{"id":5798,"date":"2019-12-06T17:58:30","date_gmt":"2019-12-07T01:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=5798"},"modified":"2019-12-06T18:02:41","modified_gmt":"2019-12-07T02:02:41","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-229","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2019\/12\/06\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-229","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 229"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<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>\n\n    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\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things Glen Found Interesting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"simple-list wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/news\/2019\/november\/lebanon-christians-viral-sermons-beirut-protests.html\">Should Lebanon\u2019s Christians Join Protests? Viral Sermons Argue Yes and No.<\/a> (Jayson Casper, Christianity Today): \u201c\u201dFor the past month, Lebanese evangelicals have debated Scripture, sharing sermons online. One viral effort urges believers to stay away from widespread demonstrations in submission to authority. Another licenses participation in the popular push for justice.\u201d<ul><li>I like this article because it helps us look at a contentious Biblical issue in a setting where most of us don\u2019t have a strong bias one way or the other. Decide whose arguments you find most compelling, and then think about how they apply in your own setting.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/2016\/11\/23\/13708996\/argue-better-science\">Most people are bad at arguing. These 2 techniques will make you better.<\/a> (Brian Resnick, Vox): \u201c1) If the argument you find convincing doesn\u2019t resonate with someone else, find out what does\u2026. 2) Listen. Your ideological opponents want to feel like they\u2019ve been&nbsp;heard.\u201d<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/crookedtimber.org\/2019\/11\/25\/seeing-like-a-finite-state-machine\/\">Seeing Like A Finite State Machine<\/a> (Henry Farrell, Crooked Timber): \u201cIn short, there is a very plausible set of mechanisms under which machine learning and related techniques may turn out to be a disaster for authoritarianism, reinforcing its weaknesses rather than its strengths, by increasing its tendency to bad decision making, and reducing further the possibility of negative feedback that could help correct against errors.\u201d The author is a political science professor at George Washington University.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/news\/2019\/december\/fairness-for-all-act-congress-lgbt-religious-liberty.html\">LGBT Rights-Religious Liberty Bill Proposed in Congress<\/a> (Daniel Silliman, Christianity Today): \u201cCongressman Chris Stewart doesn\u2019t expect his bill to pass. But he is proposing the Fairness for All Act anyway. It\u2019s a step of faith for Stewart, a Republican who represents Utah\u2019s second district, and a marker on the bet that it\u2019s possible to find a compromise that protects both religious liberty and LGBT rights.\u201d<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/10\/29\/magazine\/ralph-drollinger-white-house-evangelical.html\">How the Trump Cabinet\u2019s Bible Teacher Became a Shadow Diplomat<\/a> (Mattathias Schwartz, New York Times): \u201cSeven years ago, Drollinger published a short book called \u2018Rebuilding America: The Biblical Blueprint,\u2019 which lays out his ambition to \u2018to reach all the capitals of the world for Christ.\u2019 Drollinger, like many evangelicals, refers to this God-given global remit as the Great Commission, a phrase popularized by the 19th-century missionary James Hudson Taylor; Drollinger traces its mandate to Jesus\u2019 charge, as related by Matthew, to \u2018make disciples of all the nations.\u2019 A chart in \u2018Rebuilding America\u2019 diagrams the \u2018influence path\u2019 of a public servant as a baseball diamond, running through local government (first base), state government (second base) and national government (third base) and culminating in \u2018international influence\u2019 (home plate).\u201d I shared another article about Drollinger back in <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2018\/04\/13\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-147\">volume 147<\/a>.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstthings.com\/web-exclusives\/2019\/12\/chinas-sovereignty-tripwire-in-hong-kong\">China\u2019s Sovereignty Tripwire in Hong Kong<\/a> (David P. Goldman, First Things): \u201cChina is a polyglot, multiethnic empire, not a nation-state. Infringement of its control over any part of its territory threatens the whole. Foreign intervention and regional divisions is the stuff of China\u2019s historical nightmares. Any loss of sovereignty, in China\u2019s experience, begins a slippery slope toward imperial crackup. Foreign invasion is still a living memory in China, and Beijing reads the worst into American intervention over Hong&nbsp;Kong.\u201d<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/opinion\/articles\/2019-11-27\/liberals-don-t-need-to-boycott-the-salvation-army\">The Salvation Army\u2019s Actions Speak Louder Than Its Theology<\/a> (Stephen L. Carter, Bloomberg): \u201cVolunteers are significantly more likely than non-volunteers to be religious; and the religious are significantly more likely than the non-religious to volunteer. As religion declines, so does volunteering. If we put the religious volunteers out of business, a lot of people will suddenly be unhelped. We need all the volunteers we can get. And we cannot reasonably expect to replace them with paid labor. According to the Urban Institute, the 8.7 billion hours volunteered in the U.S. in 2016 were worth about $187.4 billion.\u201d The author is a law professor at&nbsp;Yale.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Less Serious Things Which Also Interested\/Amused Glen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"simple-list wp-block-list\"><li> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=fg0CC99hVK8\">Magician REVEALS trick and still fools Penn &amp; Teller!!!<\/a> (Penn &amp; Teller Fool Us, YouTube): ten minutes<\/li><li> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kIpMH6Vq4Vo\">Don\u2019t Take A Bullet For Your Dumb Friend. Cam Bertrand<\/a> (Dry Bar Comedy, YouTube): five minutes<\/li><li> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SANTTxV2q2w\">You Laugh, You Lose | Meg vs. Carl (Church Edition)<\/a> (YouTube): four minutes<\/li><li> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smbc-comics.com\/comic\/mimic-2\">Mimic<\/a> (SMBC)<\/li><li> <a href=\"https:\/\/xkcd.com\/2237\/\">AI Hiring Algorithm<\/a> (xkcd)<\/li><li> <a href=\"https:\/\/imgur.com\/lIuXuYE\">An Optical Illusion<\/a> (imgur): this is a thirty-second animated gif and it is worth watching to the&nbsp;end&nbsp;<\/li><li> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HEfHFsfGXjs\">The Most Unexpected Answer To A Counting Puzzle<\/a> (3Blue1Brown, YouTube): five minutes. Highly recommended for math\/physics junkies.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things Glen Found Interesting A While&nbsp;Ago<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Every week I\u2019ll highlight an older link still worth your consideration. This week we have <a href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2015\/08\/21\/christian-missions-and-the-spread-of-democracy\/\">Christian Missions and the Spread of Democracy<\/a> (Greg Scandlen, The Federalist): This is a summary of some rather wonderful research Robert Woodberry published in The American Political Science Review back in 2012: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.academia.edu\/2128659\/The_Missionary_Roots_of_Liberal_Democracy\">The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy<\/a>. If it looks familiar it\u2019s because I allude to it from time to time in my sermons and conversations. (first shared in <a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2015\/08\/28\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-14\">volume 14<\/a>) <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Why Do You Send This&nbsp;Email?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\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\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Disclaimer<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\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.\n\nAlso, 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 it.\n\nIf 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 Should Lebanon\u2019s Christians Join Protests? Viral Sermons Argue Yes and No. (Jayson Casper, Christianity Today): \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2019\/12\/06\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-229\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 229\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":[124,219,125,120,160,113,133,117,138],"class_list":["post-5798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-apologetically-interesting","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-china","tag-famous-christians","tag-how-the-church-is-perceived","tag-lgbtq","tag-middle-east","tag-politics","tag-religious-freedom"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1vw","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5798","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=5798"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5804,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5798\/revisions\/5804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}