{"id":4902,"date":"2018-04-06T18:49:19","date_gmt":"2018-04-07T02:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=4902"},"modified":"2018-04-06T18:49:19","modified_gmt":"2018-04-07T02:49:19","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-146","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2018\/04\/06\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-146","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 146"},"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.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/noor-salman-pulse-massacre-wrong_us_5ac29ebae4b04646b6454dc2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Everyone Got The Pulse Massacre Story Completely Wrong<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Melissa Jeltsen, Huffington Post): \u201c\u2026in acquitting Salman, 31, on Friday, a jury also delivered a verdict on the story we\u2019d told ourselves about the killings: We\u2019d gotten it wrong. In the wake of the shooting, the media and public focused on certain details, many of which were later determined to be unfounded, and discounted others, like Mateen\u2019s own explanation for his actions.\u201d This is a must-read. It\u2019s amazing how wrong the cultural consensus is.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ajp.psychiatryonline.org\/doi\/10.1176\/appi.ajp.2017.17040469\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Altered Brain Developmental Trajectories in Adolescents After Initiating Drinking<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Adolf Pfefferbaum, et al, American Journal of Psychiatry): <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Initiation of drinking during adolescence, with or without marijuana co-use, disordered normal brain growth trajectories.\u201d Adolescence is defined as up to 21 in this study, which means most college students should be far more leery of alcohol than they&nbsp;are.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theroadhome\/2018\/03\/engaging-the-culture-doesnt-work-because-christian-beliefs-are-a-mark-of-low-status\/\">\u201cEngaging the Culture\u201d Doesn\u2019t Work Because Christian Beliefs Are a Mark of Low Status<\/a> (Dean Abbot, Patheos): \u201cEvangelicals sought to engage the culture by being relevant, by creating works of art, by offering good arguments for their positions. None of these addressed the real problem: that Christian belief simply isn\u2019t cool, and that very few people want to lower their social status by identifying publicly with&nbsp;it.\u201d&nbsp;<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See also his follow-up&nbsp;<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theroadhome\/2018\/03\/traditional-christian-belief-and-low-social-status-four-responses\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Traditional Christian Belief and Low Social Status: Four Responses<\/span><\/a>: \u201cThe cultural shift that dislodged traditional Christianity from its place as the foundation of American culture has provoked a number of responses among believers. Though these responses may seem infinitely varied on the surface, the bulk of them can actually be categorized under four headings: accommodation, appeasement, acceptance and aggression.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>And the sequel to that,&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theroadhome\/2018\/04\/the-low-social-status-of-christian-belief-is-part-of-a-larger-problem\/\">The Low Social Status of Christian Belief Is Part of a Larger Problem<\/a>: \u201cIn Christianity\u2019s place, a new default religion stands. In this system, the human problem is lack of liberty, specifically the lack of liberty for each individual to determine his own values, purpose and morals. The solution is to liberate others by advocating, even in an abstract and risk-free way, for \u2018social justice.\u2019\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/tonywoodlief.com\/2018\/04\/06\/plumbers-and-priests\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Plumbers and Priests<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Tony Woodlief, personal blog): \u201cI don\u2019t know how I got to the point where I\u2019m inclined to disbelieve anything an academic claims. I\u2019m not anti-intellectual. I read stuff. I even hold a PhD, and a Master of Fine Arts on top of that. I can show you mathematically why a single-member plurality voting system tends to yield two major parties, and for the chaser I can hit you with an explication of the roots of literary modernism.\u2026 [and yet] the fact is I don\u2019t have any confidence in those N.C. State findings.\u201d The author has a Ph.D. in political science.&nbsp;I almost didn\u2019t include this one, but I can\u2019t stop thinking about&nbsp;it.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/03\/27\/us\/evangelical-dreamers-rodriguez.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018I Know I Will Be Criticized\u2019: The Latino Evangelical Who Advises Trump on Immigration<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Laurie Goodstein, New York Times): &nbsp;\u201cMr. Rodriguez represents a growing segment of the evangelical movement, and one that is often overlooked in all the attention paid to the white evangelicals serving as Mr. Trump\u2019s cheerleaders. One in four evangelicals in the United States is now an immigrant or the child of one. In the younger generation of evangelicals, there are now more Hispanic people than non-Hispanic whites.\u201d Disclosure: I have met Sammy but don\u2019t know him. We\u2019re in the same denomination.<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Some news from the global church:&nbsp;<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/d04acf4a138545b692ebd530d832c218?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&amp;utm_campaign=9ef79a6cb4-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_04_05&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_3e953b9b70-9ef79a6cb4-399975413\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Missionaries at border spread Christianity to North Korea<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Hyung-jin Kim And Gerry Shih, AP News): \u201cAmong the missionaries and pastors killed under mysterious circumstances in recent years is the Rev. Han Chung-ryeol, a Chinese pastor of Korean descent who headed a front-line church in the Chinese border town of Changbai before he was found dead of multiple stab wounds and a punctured skull in April 2016, raising suspicions that North Korea was involved.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/news\/2018\/april\/china-bans-bible-online-sales-amazon-taobao-jd-dang-dang.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">China Bans Bibles from Online Sellers Like Amazon<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Morgan Lee, Christianity Today): &nbsp;\u201cTwo days before the Bibles were banned from online purchase, the Chinese government released a document outlining how it intends to promote \u2018Chinese Christianity\u2019 over the next five years. According to the document, one of the government\u2019s key objectives is to reinterpret and retranslate the Bible in order to enhance \u2018Chinese-style Christianity and theology.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/news\/2018\/april\/colombia-presidential-race-viviane-morales-evangelical-farc.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meet the First Female Evangelical Presidential Candidate of Colombia<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Deann Alford, Christianity Today): \u201cMy public participation follows a biblical model. The Bible teaches that we must be witnesses of the Lord whenever we are. In the last century, US missionaries taught that politics was of the devil, and the church here was apathetic. Fortunately, we\u2019re waking up. But we must wake up properly, mindful to not confuse the church with a political party.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/news\/2018\/april\/fabricio-alvarado-loses-costa-rica-president-evangelicals.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conservative Christian Singer Loses Costa Rica Presidential Race<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Morgan Lee, Christianity Today): \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The evangelical candidate had emerged from obscurity to take a plurality of the vote in the first round of the presidential race\u2026. Despite his loss, Alvarado Mu\u00f1oz\u2019s success is \u2018a cultural game changer,\u2019 says Douglass Sullivan-Gonz\u00e1lez, a University of Mississippi Honors College dean who has done religious research in Central America. \u2018[Evang\u00e9licos] are now going to be seen a political challenge thanks to the success of Fabricio Alvarado, said Sullivan-Gonz\u00e1lez.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Two related articles by the Chairman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (he is also a professor of political science at Villanova).&nbsp;<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thepublicdiscourse.com\/2018\/04\/21172\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Religious Totalitarianism, Secular Totalitarianism, and Other Threats to International Religious Freedom<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Daniel Mark, The Public Discourse): \u201cServing on USCIRF, which monitors and reports on the worst religious freedom situations in the world, I am acutely aware of how our challenges at home pale in comparison to what goes on abroad. But the lesson from this is not what you think. It\u2019s not that we should feel so good as to become complacent about our own present circumstances. On the contrary, the painful international scene should be an ever-present reminder to us of how rare, how precious, and how vulnerable religious freedom is\u2014and how vigilant we must be in defending it.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thepublicdiscourse.com\/2018\/04\/21175\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Domestic Challenges to Religious Liberty From Left and Right<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Daniel Mark, The Public <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Discourse): \u201cOne central consequence of this denial of human nature is that it leads ineluctably to a denial of human rights. Without a firm view of human nature, we cannot construct a coherent account of human rights. I am aware, of course, that the people I have in mind here claim all sorts of things in the name of human rights. But the new menu of human rights is selective, subjective, and, finally, indefensible.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/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=\"https:\/\/gfycat.com\/DisloyalCluelessAbyssiniancat\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Jesus prank<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (gfycat): the hand motions are goofy, but I find the concept hilarious<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/google-pays-respect-to-jesuss-empty-tomb-with-empty-homepage\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google Pays Respect To Jesus\u2019s Empty Tomb With Empty Homepage<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Babylon Bee): \u201cWhile Christians have often complained of bias in the selection of which days Google honors with its \u2018Google Doodles,\u2019 believers around the country were reportedly ecstatic to find that the search and advertising giant chose to honor the empty tomb of Jesus on Easter morning with an empty homepage.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/movement-that-demands-forceful-silencing-of-all-opposing-viewpoints-unsure-why-nation-so-divided\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Movement That Demands Forceful Silencing Of All Opposing Viewpoints Unsure Why Nation So Divided<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Babylon Bee): read the full article and not just the headline \u2014 it\u2019s extremely entertaining.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/scholars-jesus-spent-40-days-in-wilderness-attending-amped-up-mens-conference\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scholars: Jesus Spent 40 Days In Wilderness Attending Amped-Up Men\u2019s Conference<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Babylon Bee): I believe this is in response to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qo8WGQg016c\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">this video<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> promoting a men\u2019s conference in Missouri. The video has received some mockery, but I gotta be honest \u2014 this conference looks really fun and would be way easier to invite some of my neighbors to than a lot of other Christian conferences. Disclaimer: I know the pastor whose church is hosting this&nbsp;event.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/dilbert.com\/strip\/2018-04-03\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bad Data<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Dilbert): this also applies to academic research<\/span><\/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:\/\/blogs.thegospelcoalition.org\/justintaylor\/2016\/09\/29\/how-to-pray-a-psalm\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How To Pray A Psalm<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Justin Taylor, Gospel Coalition): prayer life need a boost? Give this a try. (first shared in <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2016\/09\/30\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-69\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">volume 69<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)<\/span><\/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>If this was forwarded to you and you want to receive future emails, sign up <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/\">here<\/a>. You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/category\/links\">view the archives<\/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 Everyone Got The Pulse Massacre Story Completely Wrong (Melissa Jeltsen, Huffington Post): \u201c\u2026in acquitting Salman, \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2018\/04\/06\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-146\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 146\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":"I started with 22 links and through ruthless determination whittled it down to these gems.  You're welcome.","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":[131,143,125,140,161,160,113,138],"class_list":["post-4902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-academia","tag-alcohol","tag-china","tag-culture","tag-global-christianity","tag-how-the-church-is-perceived","tag-lgbtq","tag-religious-freedom"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1h4","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4902","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=4902"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4908,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4902\/revisions\/4908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}