{"id":5939,"date":"2020-04-03T16:35:25","date_gmt":"2020-04-04T00:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=5939"},"modified":"2020-04-03T16:35:26","modified_gmt":"2020-04-04T00:35:26","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-244","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2020\/04\/03\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-244","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 244"},"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>Christian Coronavirus Perspectives&nbsp;<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/5808495\/coronavirus-christianity\/\">Christianity Offers No Answers About the Coronavirus<\/a> (N.T. Wright, Time): \u201cSupposing real human wisdom doesn\u2019t mean being able to string together some dodgy speculations and say, \u2018So that\u2019s all right then?\u2019 What if, after all, there are moments such as T. S. Eliot recognized in the early 1940s, when the only advice is to wait without hope, because we\u2019d be hoping for the wrong thing? Rationalists (including Christian rationalists) want explanations; Romantics (including Christian romantics) want to be given a sigh of relief. But perhaps what we need more than either is to recover the biblical tradition of <em>lament<\/em>.\u201d<ul><li>Please remember that authors do not usually pick the headlines for their articles. In this case especially the level of mismatch between the title and the article is striking.<\/li><\/ul><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/article\/coronavirus-response-to-nt-wright\/\">Surprised by Hopelessness: A Response to NT Wright<\/a> (Andy Davis, The Gospel Coalition): \u201cDespite what T. S. Eliot says, Christians know exactly what to hope for. We\u2019ve been clearly instructed by God\u2019s prophetic Word, and therefore, we should be radiant with hope\u2014an unshakable conviction that the future is indescribably bright. The world is \u2018without hope and without God\u2019 (Eph. 2:14); so when Christians radiate hope, the world notices and is moved to ask us to give a reason for the hope within us (1 Pet. 3:15).\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/dougwils.com\/books-and-culture\/s7-engaging-the-culture\/like-the-merchants-of-babylon.html\">Like the Merchants of Babylon<\/a> (Douglas Wilson, personal blog): \u201cThe Bible tells us that God\u2019s dealings with mankind are often mysterious, and so we should never rush to glib explanations. But His works are not <em>absolutely<\/em> inscrutable. When Jesus rebuked the people for misreading the collapse of the tower of Siloam, and for the incident where Pilate killed the men of Galilee (Luke 13:1\u20135), He rebuked them, <em>not for reading meaning into the story<\/em>, but for having read the <em>wrong<\/em> meaning into the&nbsp;story.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/frenchpress.thedispatch.com\/p\/how-an-evil-virus-points-to-the-crushing\">How An Evil Virus Points to the Crushing Weight of the Fall<\/a> (David French, The Dispatch): \u201cLast night, my wife and I were walking through our neighborhood and saw a pastor friend in his backyard. We stopped him and had a lovely conversation while maintaining proper social distancing from the sidewalk. As we shared our own burdens and stresses, he made an important observation \u2013 this moment demonstrates so clearly our need for a savior. By that, he meant far, far more than the idea that we need some of that \u2018old-time religion\u2019 before we meet our maker. No, he meant that a broken world eagerly awaits the redemption declared in Revelations 21, when the Lord declares, \u2018Behold, I make all things new.\u2019\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/experimentaltheology.blogspot.com\/2020\/04\/the-book-of-common-prayer-prayers-for.html\">The Book of Common Prayer: Prayers for Plagues and Times of Great Sickness<\/a> (Richard Beck, personal blog): \u201cHave pity upon us miserable sinners, who now are visited with great sickness and mortality; that like as thou didst then accept of an atonement, and didst command the destroying Angel to cease from punishing, so it may now please thee to withdraw from us this plague and grievous sickness; through Jesus Christ our&nbsp;Lord.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/04\/02\/us\/coronavirus-apocalypse-religion.html\">The Apocalypse as an \u2018Unveiling\u2019: What Religion Teaches Us About the End Times<\/a> (Elizabeth Dias, New York Times): \u201cFor people of many faiths, and even none at all, it can feel lately like the end of the world is near. Not only is there a plague, but hundreds of billions of locusts are swarming East Africa. Wildfires have ravaged Australia, killing an untold number of animals. A recent earthquake in Utah even shook the Salt Lake Temple to the top of its iconic spire, causing the golden trumpet to fall from the angel Moroni\u2019s right&nbsp;hand.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><li>General Coronavirus Commentary&nbsp;<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mprnews.org\/story\/2020\/04\/01\/npr-tips-from-someone-with-50-years-of-social-distancing-experience\">Tips from someone with 50 years of social distancing experience<\/a> (Rae Ellen Bichell, Minnesota Public Radio): \u201cKeep track of something\u2026. In the era of COVID-19, he suggests tracking what you can \u2014 or can\u2019t \u2014 find at the grocery store. Or, better yet, participating in some citizen science, like a project called CoCoRaHS that tracks rainfall across the country.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/its-time-to-face-facts-america-masks-work\/\">It\u2019s Time to Face Facts, America: Masks Work<\/a> (Ferris Jabr, Wired): \u201cThe collective evidence makes a strong case for universal mask wearing during a pandemic. Masks are not a substitute for other interventions; they must always be used in combination with social distancing and hand hygiene.\u201d Recommended by a student.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/03\/31\/opinion\/covid-conservatism.html?action=click&amp;module=Opinion&amp;pgtype=Homepage\">The Coronavirus and the Conservative Mind<\/a> (Ross Douthat, New York Times): \u201c\u2026the supposed conservative mind is more attuned to external threat and internal contamination, more inclined to support authority and hierarchy, and fear subversion and dissent. And so the political responses to the pandemic have put these psychological theories to a very interesting test.\u201d This is an angle that never would have occurred to me but which is obviously worth exploring.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/coronavirus-in-charts-covid-19-symptoms-spread-deaths-warnings-2020-2\">Coronavirus maps and charts show COVID-19 symptoms, spread, death rate<\/a> (Business Insider): \u201cThese 22 charts and graphics lay out what you need to know as the outbreak continues to progress.\u201d Recommended by a student.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><li>This is only marginally about the coronavirus: <a href=\"https:\/\/nycreligion.info\/an-inside-look-at-the-hospital-going-up-in-central-park\/\">An inside look at the hospital going up in Central Park<\/a> (Tony Carnes, A Journey Through NYC Religions): \u201cThe heart of Central Park is Bethesda Fountain, which was built to commemorate the healing power of Jesus at the Pool of Bethesda in Israel. Frederic Law Olmsted, the park\u2019s designer, hoped that the park would provide spiritual refreshment to urban masses from their travails. Now, a Christian ministry is realizing the symbolism in the 21st Century by erecting a critical care hospital at the park\u2019s 97th Street Transverse and Fifth Avenue\u2026. Samaritan\u2019s Purse medical personnel use the twenty seconds while they wash their hands to pray for each of their patients by name. It is fitting that they do that at their present location.\u201d&nbsp;<ul>\n<li>What a heartwarming story. Who could be opposed?<\/li>\n<li>Oh, wait. <a href=\"https:\/\/gothamist.com\/news\/de-blasio-samaritans-purse-central-park-coronavirus-hospital\">De Blasio \u201cVery Concerned\u201d About Anti-Gay Evangelical Group Running Central Park Coronavirus Hospital<\/a> (Jake Offenhartz, The Gothamist): \u201cMayor Bill de Blasio said the city will keep a close eye on the Christian fundamentalist group operating a field hospital in Central Park, amid growing fears that some New Yorkers could face discrimination and substandard care from the religious organization.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>And <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/new-yorkers-are-right-to-be-skeptical-of-samaritans-purses-evangelical-coronavirus-ward-in-central-park\">New Yorkers Are Right to Be Skeptical of Evangelical-Run Coronavirus Ward in Central Park<\/a> (Jonathan Merrit, The Daily Beast): \u201cThe vast majority of New Yorkers are not Christian, and if they find themselves wheezing for air due to COVID-19, they don\u2019t want to be proselytized while receiving treatment. They too have reason to be skeptical of the organization\u2019s makeshift hospital.\u201d&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Some amusing comments I saw in response, \u201cI think they\u2019re actually afraid that the volunteers will give away Chick-Fil\u2011A sandwiches\u201d and \u201cIf the mayor had been as concerned about the coronavirus as he is about the Christians then New York would look very different today.\u201d Ouch.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stanforddaily.com\/2020\/04\/02\/donations-from-bribery-to-benevolence\/\">Donations: From Bribery to Benevolence<\/a> (Jasmine Kerber, Stanford Daily): \u201cA spectrum exists between bribery and benevolence, and donations fall in various places along that continuum. Operation Varsity Blues highlighted the most corrupt \u2018donations\u2019; former Stanford sailing coach John Vandemoer pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe, not an altruistic contribution to athletics.\u201d Jasmine is a student in Chi&nbsp;Alpha.&nbsp;<ul>\n<li>I shared an article that discussed philanthropy from a different perspective back <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2019\/08\/09\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-213\">in volume 213<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stanforddaily.com\/2020\/03\/31\/at-least-the-seats-are-red-why-is-stanford-stadium-often-empty\/\">At least the seats are red: Why is Stanford Stadium often empty?<\/a> (Stanford Daily): \u201cAs national Heisman voters did not vote for Christian McCaffrey \u201918 because they could not bother to watch his games, Stanford students would not bike over to Stanford Stadium for [his] games. \u2018I will never forget this,\u2019 McCaffrey told The Athletic. \u2018My sophomore year against UCLA, I had a heck of a game. I biked back to my dorm, I\u2019m kind of on a high horse. I walk in, and six or seven people asked where I was! I think I had something like 243 yards rushing, four touchdowns. And they didn\u2019t know where I&nbsp;was!\u2019\u201d<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/credohouse.org\/blog\/3-types-of-skeptics\">3 Types of Skeptics<\/a> (C. Michael Patton, Credo House): \u201c1. Those who need answers\u2026. 2. Those who don\u2019t like the answers\u2026. 3. Those who need healing.\u201d<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/dbts.edu\/2020\/03\/30\/are-mormons-christians-a-review-of-the-saints-of-zion-an-introduction-to-mormon-theology\/\">Are Mormons Christians?: A Review of \u201cThe Saints of Zion: An Introduction to Mormon Theology\u201d <\/a>(Tim Miller, Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary): \u201cHe makes clear that Mormons are not Christians, but does so by pointing out that this has been the claim of the Mormon church itself throughout history (despite recent attempts to argue differently).\u201d<\/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=dWxTiPglIBk\">2020 is the Worst Year<\/a> (It\u2019s A Southern Thing, YouTube): four and a half minutes<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/2020\/mar\/30\/astrophysicist-gets-magnets-stuck-up-nose-while-inventing-coronavirus-device\">Astrophysicist gets magnets stuck up nose while inventing coronavirus device<\/a> (Kylie Stephens and Jonathan Chadwick, The Guardian) \u2014 I share this as a warning message to our entrepreneurial engineering students.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/new-zoom-filter-makes-it-look-like-youre-wearing-clothes\">New Zoom Filter Makes It Look Like You\u2019re Wearing Clothes<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/nations-programmers-admit-they-just-know-how-to-google-things\">Nation\u2019s Programmers Admit They\u2019re Actually Just Really Good At Googling Things<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZpTC4E2coH8\">Let\u2019s Make Anxiety Soup<\/a> (Holderness Family, YouTube): three and a half minutes<\/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:\/\/slatestarcodex.com\/2017\/03\/16\/book-review-seeing-like-a-state\/\">Book Review: Seeing Like A State<\/a> (Scott Alexander, Slate Star Codex): \u201cPeasants didn\u2019t like permanent surnames. Their own system was quite reasonable for them: John the baker was John Baker, John the blacksmith was John Smith, John who lived under the hill was John Underhill, John who was really short was John Short. The same person might be John Smith and John Underhill in different contexts, where his status as a blacksmith or place of origin was more important. But the government insisted on giving everyone a single permanent name, unique for the village, and tracking who was in the same family as whom. Resistance was intense.\u201d This is long and amazing. (first shared in <a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2017\/04\/07\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-95\">volume 95<\/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>Theological perspectives on the pandemic, some interesting news tidbits, the state of Stanford athletic fandom, and a good reminder that Mormonism is not a Christian denomination.&nbsp;<\/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":"Theological perspectives on the pandemic, some interesting news tidbits, the state of Stanford athletic fandom, and a good reminder that Mormonism is not a Christian denomination. 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