{"id":5174,"date":"2018-09-21T19:26:55","date_gmt":"2018-09-22T03:26:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=5174"},"modified":"2018-09-21T19:26:55","modified_gmt":"2018-09-22T03:26:55","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-170","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2018\/09\/21\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-170","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 170"},"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>So I was mostly ignoring the Kavanaugh nomination, but this week things turned way up. Wow. Here are the articles that have helped to shape my thinking.&nbsp;<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/our-columnists\/what-would-a-serious-investigation-of-brett-kavanaugh-look-like\">What Would a Serious Investigation of Brett Kavanaugh Look Like?<\/a> (Jeannie Suk Gerson, New Yorker): \u201c\u2026Kavanaugh does not stand to lose something that he already has. He is petitioning the public for the privilege of holding one of the highest public offices in the country, and he should have to persuade us that he didn\u2019t do what he is accused of&nbsp;doing.&nbsp;\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericanconservative.com\/dreher\/the-kavanaugh-debacle-christine-blasey-ford-supreme-court\/\">The Kavanaugh Debacle<\/a> (Rod Dreher, The American Conservative): \u201cI am glad that Ford will have a chance to speak her mind, and that Kavanaugh will have the opportunity to defend himself. But I think this will only make things worse for all of us. If Kavanaugh gets a Senate vote, and prevails, he will forever be tainted as a Supreme Court justice. If he is forced to withdraw (that is, without further evidence against him emerging), or is voted down, he will become a martyr to many, and will, as the <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em> editorial page said, legitimize \u2018weaponizing every sexual assault allegation no matter the evidence.\u2019\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2018\/09\/me-too\/570520\/\">I Believe Her<\/a> (Caitlin Flanagan, The Atlantic): \u201cI have been entirely agnostic about Brett Kavanaugh\u2019s Supreme Court nomination. Republican presidents nominate conservative judges, and Democratic presidents nominate liberal judges. This guy sounded like he was entirely qualified for the job. When Dianne Feinstein made her announcement about the super-secret mystery letter by the anonymous woman that she had sent to the FBI, I thought it was a Hail Mary pass aimed at scotching the nomination, the kind of distasteful tactic that makes people hate politics.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2018\/09\/brett-kavanaugh-assault-allegations-evaluating-credibility\/\">In Evaluating Credibility, the Signs Point in Brett Kavanaugh\u2019s Favor<\/a> (Dan McLaughlin, National Review): \u201cIt\u2019s always a good idea, in politics, to evaluate accusations against your friends as if they were made against your enemies, and to evaluate accusations against your enemies as if they were made against your friends.\u201d This is a very thorough argument.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2018\/09\/24\/the-unlikely-endurance-of-christian-rock\">The Unlikely Endurance of Christian Rock<\/a> (Kelefah Sanneh, The New Yorker): \u201cOn <em>Billboard\u2019s<\/em> list of the twenty most popular rock songs of 2017, fully half of them were by bands whose members have espoused the Christian faith.\u201d A striking claim, but you have to count Mormons as Christians for the math to work. A fascinating and well-researched article nonetheless.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2018\/10\/beth-moore-bible-study\/568288\/\">The Tiny Blond Bible Teacher Taking on the Evangelical Political Machine<\/a> (Emma Green, The Atlantic): \u201cWhereas her criticisms of church leaders were once veiled, she now speaks her mind freely. She blogged icily about meeting a prominent male theologian who looked her up and down and told her she was prettier than another famous female Bible teacher. She has castigated the evangelical movement for selling its soul to buy political wins.&nbsp;\u201c&nbsp;<ul>\n<li>Good article, but see also this analysis piece for context:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.getreligion.org\/getreligion\/2018\/9\/19\/is-beth-moore-really-taking-on-the-evangelical-political-machine\">Is Beth Moore really taking on the \u2018evangelical political machine,\u2019 whatever that is?<\/a> (Julia Duin, GetReligion): \u201cAs is often the case, the headline is a overly alarmist and zooms past the actual facts reported in the article.\u2026 I\u2019m unconvinced that Moore is taking on any monolithic machine, much less some kind of evangelical Deep State apparatus.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/article\/150476\/american-elite-universities-selfcensorship-china\">The Other Political Correctness<\/a> (Isaac Stone Fish, The New Republic): \u201cThere is an epidemic of self-censorship at U.S. universities on the subject of China, one that limits debate and funnels students and academics away from topics likely to offend the Chinese Communist Party.\u201d&nbsp;<ul>\n<li>From someone not worried about offending China: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/09\/14\/opinion\/china-uighur-muslim-camps-xinjiang.html\">The People\u2019s Republic of Cruelty<\/a> (Bret Stephens, New York Times): \u201cIn the list of what ails China \u2014 slowing growth; corrupt officialdom; a declining birth rate; a trade war with the U.S.; Xi Jinping\u2019s cult of personality; the inherent disconnect between a politics of repression and the spirit of innovation \u2014 the regime\u2019s war on the soul doesn\u2019t usually rank high. But it matters most. It means the regime has made an enemy of the one thing it cannot kill, capture, eradicate or cure. At some point it will either have to abandon the struggle or destroy itself in the effort, much as the Soviet Union&nbsp;did.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.getreligion.org\/getreligion\/2018\/9\/20\/chicago-priest-who-was-once-abused-burns-a-rainbow-cross-flag-all-heck-breaks-out\">So a Chicago priest who was once abused burns a rainbow-cross flag: All heck breaks out<\/a> (Terry Mattingly, GetReligion): the title is clickbaity, but the article delivers. \u201cWell, here is a hot-button story if I\u2019ve ever seen&nbsp;one.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/09\/19\/opinion\/liberalism-religious-right.html?action=click&amp;module=Opinion&amp;pgtype=Homepage\">The Liberalism of the Religious Right<\/a> (Emily Ekins, New York Times): \u201cReligion appears to actually be moderating conservative attitudes, particularly on some of the most polarizing issues of our time: race, immigration and identity. Churchgoing Trump voters have more favorable feelings toward African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Jews, Muslims and immigrants compared with nonreligious Trump voters. This holds up even while accounting for demographic factors like education and race.\u201c Recommended by an alumnus.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/graphics\/2018\/opinions\/arlington-texas\/?utm_term=.8d32f66a6217\">What Do We Owe Her Now?<\/a> (Elizabeth Bruenig, Washington Post): \u201c\u2018The examination that I did was consistent with what [Wyatt] said,\u2019 [Nurse] Schiavo told me when I contacted her this May to discuss her finding. \u2018That girl was raped.\u2019 As I read her exam notes aloud to her over the phone, Schiavo began to fill in details on her own. She remembered Wyatt\u2019s case all these years later, right down to the fact that she was never called to court to testify about it.\u201d This is a depressing story, well-researched.&nbsp;<ul>\n<li>The follow-up is more encouraging: A<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/amber-wyatt-told-her-story-of-rape-this-is-how-the-world-responded\/2018\/09\/21\/ff11300a-bdda-11e8-8792-78719177250f_story.html?utm_term=.3c2827411116\">mber Wyatt told her story of rape. This is how the world responded.<\/a> (Elizabeth Bruenig, Washington Post): \u201cThe day after her 29th birthday, which was also the day after her story first appeared online, Amber Wyatt, now Wilson, stood in the shower in her San Marcos home and sobbed \u2014 hard, wrenching, wrung-out tears. They had been a long time in coming.\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=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lr8dECuoGTo\">Celebrity Pastor Fantasy Draft<\/a> (John Crist, YouTube)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/textsfromsuperheroes.com\/post\/178126799794\/supermartialarts\">Superman Wants To Learn Martial Arts<\/a> (Texts From Superheroes)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gocomics.com\/pearlsbeforeswine\/2018\/09\/17\">How To Be Successful<\/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:\/\/theamericanscholar.org\/on-political-correctness\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Political Correctness<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (William Deresiewicz, The American Scholar): a long and thoughtful article. \u201cSelective private colleges have become religious schools. The religion in question is not Methodism or Catholicism but an extreme version of the belief system of the liberal elite: the liberal professional, managerial, and creative classes, which provide a large majority of students enrolled at such places and an even larger majority of faculty and administrators who work at them. To attend those institutions is to be socialized, and not infrequently, indoctrinated into that religion\u2026. I say this, by the way, as an atheist, a democratic socialist, a native northeasterner, a person who believes that colleges should not have sports teams in the first place\u2014and in case it isn\u2019t obvious by now, a card-carrying member of the liberal elite.\u201d (first shared in <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2017\/03\/17\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-92\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">volume 92<\/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). 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.<\/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 So I was mostly ignoring the Kavanaugh nomination, but this week things turned way up. \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2018\/09\/21\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-170\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 170\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":"Articles about Kavanaugh, Beth Moore,  Bono (a little), and a priest who burned a rainbow flag.","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":[125,160,113,117,147],"class_list":["post-5174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-china","tag-how-the-church-is-perceived","tag-lgbtq","tag-politics","tag-sexual-assault"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1ls","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5174","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=5174"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5176,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5174\/revisions\/5176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}