{"id":5391,"date":"2019-04-12T18:53:25","date_gmt":"2019-04-13T02:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=5391"},"modified":"2019-04-12T18:53:26","modified_gmt":"2019-04-13T02:53:26","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-198","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2019\/04\/12\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-198","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 198"},"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.scmp.com\/news\/china\/politics\/article\/3003825\/chinese-city-offers-us1500-reward-help-snare-foreign-religious\">Chinese city offers US$1,500 reward to help snare foreign religious leaders<\/a> (Mimi Lau, South China Morning Post): \u201cUnder the new reward scheme in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, informants can earn between 5,000 and 10,000 yuan for tips leading to the arrest of a non-Chinese religious leader, according to a statement on the department\u2019s website. Other payments include 3,000 to 5,000 yuan for information leading to the closure of a foreign religious group, and between 100 and 3,000 yuan for tips about locally organised gatherings and their leaders.\u201d&nbsp;<ul>\n<li>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/news\/2019\/april\/hong-kong-pastor-occupy-umbrella-movement-chu-yiu-ming.html\">Hong Kong Pastor Facing Prison Preaches the Sermon of His Life<\/a> (Kate Shellnutt, Christianity Today): \u201cFor decades, I have preached numerous sermons. Little could I anticipate that the one message which preparation took me the longest time and the most heartfelt prayer, and which probably would reach the largest audience, is precisely this one delivered from the defendant\u2019s dock.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2019\/04\/06\/703356844\/pastoring-a-purple-church-i-absolutely-bite-my-tongue-sometimes?utm_medium=RSS&amp;utm_campaign=religion\">Pastoring A Purple Church: \u2018I Absolutely Bite My Tongue Sometimes\u2019<\/a> (Tom Gjelten, NPR): \u201cThe promotion of discourse over discord may strengthen civic culture in an era of political polarization, but for Edmonston, the mission is more a reflection of Presbyterian theology than it is a commitment to democratic process.\u201d&nbsp;<ul>\n<li>There is a lot to like in this article, but I feel compelled to add that what binds a church together is a commitment to Christ. It is okay to be divided over political issues. It is much less okay to be divided over substantive Scriptural issues. This story confuses the&nbsp;two.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.topic.com\/the-brand-is-belief\">The Brand Is Belief<\/a> (Kieran Dahl, Topic Magazine): \u201cC3\u2019s theology would appear to be at odds with how the church presents and markets itself. Isn\u2019t humility one of Jesus\u2019s biggest lessons for humanity? Isn\u2019t social media inherently narcissistic?.\u2026 C3 feels like an algorithmically curated brand that happens to love Jesus\u2014the Airbnb of religion.\u201d&nbsp;<ul>\n<li>I love articles showing how outsiders view churches. Some of what the author stumbles over I find puzzling \u2014 like thinking that the name of the church\u2019s discipleship class \u2018Growth Track\u2019 is a capitulation to culture. Interesting throughout.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2019\/04\/happiness-recession-causing-sex-depression\/586405\/\">The Happiness Recession<\/a> (Brad Wilcox &amp; Lyman Stone, The Atlantic): \u201cIn 2018, happiness among young adults in America fell to a record low. The share of adults ages 18 to 34 reporting that they were \u2018very happy\u2019 in life fell to 25 percent\u2014the lowest level that the General Social Survey, a key barometer of American social life, has ever recorded for that population. Happiness fell most among young men\u2014with only 22 percent of young men (and 28 percent of young women) reporting that they were \u2018very happy\u2019 in&nbsp;2018.\u201d&nbsp;<ul>\n<li>Reacting to this article, David French offers this observation, \u201cFor generations, key elements of our cultural and academic elite have been arguing essentially the opposite \u2014 that liberation <em>from <\/em>religion and liberation <em>from <\/em>marriage were prerequisites to true human flourishing. If you asked an early era sexual revolutionary for his prediction for a culture with profoundly less religious practice, less marriage, and many fewer moral restraints on sexual practice, I sincerely doubt that he\u2019d respond that he believed that culture would be less happy, with people having less sex.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/corner\/it-turns-out-that-sexual-liberation-isnt-all-that-liberating\/\">It Turns Out That Sexual Liberation Isn\u2019t All That Liberating<\/a> (David French, National Review).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0965229918313116?via%3Dihub\">Case Report of gastroparesis healing: 16 years of a chronic syndrome resolved after proximal intercessory prayer<\/a> (Romez, Zaritzky &amp; Brown, Complementary Therapies In Medicine): a miraculous healing account as reported in a journal. I found this bit amusing: \u201cA noteworthy observation is that studies showing positive effects of prayer have typically involved intercessors who either professed either 1) being \u2018born again\u2019 Christians (with a commitment to daily devotional prayer and active fellowship with their local church) or 2) faith in healing.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/archive\/2019\/04\/buttigieg-democrats-religious-left\/586492\/\">Democrats Have to Decide Whether Faith Is an Asset for 2020<\/a> (Emma Green, The Atlantic): \u201cThe real evidence of Democrats\u2019 approach to faith will come in campaign dollars and infrastructure, which will likely be developed slightly later in the election cycle; on their handling of contested issues like abortion, which is crucially important to many religious voters; and their ability to tap religious networks for volunteers.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.esquire.com\/news-politics\/a26454551\/donald-trump-interview-new-york-times-media-objectivity\/\">Donald Trump Changed <em>The New York Times<\/em>. Is It Forever?<\/a> (Peter Boyer, Esquire): \u201cA Monmouth University poll taken last year found that 77 percent of Americans believe that traditional news outlets report \u2018fake news\u2019\u2014a significant leap from the year before.\u201d This is an interesting and disheartening article.<\/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=p3uMK5t2I7k\">Rubik\u2019s Cube Magic on Asia\u2019s Got Talent<\/a> (Eric Chien, YouTube)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/woke-bro-commits-to-exclusively-making-thats-what-xe-said-jokes\">Woke Bro Commits To Exclusively Making \u2018That\u2019s What Xe Said\u2019 Jokes<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/pastor-schedules-special-prayer-meeting-for-exact-time-of-game-of-thrones-premiere-to-weed-out-the-heathens\">Pastor Schedules Special Prayer Meeting For Exact Time Of \u2018Game Of Thrones\u2019 Premiere To Weed Out The Heathens<\/a> (Babylon Bee) \u2014 I should do&nbsp;this<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smbc-comics.com\/comic\/hell-2\">Hell<\/a> (SMBC) \u2014 while this is not what hell is, this is one of the means by which you are condemned to&nbsp;hell.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smbc-comics.com\/comic\/apple\">Apple<\/a> (SMBC)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smbc-comics.com\/comic\/silent\">Silent<\/a> (SMBC) \u2014 I\u2019m disturbed at how accurate I find&nbsp;this<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/xkcd.com\/2136\/\">Election Commentary<\/a> (xkcd) \u2014 I am also disturbed by how accurate I find&nbsp;this<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/stanfordflipside.com\/2019\/04\/hoover-institution-renamed-serra-in-protest-of-universitys-progressive-policies\/\">Hoover Institution Renamed Serra in Protest of University\u2019s Progressive Policies<\/a> (The Flipside) \u2014 it\u2019s been a while since the Flipside has amused me like&nbsp;this.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/pvponline.com\/comic\/2019-04-11\">Schrodinger\u2019s Cat<\/a> (PvP Online)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/under-pressure-to-join-small-group-church-introvert-insists-hes-already-in-the-smallest-group-of-all\">Under Pressure To Join Small Group, Church Introvert Insists He\u2019s Already In The Smallest Group Of All<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smbc-comics.com\/comic\/p\">P, NP, and Eve<\/a> (SMBC)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/behind-the-instagram-account-calling-out-evangelical-pastors-for-1-000-shoes?fbclid=IwAR3E4oWpskjaQtF9Em0Oh4TtbElDobGdmi6QG6X74ltSCrVFuGiSuiTpDbE\">Behind the Instagram account calling out evangelical pastors for $1,000 shoes<\/a> (Madeline Fry, Washington Examiner): this is a legit article, I recommend reading it.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/slatestarcodex.com\/2019\/04\/10\/pain-as-active-ingredient-in-dating\/\">Pain As An Active Ingredient In Dating<\/a> (Scott Alexander, Slate Star Codex) \u2014 serious article, amusing insight.<\/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 <a href=\"http:\/\/the-toast.net\/2016\/05\/05\/everything-thats-wrong-of-raccoons\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Everything That\u2019s Wrong Of Raccoons<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Mallory Ortberg, The Toast): \u201cOnce when my dog died a passel of raccoons showed up in the backyard as if to say \u2018Now that he\u2019s gone, we own the night,\u2019 and they didn\u2019t flinch when I yelled at them, and I found it disrespectful to 1) me personally and 2) the entire flow of the food chain. Don\u2019t disrespect me if you can\u2019t eat me, you false-night-dogs.\u201d (first shared in <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2017\/04\/21\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-97\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">volume 97<\/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 Chinese city offers US$1,500 reward to help snare foreign religious leaders (Mimi Lau, South China \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2019\/04\/12\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-198\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 198\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":"This one has a lot more amusing stuff than normal. I feel odd when I include so many entertaining things, but I've checked and it's not that I slack off on such weeks. I just stumble upon more funny things. Enjoy!","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":[125,256,160,221,117,138,163],"class_list":["post-5391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-china","tag-healing","tag-how-the-church-is-perceived","tag-journalism","tag-politics","tag-religious-freedom","tag-sex"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1oX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5391","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=5391"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5391\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5397,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5391\/revisions\/5397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}