{"id":6234,"date":"2020-08-14T14:38:19","date_gmt":"2020-08-14T22:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=6234"},"modified":"2020-08-14T14:40:03","modified_gmt":"2020-08-14T22:40:03","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-263","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2020\/08\/14\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-263","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 263"},"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\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.logos.com\/2020\/08\/9-plagues-in-the-bible-that-affirm-pandemics-arent-new\/\">Pandemics Aren\u2019t New\u2014Just Look at Plagues in the Bible<\/a> (Karen Engle, Logos): \u201cWith coronavirus on everyone\u2019s mind, questions abound of whether the word \u2018pandemic\u2019 appears in the Bible, too. The short answer is no\u2014\u2019pandemic\u2019 is not in the Bible. However, the words \u201cplague\u201d and \u2018pestilence\u2019 are (no less than 122 times) and often reference individuals or nations afflicted with a terrible illness.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/08\/09\/us\/evangelicals-trump-christianity.html\">\u2018Christianity Will Have Power\u2019<\/a> (Elizabeth Dias, New York Times): \u201c\u2018Trump\u2019s an outsider, like the rest of us,\u2019 he said. \u2018We might not respect Trump, but we still love the guy for who he is. Is he a man of integrity? Absolutely not,\u2019 he went on. \u2018Does he stand up for some of our moral Christian values? Yes.\u2019 The guys agreed. \u2018I\u2019m not going to say he\u2019s a Christian, but he just doesn\u2019t attack us,\u2019 his friend Jason Mulder said.\u201d Needlessly snarky at times, but one of the rare musings on evangelical Trump support in a prominent media source that gets a lot of things right.&nbsp;<ul>\n<li>An interesting counter-perspective: <a href=\"https:\/\/religionunplugged.com\/news\/2020\/8\/12\/christians-want-power-sioux-center-iowan-pushes-back-on-nyt-story\">Christians want power? Sioux Center pushes back on New York Times story<\/a> (Lee Pitts, Religion Unplugged): \u201cOur church small group [in Sioux Center] is more diverse than my small groups in Washington, D.C. We enjoy the company of three people from Mexico, a gentleman from Paraguay, a woman from Japan, an engineering professor from Ghana and a couple originally from that exotic place called South Carolina (that\u2019s me). In fact, out of our 12-member small group, only two originally hail from Northwest Iowa. Meanwhile my D.C. small groups featured all upper middle-class White people mostly sporting advanced degrees and flashy jobs inside the Beltway. But the stereotype would reverse that. My Sioux Center small group should be all White and my D.C. one would surely be full of diversity, right? Wrong.\u201d This article doesn\u2019t really rebut many of the religious claims of the NY Times article, but it does undercut some of the cultural ones.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spiked-online.com\/2020\/08\/14\/wokeness-old-religion-in-new-bottle\/\">Wokeness: old religion in a new bottle<\/a> (Sean Collins, Spiked): \u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing now is an amplification of what I wrote about five years ago: an intense spiritual hunger that has no outlet. There\u2019s no way to see people kneeling, or singing \u2018Hands up, don\u2019t shoot\u2019, or swaying while they hold up candles, and avoid acknowledging that it\u2019s driven by a spiritual desire. I perceived this when I wrote about Occupy Wall Street, and it\u2019s become even more like this. It is an intense spiritual hunger that is manifesting itself more violently. Because to the post-Protestants, the world is an outrage and we are all sinners.\u201d<ul><li> The interviewee, Joseph Bottum, authored and specifically references the very first article I ever shared way back in the <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2015\/05\/29\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-1\">first email of things I found interesting<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/news\/2020\/august\/coronavirus-cares-act-ppp-loan-sba-trump-megachurches.html\">How Megachurches Spent Coronavirus Relief Funds<\/a> (Luke Scorziell, Christianity Today): \u201cAccording to Vaughn\u2019s accounting, the church spent 93 percent of the money on payroll. The additional 7 percent went to rent and utilities. The PPP rules say loans will be converted to grants if 75 percent of the funds are used for payroll and the rest for specified needs, including rent and utilities. The money helped with more than just paying the bills, however. Because Palm Valley\u2019s staff didn\u2019t have to worry about their job security, they were able to focus fully on caring for the church in the pandemic, Vaughn said.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/08\/07\/us\/defund-police-seattle-protests.html\">Abolish the Police? Those Who Survived the Chaos in Seattle Aren\u2019t So Sure<\/a> (Nellie Bowles, New York Times): \u201cFaizel Khan was being told by the news media and his own mayor that the protests in his hometown were peaceful, with \u2018a block party atmosphere.\u2019 But that was not what he saw through the windows of his Seattle coffee shop.\u201d&nbsp;<ul>\n<li>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/jessacrispin.substack.com\/p\/replacing-police-with-social-workers\">replacing police with social workers<\/a> (Jessica Crispin, personal blog): \u201cIf we do not have police, an armed squadron of men and women asked to intervene in situations we ourselves cannot manage, whether that be crime, acute mental illness, or violence, then who will we turn to in those situations? One such proposal is to replace police with social workers. But as my friend R. said to me as we discussed these ideas, \u2018I don\u2019t think these people have interacted with social workers.\u2019&nbsp;\u201d This is a perspective I had not heard before.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/publicsquaremag.org\/editorials\/injustice-outrage-and-the-problem-of-atheodicy\/\">Injustice, Outrage, and the Problem of Atheodicy<\/a> (Public Square): \u201cIn a world without God, there is no ultimate purpose in the injustice. And there is no possibility of any ultimate providential redemption. It is just raw, rank, irrational injustice. And so what is the appropriate reaction? Outrage! (And perhaps also despair.)\u201d The author is a law prof at the University of San Diego. Also, bear in mind that Public Square is the Mormon equivalent of First Things.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/bill-gates-on-covid-most-us-tests-are-completely-garbage\/\">Bill Gates on Covid: Most US Tests Are \u2018Completely Garbage\u2019<\/a> (Steven Levy, Wired): \u201cThe majority of all US tests are completely garbage, wasted. If you don\u2019t care how late the date is and you reimburse at the same level, of course they\u2019re going to take every customer. Because they are making ridiculous money, and it\u2019s mostly rich people that are getting access to that. You have to have the reimbursement system pay a little bit extra for 24 hours, pay the normal fee for 48 hours, and pay nothing [if it isn\u2019t done by then]. And they will fix it overnight.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/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.gocomics.com\/pearlsbeforeswine\/2020\/08\/11\">Evil Genius<\/a> (Pearls Before Swine)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gocomics.com\/pearlsbeforeswine\/2020\/08\/13\">I Can\u2019t Take This Anymore<\/a> (Pearls Before Swine)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=txJtMaKcs70\">Comedians Against Comedy<\/a> (Ryan Long, YouTube): two and a half minutes<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/most-american-churches-remain-closed-spiritual-impact-on-society-unchanged\/\">Christian Who Never Went To Church Before Pandemic Outraged Now That Government Says He Can\u2019t<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/nations-churches-temporarily-become-spirit-halloween-stores\/\">Nation\u2019s Empty Churches To Become Spirit Halloween Stores<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/imgur.com\/gallery\/V361Amx\">Now that\u2019s a mask<\/a> (Imgur)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newser.com\/story\/294792\/cows-with-butt-eyes-ward-off-deadly-attacks.html\">Experts Paint Eyes on Cow Butts\u2014and It Works<\/a> (Newser): this is&nbsp;real<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/semi-rad.com\/2020\/07\/running-is-so-simple\/\">Running Is So Simple<\/a> (Semi&nbsp;Rad)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/10-irrefutable-atheist-arguments-that-will-explode-your-feeble-christian-brain\/\">10 Irrefutable Atheist Arguments That Will Explode Your Feeble Christian Brain<\/a> (Babylon Bee): usually with the Bee the headline is enough, but you need to read the article for this one. It\u2019s not really fair, but it\u2019s definitely 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:\/\/twitter.com\/DrPJWilliams\/status\/1065768149541363713\">Elisha and the She\u2010bears<\/a> (Peter J Williams, Twitter): an insightful Twitter thread about a disturbing OT story. The author is the Warden of Tyndale House at Cambridge. First shared in <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2018\/11\/23\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-179\">volume 179<\/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>this one is shorter than normal<\/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":"Articles from around the web that are likely of interest to a Christian who likes to think.","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":[160,275,215,117,172,162],"class_list":["post-6234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-how-the-church-is-perceived","tag-pandemic","tag-police","tag-politics","tag-racism","tag-theology"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1Cy","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6234","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=6234"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6240,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6234\/revisions\/6240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}