{"id":5883,"date":"2020-03-06T18:47:59","date_gmt":"2020-03-07T02:47:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=5883"},"modified":"2020-03-06T18:48:00","modified_gmt":"2020-03-07T02:48:00","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-240","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2020\/03\/06\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-240","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 240"},"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>I often bury my perspective, but here is my two \u00a2 on the Coronavirus: America is responding to this disease so badly that I find it hard to believe. Given the amazingly competent people who populate this country, our collective ineptitude is staggering.<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/quillette.com\/2020\/03\/03\/dealing-with-a-once-in-a-century-pathogen\/\">Dealing With a Once-In-A-Century Pathogen<\/a> (Claire Lehmann, Quillette): \u201cIn early October 1918, when the Spanish flu hit the east coast of the United States, the health commissioner of St Louis, Max Starkloff, ordered the closure of schools, movie theaters, saloons, sporting events and other public gathering spots. While the measures were protested by some citizens, the quarantine went ahead. A month later, as the pandemic raged on, he ordered the closure of all business, with a few exceptions, such as banks. While drastic quarantine measures were being implemented in St Louis, the health commissioner of Philadelphia, Wilmer Krusen, gave permission for a parade for the war effort to go ahead in his city. It is reported that within 72 hours of the parade, every bed in Philadelphia\u2019s 31 hospitals was filled, and in the week ending October 5th, 1918, 2,600 people in Philadelphia had died, with the figure almost doubling a week later. At the end of the outbreak, St Louis had the lowest recorded death rate in the US, while in Philadelphia mortuaries overflowed and \u2018bodies [were] piled up on sidewalks.\u2019\u201d&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/slatestarcodex.com\/2020\/03\/02\/coronavirus-links-speculation-open-thread\/\">Coronavirus: Links, Speculation, Open Thread<\/a> (Scott Alexander, Slate Star Codex): \u201cIf we hadn\u2019t let our culture reach the point where governments ban things by default and review at leisure, and where individual initiative is frowned upon in favor of waiting for official permission to do the right thing, we could have recovered from all of these mistakes. Hospitals would have used their existing tests which they already have more than enough of, doctors would have had permission to test suspicious cases at their discretion, and we would have had a chance to catch infections early before they could spread. If the government didn\u2019t already regulate adrenaline, buspirone, insulin, and genetic testing to the point of near-unavailability, maybe people would have thought it was weirder, or raised more of a fuss, when they started doing it for coronavirus tests.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/health\/archive\/2020\/03\/how-many-americans-have-been-tested-coronavirus\/607597\/\">Exclusive: The Strongest Evidence Yet That America Is Botching Coronavirus Testing<\/a> (Robinson Meyer &amp; Alexis C. Madrigal, The Atlantic): \u201cTesting is the first and most important tool in understanding the epidemiology of a disease outbreak. In the United States, a series of failures has combined with the decentralized nature of our health-care system to handicap the nation\u2019s ability to see the severity of the outbreak in hard numbers.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2020\/mar\/06\/before-and-after-coronavirus-empties-worlds-busiest-spaces\">Before and after: coronavirus empties world\u2019s busiest spaces <\/a>&nbsp;(Agence France-Presse, The Guardian): \u201cEmpty public squares, a highway with no cars on it and deserted holy sites \u2013 a series of striking satellite images have revealed the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on some of the world\u2019s busiest spaces.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericanconservative.com\/dreher\/preparing-your-church-for-coronavirus\/\">Preparing Your Church For Coronavirus<\/a> (Lyman Stone, The American Conservative): \u201cThus, Christians have two crucial duties. First, not to use plague, and the fear of the death of the body, as an excuse to abandon our God-given duties. We must care for the sick, both the sick in soul and in body. Where disease kills parents, we must care for the children. Where disease kills children, we must tend to the wounds of the family. Where disease spreads fear, we must be bold in faith. But we should not be idiots. We have a moral obligation to protect others by limiting the spread of disease. To ignore that duty murders our neighbors.\u201d A bit long but excellent.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.desiringgod.org\/articles\/men-too-easily-forgotten\">Men Too Easily Forgotten<\/a> (Greg Morse, Desiring God): \u201cReal men do not bully. Real men do not watch porn. Real men do not abuse women. Real men do not live at home after college playing video games in their parent\u2019s basement. Amen to what real men are not, but what, then, is a real man? Can we not say more than just a male who doesn\u2019t do bad? We need men who not only avoid evil but embody what is good. There is a profound difference. One sees manhood as an incurable illness of society to be managed; the other, a pillar to build civilization upon.\u201d Recommended by a student.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/05\/17\/us\/politics\/college-scholarships-tax-increases.html\">Low-Income College Students Are Being Taxed Like Trust-Fund Babies<\/a> (Erica L. Green, New York Times): \u201cIn the past, a student from a household with a joint income of $50,000 who was awarded a scholarship that covered $11,500 in room and board would be taxed at their parents\u2019 rate of 12 percent. Under the new law, that money would be taxed up to 35 percent.\u201d This is a few months old, shared with me by a student. For the record, this is insane.<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/edwardfeser.blogspot.com\/2020\/03\/the-other-way-to-lose-war.html\">The other way to lose a war<\/a> (Ed Feser, personal blog): \u201cSome critics like to chalk up prolonged American engagement in places like Afghanistan and Iraq to warmongering or realpolitik or some other sinister motivation. In my opinion, that is the reverse of the truth. The fault of those who advocate such engagement isn\u2019t worldly cynicism, but otherworldly idealism.\u201d Thoughtful and thought-provoking. Recommended.&nbsp;<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/ct\/2020\/march-web-only\/same-sex-attraction-has-answer.html\">My Same-Sex Attraction Has an Answer<\/a> (Rachel Gilson, Christianity Today): \u201cFor people like me who experience same-sex attraction, the world begs us to believe that our authentic selves are only found in giving in. It promises hero status if we submit to our attractions. Our desires whisper, like a serpent in a garden, that there is no death in going against God\u2019s&nbsp;Word.\u201d<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/aeon.co\/ideas\/the-lure-of-cool-brain-research-is-stifling-psychotherapy\">The lure of \u2018cool\u2019 brain research is stifling psychotherapy <\/a>&nbsp;(Allen Frances, Aeon): \u201c\u2026I can affirm confidently that there are no neat answers in psychiatry. The best we can do is embrace an ecumenical four-dimensional model that includes all possible contributors to human functioning: the biological, the psychological, the social, and the spiritual. Reducing people to just one element \u2013 their brain functioning, or their psychological tendencies, or their social context, or their struggle for meaning \u2013 results in a flat, distorted image that leaves out more than it can capture.\u201d The author was chair of the psychiatry department at&nbsp;Duke.&nbsp;<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/article\/rhett-link-deconversion\/\">Let\u2019s Deconstruct a Deconversion Story: The Case of Rhett and Link<\/a> (Alisa Childers, Gospel Coalition): \u201cOur cultural moment is a cauldron of information and celebrity worship in which the cult of personality can ferment and grow. With every hit of the \u2018like\u2019 button, the personalities we\u2019ve subscribed to have become our authorities for&nbsp;truth.\u201d&nbsp;<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/shelbyabbott.com\/2020\/02\/26\/red-flags-spiritual-deconstruction-old-friends-rhett-link\/?fbclid=IwAR0HNZDo0HeZRaQ251K_YNduKvEAbrZXQKtR9pzzVknvwZzQINXDUxL_yrw\">Red Flags in the Spiritual Deconstruction of My Old Friends Rhett and Link<\/a> (Shelby Abbot, personal blog): \u201cAfter they left staff with Cru, I kept in touch with the guys for a few years. But time and life happened, and my communication with them faded. Every now and then I\u2019d send a message, but both Rhett and Link stopped reciprocating. I figured they probably changed their numbers and email addresses, or had too many DM\u2019s from fans to find my random messages saying hello. [After hearing their] personal spiritual deconstruction stories. It suddenly made a lot sense to me why I never heard back from&nbsp;them.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/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:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/i-would-die-for-my-faith-says-man-who-always-feels-a-little-awkward-praying-in-public\">\u2018I Would Take A Bullet For My Faith,\u2019 Says Man Who Won\u2019t Pray In Public Because It\u2019s Weird And Awkward<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stanforddaily.com\/2020\/03\/06\/once-a-pun-a-time-face-masks\/\">Face Masks<\/a> (Once a Pun a Time, Stanford Daily)&nbsp;<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/christians-get-last-laugh-as-sidehugs-found-to-slow-spread-of-coronavirus\">Christians Finally Vindicated As Sidehugs Found To Protect Against Coronavirus<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/webmd-frontpage-now-just-says-yep-youve-got-coronavirus\">WebMD Front Page Now Just Says, \u2018Yep, You\u2019ve Got Coronavirus\u2019<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/coronavirus-passes-over-houses-with-cfa-sauce\">Miracle: Coronavirus Passes Over Houses With Chick-Fil\u2011A Sauce Smeared On Door Posts<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/imgur.com\/gallery\/ZnnQe3d\">Now That\u2019s What I Call Coronavirus! Volume 13<\/a> (Imgur)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MattSmethurst\/status\/1235938347895439360\">The Bible Is Relevant<\/a> (Matt Smethurst, Twitter)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gocomics.com\/pearlsbeforeswine\/2020\/03\/03\">Napping<\/a> (Pearls Before Swine)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HB7gPIIQT7Y\">Clint Eastwood Reads Praise Song Lyrics<\/a> (Lutheran Satire, YouTube): three and a half minutes. Unfair but&nbsp;funny.<\/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=\"https:\/\/theamericanscholar.org\/on-political-correctness\/\">On Political Correctness<\/a> (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 <a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2017\/03\/17\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-92\">volume 92<\/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 I often bury my perspective, but here is my two \u00a2 on the Coronavirus: America \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2020\/03\/06\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-240\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 240\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":"Coronavirus, masculinity, weird tax burdens for students, the perils of pacifism, the limits of psychiatry, and lots of amusing stuff. 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":[168,273,120,195,130,113,207,183,274],"class_list":["post-5883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-america","tag-disease","tag-famous-christians","tag-gender","tag-government","tag-lgbtq","tag-military","tag-psychology","tag-war"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1wT","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5883","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=5883"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5891,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5883\/revisions\/5891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}