{"id":5304,"date":"2019-01-11T16:40:52","date_gmt":"2019-01-12T00:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=5304"},"modified":"2019-01-11T16:40:52","modified_gmt":"2019-01-12T00:40:52","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-185","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2019\/01\/11\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-185","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 185"},"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<p>In case you\u2019re wondering: I just don\u2019t find stories about the Russia investigation or the government shutdown interesting. I think they\u2019re important, but few people are writing things about them that catch my attention. Recommendations are welcome.<\/p>\n<p>Also, one of you mentioned that you sometimes can\u2019t open the links. If you, being a broke college student, ever can\u2019t access an article because of a paywall, try putting&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/outline.com\/\">http:\/\/outline.com\/<\/a> in front of the link. I did it for the first article as an example. Having said that, please support journalism once you are&nbsp;able.<\/p>\n<ol class=\"simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/outline.com\/https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2019\/01\/14\/is-marijuana-as-safe-as-we-think\">Is Marijuana as Safe as We Think?<\/a> (Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker): \u201cThe authors assumed that alcohol use among students would be a predictor of violent behavior, and that marijuana use would predict the opposite. In fact, those who used only marijuana were three times more likely to be physically aggressive than abstainers were; those who used only alcohol were 2.7 times more likely to be aggressive. Observational studies like these don\u2019t establish causation. But they invite the sort of research that&nbsp;could.\u201d&nbsp;<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/politics\/2019\/01\/new-york-times-journalist-alex-berenson-tell-your-children-marijuana-crime-mental-illness-1\/\">This Reporter Took a Deep Look Into the Science of Smoking Pot. What He Found Is Scary.<\/a> (Stephanie Mencimer, Mother Jones): \u201cI smoked plenty of weed in high school and so did all my friends, and none of us jumped off a balcony or killed anyone\u2014we could barely get off the couch. But the marijuana sold today is not what we smoked, which at 1 percent to 2 percent THC was the equivalent of smoking oregano. Today\u2019s weed is insanely more potent, as are products like \u201cwax\u201d and \u201cshatter\u201d\u2014forms of butane hash oil designed to be vaped or dabbed that come pretty close to 100 percent THC. And these high-potency products usually contain very little CBD oil, the ingredient in cannabis that\u2019s supposed to account for many of its supposed health benefits.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/2380751\/sunscreen-sun-exposure-skin-cancer-science?utm_source=nextdraft&amp;utm_medium=email\">Is Sunscreen the New Margarine?<\/a> (Rowan Jacobsen, Outside): \u201cPeople of color rarely get melanoma. The rate is 26 per 100,000 in Caucasians, 5 per 100,000 in Hispanics, and 1 per 100,000 in African Americans. On the rare occasion when African Americans do get melanoma, it\u2019s particularly lethal\u2014but it\u2019s mostly a kind that occurs on the palms, soles, or under the nails and is not caused by sun exposure. At the same time, African Americans suffer high rates of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, internal cancers, and other diseases that seem to improve in the presence of sunlight, of which they may well not be getting enough. Because of their genetically higher levels of melanin, they require more sun exposure to produce compounds like vitamin D, and they are less able to store that vitamin for darker days. They have much to gain from the sun and little to&nbsp;fear.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/stanfordpolitics.org\/2018\/12\/10\/leaving-religion-at-home-engaging-religious-thought-and-action-in-american-society\/\">Leaving Religion at Home: Engaging Religious Thought and Action in American Society<\/a> (Nathalie Kiersznowski, Stanford Politics): \u201cPeople\u2019s beliefs about the world will inevitably influence their positions on issues like morality, politics, dress, gender, sex and more. Similarly, politicians will naturally support legislation in accordance with their values, religious or not. Many politicians, like Vice President Mike Pence, have faced criticism for allowing religion to shape their political decisions. It would be unwarranted, though, to expect Pence to act \u2018un-Christian\u2019 or \u2018non-religious\u2019 exclusively at his place of work. The notion of having both a \u2018secular public self\u2019 and a \u2018religious private self\u2019 is impossible: any private value system will influence decisions throughout all areas of&nbsp;life.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/first-person\/2017\/2\/27\/14726418\/delayed-sleep-late-bedtime\">The case for going to bed at 2:30 am<\/a> (Kate Shellnut, Vox): \u201cMy faith doused our cultural preference for early birds with biblical backing, too, making me feel even guiltier. Within American evangelicalism, many expect faithful Christians to dedicate the \u2018first fruits\u2019 of each day to \u2018quiet time\u2019 with the Lord (prayers, devotional reading, Bible study). Researchers even found people to be more \u2018spiritually aware\u2019 early in the mornings. Faced with these expectations, I really did question whether my habits were sinful: Was I being selfish by staying up late? Was I putting productivity over the natural patterns of work and&nbsp;rest?\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/01\/02\/opinion\/uighur-muslims-china-gulag.html\">China\u2019s Gulag for Muslims<\/a> (Mustafa Akyol, New York Times): \u201c\u2026Russia\u2019s gulags are long gone, as is the Communist Party of the Soviet Union that operated them. But now another dictatorship, ruled by another Communist Party, is operating a new chain of prisons that evoke memory of the gulags \u2014 more modern, more high-tech, but no less enslaving.\u201d&nbsp;<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.chinafile.com\/reporting-opinion\/features\/where-did-one-million-figure-detentions-xinjiangs-camps-come\">Where Did the One Million Figure for Detentions in Xinjiang\u2019s Camps Come From?<\/a> (Jessica Batke, ChinaFile): \u201cTwo key studies independently arrived around the one million mark, by using limited data samples to estimate what percentage of the ethnic minority Muslim population is detained. Both studies arrive at a detention rate of 10 percent \u2014at least in some areas of Xinjiang\u2014suggesting that just over one million of the region\u2019s 11 million ethnic Uighur population could be in the&nbsp;camps.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/magazine\/wp\/2019\/01\/02\/feature\/conquerors-of-the-courts\/?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.ff875115608c\">Conquerors of the Courts<\/a> (David Montgomery, Washington Post): \u201cThe society itself lobbies for no policies; it never signs amicus briefs or represents clients in cases. No one at Federalist Society headquarters in Washington dictated Barnett\u2019s moves or told him how to advocate for what positions. It\u2019s just that at a few gatherings made possible by the Federalist Society that Barnett happened to attend, synapses fired, a corner of the hive mind engaged, and Barnett took it from there. Multiply that chemistry tens of thousands of times over the past 36 years and you have the Federalist Society\u2019s true source of&nbsp;power.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/blogs\/congress-blog\/religious-rights\/424362-elected-leaders-who-weaponize-religion-are-playing-a\">Elected leaders who weaponize religion are playing a dangerous game<\/a> (Tulsi Gabbard, The Hill): \u201cWhile I absolutely believe in the separation of church and state as a necessity to the health of our nation, no American should be asked to renounce his or her faith or membership in a faith-based, service organization in order to hold public office.\u201d Gabbard is a Democratic congresswoman representing Hawaii.<\/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.remove.bg\/\">remove.bg<\/a> \u2014 this site is digital magic. It outlines people in photographs and removes the background amazingly well.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/democrats-vow-to-somehow-surpass-republicans-in-messing-everything-up\">Democrats Vow To Somehow Surpass Republicans In Messing Everything Up<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/christian-just-voting-for-whichever-political-party-less-likely-to-make-his-faith-illegal\">Christian Just Voting For Whichever Political Party Less Likely To Make His Faith Illegal One Day<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vpFxcUSL_4Q\">Why College Sounds Like A Reality TV Experiment<\/a> (Matthew Broussard, YouTube): five minutes of standup funny enough that I included it, uneven enough that I almost excluded it.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gocomics.com\/pearlsbeforeswine\/2019\/01\/08\">Evangelism For A Natural Religion<\/a> (Pearls Before Swine)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/dilbert.com\/strip\/2019-01-06\">Dilbert Bothers His Coworkers<\/a><\/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 the unfortunately date-specific&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.thegospelcoalition.org\/justintaylor\/2015\/12\/28\/reading-the-whole-bible-in-2016-an-faq\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reading The Whole Bible in 2016: A FAQ<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Gospel Coalition, Justin Taylor): \u201cThere are about 775,000 words in the Bible. Divided by 365, that\u2019s 2,123 words a day. The average person reads 200 to 250 words per minute. So 2,123 words\/day divided by 225 words\/minute equals 9.4 minutes a day.\u201d This article is full of good advice for what could be the best commitment you make all year. Do it! (first shared in <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2016\/01\/08\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-31\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">volume 31<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 useful for any&nbsp;year)<\/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 In case you\u2019re wondering: I just don\u2019t find stories about the Russia investigation or the \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2019\/01\/11\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-185\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 185\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":"","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":[125,201,187,123,117,138],"class_list":["post-5304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-china","tag-drugs","tag-health","tag-islam","tag-politics","tag-religious-freedom"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1ny","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5304","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=5304"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5307,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5304\/revisions\/5307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}