Putinism.”

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).

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.

Archives at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 86

1 Chronicles 12:32 - they "understood the times"
1 Chronicles 12:32 — they “understood the times”

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. Here are the two articles I alluded to in this week’s message: Why The Best Thing This Generation Can Do Is Put Down The Drink (Alexia LaFeta, Elite Daily) and The Alcohol Blackout (Sarah Hepola, Texas Monthly). The latter is particularly insightful. I have shared these both before (see volume 18 and volume 25).
  2. Who Is To Blame For The Greatest Myth In The History Of Science And Religion? These Two Guys (Justin Taylor, Gospel Coalition): “The so-called ‘war’ between faith and learning, specifically between orthodox Christian theology and science, was manufactured…. It is a construct that was created for polemical purposes.”
  3. Homeless Find Rest In Faith-Based Shelters More Than Others (Adelle Banks, Religion News Service): “In a preliminary study of 11 U.S. cities, 58 percent of emergency beds for the homeless were at faith-based organizations. That percentage ranged widely across the cities, with 90 percent of emergency beds in Omaha, Neb., provided by faith groups and 33 percent in Portland, Ore.”
  4. How To Protest Better (Leah Sargeant, First Things): excellent subtitle, “light hearts, not trash cans, on fire.” Related perspective from the opposite side of the ideological aisle: And Now It’s Time To Do The Real Work (Frederik deBoer). Also worth noting, Anarchists, NOT Cal students, responsible for violence in UC Berkeley protests.
  5. The biggest news since last Friday’s email is Trump’s immigration action. The two pieces I saw shared most by my thoughtful friends on social media are Malevolence Tempered by Incompetence: Trump’s Horrifying Executive Order on Refugees and Visas (Benjamin Wittes, Lawfare) and Trump’s Executive Order on Refugees, Separating Fact from Hysteria (David French, National Review). Two insightful follow-ups are What Conservatives Get Wrong About Trump’s Immigration Order (Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic) and Tallying Up Trump (Peter Leithart, First Things). George Wood, the leader of my denomination, penned a Response To The Executive Order on Immigration.
  6. An Evangelical Christian Defends Trump’s First Week In Office (Emma Green, The Atlantic): “I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt thus far because I, and many Americans, have been unfortunately trained by the press in recent years not to take their side automatically anymore. They have tremendously undermined themselves.” It’s interesting to read Fake News and Evangelicals (Alex Wilgus, Common Vision) in conjunction with this. 
  7. Neil Gorsuch belongs to a notably liberal church — and would be the first Protestant on the Court in years (Julie Zauzmer, Washington Post): He is Episcopal, yet many Episcopals (especially clergy) are opposed to his nomination, whereas evangelicals and Catholics are mostly delighted. 

Things Glen Found Amusing/Entertaining

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).

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.

Archives at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 85

1 Chronicles 12:32 - they "understood the times"
1 Chronicles 12:32 — they “understood the times”

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. Recency Illusions (Alan Jacobs, The New Atlantis): “I have come to believe that it is impossible for anyone who is regularly on social media to have a balanced and accurate understanding of what is happening in the world. To follow a minute-by-minute cycle of news is to be constantly threatened by illusion.”
  2. The Fantasy Of Addiction (Peter Hitchens, First Things): “Even heroin abusers, and gamblers, can and do just stop. Reason has overcome desire. In which case the whole idea of ‘addiction,’ as a power greater than will, is overthrown.”
  3. Nigeria Could Teach The West A Few Things (Tyler Cowen, Bloomberg View): “…in essence Nigeria has in a few decades created an almost entirely new, country-sized city [Lagos] built on the ideals and practice of religious tolerance.”
  4. Compassion Has ‘Very Little Hope’ for India, Sets Deadline to Shut Down Sponsorships (Sarah Zylstra, Christianity Today): “The Indian government objects to Compassion’s Christianity, according to the ministry’s testimony to US lawmakers. Hindu nationalists have put increasing pressure on Christians in India since the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014.”
  5. Why Trump’s Staff Is Lying (Tyler Cowen, Bloomberg View): “If you want to ascertain if someone is truly loyal to you, ask them to do something outrageous or stupid. If they balk, then you know right away they aren’t fully with you.”
  6. Will There Be An Internal Revolt Against Trump? (Tevi Troy, Commentary Magazine): “Candidate Trump ran on repealing Obamacare, combating political correctness, and law and order. Many career officials in these agencies have seen their mission in opposite terms—they were tasked with promoting the Affordable Care Act, maintaining speech regimes on campus, and creating new guidance on how to monitor allegations of racism by police officers.”
  7. Planned Parenthood’s Most Misleading Statistic (Joe Carter, Gospel Coalition): this article seems to be inspired by a three-minute sting video showing how difficult it is to receive anything other than an abortion at Planned Parenthood. 

Things Glen Found Amusing:

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).

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.

Archives at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 84

1 Chronicles 12:32 - they "understood the times"
1 Chronicles 12:32 — they “understood the times”

On Fridays I share articles/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom.

Things Glen Found Interesting

  1. The World’s Most Outstanding Medical Missionary (Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra, Christianity Today): the family of God frequently makes me proud.
  2. ‘Worst Year Yet’: The Top 50 Countries Where It’s Hardest To Be A Christian (Jeremy Weber, Christianity Today): “Persecution rose globally again for the third year in a row, indicating how volatile the situation has become,” stated Open Doors. “Countries in South and Southeast Asia rapidly rose to unprecedented levels and now rank among such violent areas as the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.”
  3. When The Brain Scrambles Names, It’s Because You Love Them (Michelle Trudeau, NPR): This is my defense to you all. Also, I found this bit funny — in a family “you are much more likely to be [accidentally] called the dog’s name than you are to be called the cat’s name.”
  4. It’s inauguration day, so a lot of the articles relate to the newly sworn-in President. 
    • How To Live Under An Unqualified President (John Piper, Desiring God): this is good.
    • Trump Takes Jezreel (Douglas Wilson, personal blog): “Political factions want everything to be a simple binary choice on the human level. You either are all in for Jezebel or all in for Jehu. What Scripture invites us to is qualified support, or perhaps qualified disapproval. So and so was a good king, but did not remove the high places.”
    • The Church’s Integrity in the Trump Years (Mark Galli, Christianity Today): “Our main political task in this new administration is more urgent than ever… we can speak charitably to one another about our disagreements, taking the time to find out what each of us really believes and why.”
    • The Politics of Answered Prayer (Peter Leithart, First Things): sure to disquiet and/or offend.
    • A Bit Of Context on Trump, NATO, and Germany (Tyler Cowen, personal blog): “I strongly favor NATO and I don’t think you can trust the Russians with just about anything, or for that matter make much of a deal with them.” (this piece is not about the inauguration, but I found it very stimulating)
  5. Bonhoeffer On Why God Does Not Fill The Emptiness When A Loved One Dies (Justin Taylor, Gospel Coalition): “to the extent the emptiness truly remains unfilled one remains connected to the other person through it.”
  6. Authoritarians Distract Rather than Debate (Alex Tabarrok, Marginal Revolution): “it has long been assumed that propaganda posts would support the government with praise or criticize critics of the government. Not so. In fact, propaganda posts actively steer away from controversial issues.”
  7. Men’s Breadwinning Still Matters For Marriage (Christos Makridis, Institute For Family Studies): yes, that’s our Christos. “The college-educated may embrace egalitarian ideals of family life, but their behavior is more complicated.”

Things Glen Found Amusing

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).

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.

Archives at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 83

1 Chronicles 12:32 - they "understood the times"
1 Chronicles 12:32 — they “understood the times”

On Fridays I share articles/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom.

Things Glen Found Interesting

There are a few more links than normal because I missed sending out last weeks’s email.

  1. Northwestern Grad Student Sues Evanston Police; Dashcam Arrest Video Released (Laura Podesta, ABC Chicago Eyewitness News): Lawrence is an alumnus of our ministry. This one hits close to home.
  2. The Sex Bureaucracy (Jacob Gersen & Jeannie Suk Gersen, Chronicle of Higher Education): “Under the rubric of preventing sexual violence, colleges are now deep in the business of providing advice on sex and relationships. And they’re not good at it.” Even from a secular perspective, college administrators are acting absurdly.
  3. We’re Living Through The First World Cyberwar — But Just Haven’t Called It That (Marin Belam, The Guardian): “It is important to remember that the internet originally came from defence research….. we are living through the first time it is being used in anger.”
  4. Putin’s Real Long Game (Molly McKew, Politico): “What both administrations fail to realize is that the West is already at war, whether it wants to be or not…. This war seeks, at home and abroad, to erode our values, our democracy, and our institutional strength; to dilute our ability to sort fact from fiction, or moral right from wrong; and to convince us to make decisions against our own best interests.”
  5. Sugar, Explained (Julia Belluz and Javier Zarracina, Vox): “The backlash against sugar, and the science behind it, is a lot more complicated than it seems.”
  6. The Life And Death Of Evangelicalism’s Little Magazine (John Schmalzbauer,Comment): this was extremely interesting to me, although probably less so to many others.
  7. When There’s No Therapist, How Can The Depressed Find Help? (Joanne Silberner, NPR): Difficult to excerpt — very interesting story.
  8. Sometimes the People Need to Call the Experts (Tyler Cowen, Bloomberg View): There are some good insights here. My favorite line, though, was this: “It’s a good rule of governance that policy cannot race too far ahead of the citizenry, and I don’t view faculty as a class of people well-suited for that kind of humility.”
  9. The Ideological Reasons Why Democrats Have Neglected Local Politics (Emma Green, The Atlantic): “The progressive project is ultimately about working toward a society built on one unified vision of policy and culture, rather than a diverse array of policies and cultures.”
  10. Intellectuals For Trump (Kelefah Sanneh, New Yorker):  “We have grown accustomed to hearing stories about the liberal bubble, but the real story of this year’s election was about the conservative bubble: the results showed how sharply the priorities of the movement’s leaders differed from those of their putative followers.”
  11. Harvard’s George J. Borjas (Robert Verbruggen, The American Conservative): “Perhaps oddly for someone who gained immensely from moving from one country to another, Borjas has spent much of his career trying to answer the questions of who loses from immigration and how much.”

Things Glen Found Entertaining

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).

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.

Archives at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 82

1 Chronicles 12:32 - they "understood the times"
1 Chronicles 12:32 — they “understood the times”

On Fridays I share articles/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom.

Things Glen Found Interesting

  1. The new year is upon us. Consider reading through the entire Bible in 2017 (doing so will take around 10 minutes a day). Here’s a thorough and helpful article from last year about reading the whole Bible. If you want an app to make it easier, take a look at readscripture.org 
  2. Varieties of Religious Experience (Ross Douthat, NY Times): “One of my hobbies is collecting what you might call nonconversion stories — stories about secular moderns who have supernatural-seeming experiences without being propelled into any specific religious faith.”
  3. Mark Zuckerberg says he’s no longer an atheist, believes ‘religion is very important’ (Julie Zauzmer, Washington Post): Somewhat related to the above. Also, if you happen to bump into him or his wife then please let them know they are welcome at Chi Alpha. 🙂
  4. The Evangelical Scion Who Stopped Believing (Mark Oppenheimer, NY Times): “Atheists and agnostics have long tried to rebottle religion: to get the community and the good works without the supernatural stuff. It has worked about as well as nonalcoholic beer. As with O’Doul’s, converts are few, and rarely do they end up having a very good time.” Interesting article, although Oppenheimer misreads some background details (in particular, I think he was unfair to Stetzer’s comment).
  5. In Praise of Ignorance (Simon Cullen, Quillette): “Those with the audacity to admit that they have nothing intelligent to say about a difficult topic should be praised for refusing to further erode our common epistemic standards, not scorned for failing to toe some party line.”
  6. Campus Identity Politics Is Dooming Liberal Causes, a Professor Charges (Evan R. Goldstein, Chronicle of Higher Education): an interview with Columbia’s Mark Lilla — “identity politics today isn’t about group belonging; it’s about personal identity. From the ’70s into the ’90s, there was a shift in focus from group identity to the self as the intersection of different kinds of identities…. It’s extraordinary how much time and thinking [students] devote to exactly what they are as the subtotal of other identities, rather than seeing their time at the university as an opportunity to leave those things behind, or overcome them, or become something that’s actually themselves and autonomous in some way.” This is sort of a sequel to an article I shared back in volume 77.
  7. Houses of Worship Poised to Serve as Trump-Era Immigrant Sanctuaries (Laurie Goodstein, NY TImes): “Churches, schools and hospitals are considered ‘sensitive locations,’ according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration officers are supposed to avoid those locations, unless they have advance approval from a supervisor or face ‘exigent circumstances’ that require immediate action, said Jennifer Elzea, an agency spokeswoman.”
  8. Here’s Who Will Pray at Trump’s Inauguration (Kate Shellnut, Christianity Today): it’s not obvious from the article, but a surprising number of them are Pentecostal of one sort or another: Wayne Jackson, Paula White, Sammy Rodriguez.

Things Glen Found Amusing

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).

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.

Archives at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 81

1 Chronicles 12:32 - they "understood the times"
1 Chronicles 12:32 — they “understood the times”

On Fridays I share articles/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom.

Things Glen Found Interesting

  1. Pastor, Am I A Christian? (Nicholas Kristof, NY Times): Skeptical but interested public intellectual invites Tim Keller to answer his questions about Christianity and then publishes the conversation. #goals  (recommended by a student)
  2. Free Pastor Andrew: Christians Rally for Missionary Jailed in Turkey (Kate Shellnut, Christianity Today) : “Turkey has accused multiple pastors of being ‘a threat to national security.’”
  3. China’s Great Leap Backward (James Fallows, The Atlantic): “This assessment implies that U.S. attention should be focused on getting through an upcoming time of difficulty, which could last years or decades, without panicking that history now seems to favor the repressive Chinese model of governance.” This is a long piece, but the issue is an important one and it is worth your time. For some sorta semi-related thoughts on Russia, read The Russian Question by Niall Ferguson: “the United States should be closer to each of Russia and China than they are to one another.”
  4. How Outrageous Are the New North Carolina Laws? (Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution) is helpful, and for some perspective read History Can Teach Both Parties (John Hood, Carolina Journal). The most alarmist view I have seen is North Carolina Is No Longer Classified as a Democracy, an op-ed by a political science professor at UNC. 
  5. Why the Catholic Church sometimes turns to science to investigate miracles (Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News): “The patient is still alive, posing an ongoing challenge to scientific researchers. ‘I have zero explanation for why she’s alive. She does,’ Duffin said.”
  6. Why Oxford Dictionary’s 2016 Word of the Year Matters (Ravi Zacharias, Gospel Coalition): “There is an ultimate cry for justice in every heart. Justice counts on the truth. Without those two realities, civilization will die.” Recommended by a student.
  7. The Impact of Holy Land Crusades on State Formation: War Mobilization, Trade Integration, and Political Development in Medieval Europe (Lisa Blaydes and Christopher Paik, International Organization): “Areas with high levels of crusader mobilization witnessed more political stability in the centuries to follow. The causal mechanism that we put forward is that the departure of relatively large numbers of European landed elites for the Holy Land reduced the absolute number of elites who might serve as challengers to the king.” File away under explanations I had never considered. Blaydes is a professor at Stanford and Paik at NYU Abu Dhabi.

Things Glen Found Amusing

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).

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.

Archives at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links.

Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 80

1 Chronicles 12:32 - they "understood the times"
1 Chronicles 12:32 — they “understood the times”

On Fridays I share articles/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom.

Things Glen Found Interesting

  1. Rage and Heartbreak: Required Reactions to Aleppo (Richard Stearns, ERLC): “Let your heart be broken for the suffering in the Middle East and around the world. Pray it stays broken as long as any mother anywhere pleads for help and any child fears this night will be her last.” For some context, read 9 Things You Should Know About Aleppo and the Syrian Crisis (Joe Carter, Gospel Coalition). And this is an interesting Muslim take on Aleppo (Omed Safi, Washington Post).
  2. The Crisis of Christians in Egypt (Gabriel Reynolds, First Things):  “It is telling, for example, that almost no such attacks have taken place in majority Shi’ite Iran against the Christian minority there. What, then, distinguishes Egypt and Pakistan from Iran?”
  3. My President Was Black (Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic): this is a long, beautifully-written piece. The Atlantic is publishing response pieces. The first one is intense: “My president was black and I still am.”
  4. Why Hillary Clinton Bombed With White Evangelical Voters (Ruth Graham, Slate): “It was as if she was trying to alienate evangelicals… and it worked.” This article nails a big part of the dynamic. 
  5. With Jesus’ Birth, Why Does The Bible List Two Different Family Trees? (Richard Ostling, Patheos): “The general consensus on the differences is that Matthew depicted Jesus’ legal descent from David, on the assumption Joseph adopted him. If Mary had no brothers, by common custom Joseph would have been his father-in-law’s legal ‘son’ and heir through the marriage. Luke defined Jesus through Mary as a blood descendant of David.” (for some other possible explanations, see Mark Strauss at Zondervan Academic)
  6. The Defense of Liberty Can’t Do Without Identity Politics (Jacob Levy, Niskanen Center): “Identity politics… is about fighting for political justice by drawing on the commitment that arises out of targeted injustice…. It lets us spot the majority group’s identity politics rather than treating it as the normal background state of affairs, and to recognize the oppression and injustice that it generates.” The author is a professor of political science at McGill. 
  7. The Right Shuts Down Free Speech, Too (Catherine Rampbell, Washington Post): it’s almost as though human nature is the same regardless of what one thinks about the tax code. 
  8. On the academic/research side of things:

Things Glen Found Amusing

  • Indulgences  (Pearls Before Swine): theological warning — this form of recursion does not actually work 
  • Local Man Relieved After Spiritual Gift Test Comes Back Negative For Giving (Babylon Bee): “According to sources, Shepherd ripped open his results packet Thursday, and after nervously perusing the cover letter, jumped for joy upon discovering he had no desire or responsibility to be generous whatsoever.”
  • Band Offers Administration $60,000 To Drop Accusations (The Flipside): brutal and well-deserved (if you don’t get the joke, check out two recent editions of the Fountain Hopper (dirty language ahead): about the $60,000 and about the band. In case you’re wondering, I do think the band is being treated unfairly (and I have not been a huge fan of the band’s culture historically). 
  • How To Get Vindication (Basic Instructions): if you are squeamish, this one may not be for you. I found it hilarious. There is a video in the notes below the comic and I recommend it — if you are not squeamish.

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).

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.

Archives at http://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/category/links.