{"id":4856,"date":"2018-02-16T21:04:02","date_gmt":"2018-02-17T05:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=4856"},"modified":"2018-02-16T21:10:06","modified_gmt":"2018-02-17T05:10:06","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-139","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2018\/02\/16\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-139","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 139"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4396\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=1680&amp;ssl=1 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>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&nbsp;way.<\/p>\n<h3>Things Glen Found Interesting<\/h3>\n<ol class=\"simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstthings.com\/article\/2018\/03\/illiberal-democracy\">Illiberal Democracy<\/a> (Kyle Harper, First Things): \u201cThe fact that democracy at its outset was so flatly illiberal shows that the modern synthesis of liberalism and democracy is not inevitable or necessary.\u201d Harper is a professor of classics at the University of Oklahoma reviewing a book by Stanford classics professor Ober.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com\/blog\/how-much-should-a-man-spend-on-an-engagement-ring\/\">How much to spend on an engagement ring<\/a> (Ramit Sethi, personal blog): \u201cLook at your own financial situation to decide what you can comfortably afford. I asked more than 1,500 of my readers, and depending on income, people typically spent between 4% and 8% of their yearly income.\u201d Sethi is a Stanford grad who is obsessed with personal finance. Gentlemen: read this post even if you\u2019re not in a relationship right now. It\u2019s information you will almost certainly need someday.&nbsp;<ul>\n<li>Related:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ifstudies.org\/blog\/planning-a-wedding-say-yes-to-the-guests-and-spend-less-on-the-dress\">Planning a Wedding? Say Yes to the Guests and Spend Less on the Dress<\/a> (Scott Stanley and Galena Rhoades, Institute For Family Studies): \u201cthe evidence suggests that the types of weddings associated with lower likelihood of divorce are those that are relatively inexpensive but are high in attendance.\u201d The authors are professors at the University of Denver.<\/li>\n<li>Also related and better than the title makes it sound: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstthings.com\/web-exclusives\/2018\/02\/the-burdensome-myth-of-romantic-love\">The Burdensome Myth of Romantic Love<\/a> (David C. Dollahite and Betsy VanDenBerghe, First Things): &nbsp;\u201c\u2026in order for a relationship to flourish, existential needs should be met outside it. In study after study, the most successful marriages tend to unite religious couples whose shared beliefs conduce to stability and satisfaction. These marriages not only buck the trends of divorce, abuse, neglect, violence, and dysfunction, but also benefit from the incentive religion offers for couples to work together for something outside the&nbsp;self.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nymag.com\/daily\/intelligencer\/2018\/02\/we-all-live-on-campus-now.html\">We All Live on Campus Now <\/a>&nbsp;(Andrew Sullivan, NY Magazine): \u201cWhen elite universities shift their entire worldview away from liberal education as we have long known it toward the imperatives of an identity-based \u2018social justice\u2019 movement, the broader culture is in danger of drifting away from liberal democracy as well. If elites believe that the core truth of our society is a system of interlocking and oppressive power structures based around immutable characteristics like race or sex or sexual orientation, then sooner rather than later, this will be reflected in our culture at large.\u201d What happens on campus doesn\u2019t stay on campus. On the plus side, this is why campus ministry can change the&nbsp;world.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/acts-of-faith\/wp\/2018\/02\/08\/how-the-national-prayer-breakfast-sparked-an-unusual-meeting-between-muslims-and-evangelicals\/?utm_term=.7ec301f2ad9d\">How the National Prayer Breakfast sparked an unusual meeting between Muslims and evangelicals<\/a> (Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post): \u201cThe first time I met an imam in my neighborhood, we\u2019re five minutes into the conversation, and he said: \u2018Do you think I\u2019m going to hell?\u2019 I said: \u2018That\u2019s what my tradition teaches, yes.\u2019 He said: \u2018Good, I think you\u2019re going to hell, too, so now we can have an honest conversation.\u2019\u201d The article also draws a useful distinction between interfaith and multifaith activities.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101046916407340625977\/posts\/crgCSgXhCxn\">Oh God, That\u2019s Me: The Horror In The Mirror<\/a> (Rolf Degen, Google Plus): \u201cWhen adults who have never before seen their own reflection are confronted with a mirror for the first time, they go through an unsettling experience\u2026\u201d Degen is a science journalist, although this isn\u2019t a fully worked out piece of journalism.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/gabrielsanchez\/heres-what-north-korea-lets-you-to-see-when-you-visit?utm_term=.tp7vwBgZV#.brm1pG0r9\">Here\u2019s What North Korea Lets You See When You Travel There<\/a> (Fabian Muir, Buzzfeed): \u201cIt has occurred to me that perhaps some people feel certain images are contrived because their composition makes them feel like tableaux. Such skepticism riles me since it\u2019s difficult not to take it personally when an individual who has never even visited North Korea believes they know more on the topic than someone who has completed a two-year project and studied every text available.\u201d The top comment is insightful.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/02\/10\/opinion\/sunday\/lets-ban-porn.html\">Let\u2019s Ban Porn<\/a> (Ross Douthat, New York Times): \u201c\u2026we are supposed to be in the midst of a great sexual reassessment, a clearing-out of assumptions that serve misogyny and impose bad sex on semi-willing women. And such a reassessment will be incomplete if it never reconsiders our surrender to the idea that many teenagers, most young men especially, will get their sex education from online smut.\u201d Tyler Cowen is sympathetic but worries about unintended consequences: <a href=\"http:\/\/marginalrevolution.com\/marginalrevolution\/2018\/02\/should-we-censor-porn.html\">Should We Censor Porn?<\/a> (Marginal Revolution).&nbsp;<ul>\n<li>Also from Douthat\u2019s column: \u201cSo if you want better men by any standard, there is every reason to regard ubiquitous pornography as an obstacle \u2014 and to suspect that between virtual reality and creepy forms of customization, its influence is only likely to get worse. But unlike many structural forces with which moralists of the left and right contend, porn is also just a product \u2014 something made and distributed and sold, and therefore subject to regulation and restriction if we so desire. The belief that it should not be restricted is a mistake; the belief that it cannot be censored is a superstition.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Less Serious Things Which Also Interested\/Amused Glen<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/tldr-edition-66-books-bible\/\">The TL;DR Edition Of All 66 Books Of The Bible<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/imgur.com\/gallery\/RWQOo\">A water balloon to the head<\/a> (animated gif)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/imgur.com\/uyHfOjV\">Alligator savagely eats truck<\/a> (animated gif): I thought the title was an exaggeration. If so, it\u2019s a mild one. Watch all the way through.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/family-prays-mcdonalds-food-miraculously-transforms-chick-fil\/\">Family Prays At McDonald\u2019s, Food Miraculously Transforms Into Chick-Fil\u2011A<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gocomics.com\/pearlsbeforeswine\/2018\/02\/13\">DNA tests for pig ancestry<\/a> (Pearls Before Swine)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Things Glen Found Interesting A While&nbsp;Ago<\/h3>\n<p>Every week I\u2019ll highlight an older link still worth your consideration. This week we have&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/lifestyle\/food\/no-food-is-healthy-not-even-kale\/2016\/01\/15\/4a5c2d24-ba52-11e5-829c-26ffb874a18d_story.html?tid=pm_pop_b\">No Food Is Healthy. Not Even Kale.<\/a> (Michael Ruhlman, Washington Post): People can be healthy. Food can be nutritious. This is a wonderful essay about how we misuse language to our detriment. If you\u2019re surprised I included this, I believe that our culture has a quasi-religious relationship to health and to food, and I also believe that the use of language is profoundly moral and that our culture is a linguistic mess (to which I know of no finer guide than <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sourcetext.com\/grammarian\/\">The Underground Grammarian<\/a>). (first shared in <a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2016\/01\/22\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-33\">volume 33<\/a>)<\/p>\n<h3><b>Why Do You Send This&nbsp;Email?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar produced shrewd warriors \u201cwho understood the times and knew what Israel should do\u201d (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.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Disclaimer<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Chi Alpha is not a partisan organization. To paraphrase another minister: we are not about the donkey\u2019s agenda and we are not about the elephant\u2019s agenda \u2014 we are about the Lamb\u2019s agenda. Having said that, I read widely (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass <a href=\"http:\/\/econlog.econlib.org\/archives\/2011\/06\/the_ideological.html\">the ideological Turing test<\/a> and in part because I do not believe I can fairly say \u201cI agree\u201d or \u201cI disagree\u201d until I can say \u201cI understand\u201d) 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\u2019ll usually mention it).<\/p>\n<p>Also, remember that I\u2019m not reporting news \u2014 I\u2019m giving you a selection of things I found interesting. There\u2019s a lot happening in the world that\u2019s not making an appearance here because I haven\u2019t found stimulating articles written about&nbsp;it.<\/p>\n<p>Archives at <a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/category\/links\">http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/category\/links<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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&nbsp;way. Things Glen Found Interesting Illiberal Democracy (Kyle Harper, First Things): \u201cThe fact that democracy at its outset was so \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2018\/02\/16\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-139\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 139\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Muslims and Christians amicably agree the other group is going to hell, how much to spend on an engagement ring, and more.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1gk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4856"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4863,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4856\/revisions\/4863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}