{"id":6300,"date":"2020-09-18T20:52:01","date_gmt":"2020-09-19T04:52:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=6300"},"modified":"2020-09-18T20:52:01","modified_gmt":"2020-09-19T04:52:01","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-268","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2020\/09\/18\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-268","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 268"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" 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 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>     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<p>After largely finishing this email I learned that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. I expect a TON of ink to be spilled on this and on whatever develops politically next week. Keep an eye out for thoughtful commentary and send it my way. Please do pray for her family and for our nation \u2014 an already tense election season just became even more fraught.&nbsp;<\/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:\/\/j.hn\/bible-bechdel-test-women-scripture\/\">Does the Bible Pass the Bechdel Test? A Data-Driven Look at Women in the Story of Scripture<\/a> (John Dyer, personal blog): \u201cSo does the Bible pass the Bechdel test? This short answer is: yes, there are scenes where two named women have a conversation not about a man. The longer answer is more complex, but also, I think, richer.\u201d This is REALLY well&nbsp;done.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/ct\/2020\/september-web-only\/seven-deadly-sins-one-presidential-election.html\">Seven Deadly Sins, One Presidential Election<\/a> (Bonnie Kristian, Christianity Today): \u201cThe seven deadly sins\u2014wrath, sloth, pride, envy, greed, gluttony, and lust\u2014as we now list them came to us in the Western church through Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century, Pope Gregory the Great seven centuries prior, and a mystic named Evagrius two centuries before that\u2026. The 2020 election gives occasion to deal with them&nbsp;all.\u201d<\/li><li>Ecological insights ignored:&nbsp;<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/they-know-how-to-prevent-megafires-why-wont-anybody-listen\">They Know How to Prevent Megafires. Why Won\u2019t Anybody Listen?<\/a> (Elizabeth Weil, ProPublica): \u201cAcademics believe that between 4.4 million and 11.8 million acres burned each year in prehistoric California\u2026. We live with a deathly backlog. In February 2020, Nature Sustainability published this terrifying conclusion: California would need to burn 20 million acres \u2014 an area about the size of Maine \u2014 to restabilize in terms of&nbsp;fire.\u201d&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2020\/09\/11\/897692090\/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled\">Is Plastic Recycling A Lie? Oil Companies Touted Recycling To Sell More Plastic<\/a> (Laura Sullivan, NPR): \u201cAll of these problems [with recycling] have existed for decades, no matter what new recycling technology or expensive machinery has been developed. In all that time, less than 10 percent of plastic has ever been recycled. But the public has known little about these difficulties.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Neither article is giving us much new information \u2014 I have heard knowledgeable people say similar things for quite some time now. The fact that we have not changed is disappointing but not surprising: politicians (like most people) \u201clisten to science\u201d when the findings of scientists align with their self-interest. The continued existence of these and other glaring problems in American life make me&nbsp;sad.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/exclusive-education-department-opens-investigation-into-princeton-university-after-president-deems-racism-embedded-in-the-school\">EXCLUSIVE: Education Department opens investigation into Princeton University after president deems racism \u2019embedded\u2019 in the school<\/a> (Tiana Lowe, Washington Examiner): \u201cThe Department of Education has informed Princeton University that it is under investigation following the school president\u2019s declaration that racism was \u2018embedded\u2019 in the institution.\u201d&nbsp;<ul>\n<li>I laughed out loud when I read the headline.<\/li>\n<li>In response: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.princeton.edu\/news\/2020\/09\/17\/university-statement-us-department-education-letter-regarding-nondiscrimination\">University statement on US Department of Education letter regarding nondiscrimination practices<\/a> (Princeton University): \u201cIt is unfortunate that the Department appears to believe that grappling honestly with the nation\u2019s history and the current effects of systemic racism runs afoul of existing law.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/timharford.com\/2020\/09\/statistics-lies-and-the-virus-five-lessons-from-a-pandemic\/\">Statistics, lies and the virus: five lessons from a pandemic<\/a> (Tim Harford, personal blog): \u201cYou can appreciate, I hope, my obsession with these two contrasting accounts of statistics: one as a trick, one as a tool.\u2026 Scepticism has its place, but easily curdles into cynicism and can be weaponised into something even more poisonous than that. \u201c Very good insights from a British economist.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepublicdiscourse.com\/2020\/09\/71461\/\">Racism Is Real. But Is \u201cSystemic Racism\u201d? That Time I Was Published by Newsweek\u2014For Two Hours<\/a> (Matthew Franck, Public Discourse): \u201cIf everyone in general but no one in particular is to blame, the few remaining actual racists among us are let off the hook. They\u2019re no worse than the rest of us. Of course, unlike all of us who are invited to affirm our collective guilt for the \u2018system,\u2019 the truly guilty won\u2019t <em>feel<\/em> guilty.\u201d<ul><li> The author is the Associate Director of the James Madison Program at Princeton University. This one is included mostly for the drama of it being published and then unpublished by <em>Newsweek<\/em>. There is an unhealthy intellectual climate at many of our major publications.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/mango.pdf.zone\/finding-former-australian-prime-minister-tony-abbotts-passport-number-on-instagram\">When you browse Instagram and find former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott\u2019s passport number<\/a> (Alex Hope, personal website): \u201cThe point of this story isn\u2019t to say \u2018wow Tony Abbott got hacked, what a dummy\u2019. The point is that if someone famous can unknowingly post their boarding pass, anyone can.\u201d Surprisingly entertaining and informative.<\/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\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SoIwuRuIOZM\">Day Jobs Don\u2019t Make Any Sense<\/a> (Robert Mac, YouTube): three and a half minutes.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stanforddaily.com\/2020\/09\/17\/random-breakout-rooms-perfect-place-to-unearth-decade-old-never-before-discussed-traumas\/\">Random breakout rooms perfect place to unearth decade-old, never-before-discussed traumas<\/a> (Stanford Daily)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/new-netflix-movie-actually-murders-puppies-to-teach-that-murdering-puppies-is-bad\/\">New Netflix Movie Actually Murders Puppies To Teach That Murdering Puppies Is Bad<\/a> (Babylon Bee) \u2014 the article is worth reading on this one, not just the headline.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/netflix-adds-warning-before-cuties-that-it-is-a-product-of-its-time-when-people-didnt-know-any-better\/\">Netflix Adds Warning Before \u2018Cuties\u2019 That It Is A Product Of Its Time When People Didn\u2019t Know Any Better<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/dilbert.com\/strip\/2020-09-17\">New Words<\/a> (Dilbert)<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smbc-comics.com\/comic\/government\">Government<\/a> (SMBC) \u2014 the mouseover text is what took it over the top for me \u2014 read the whole thing first then mouseover<\/li>\n<\/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:\/\/lareviewofbooks.org\/article\/a-not-so-secular-saint\/#!\">A (Not So) Secular Saint<\/a> (James K.A. Smith, Los Angeles Review of Books): \u201cMill\u2019s legacy was effectively \u2018edited\u2019 by his philosophical and political disciples, excising any hint of religious life. One would never know from the canon in our philosophy departments, for example, that Mill wrote an appreciative essay on \u2018Theism.\u2019\u201d First shared in <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2019\/02\/15\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-190\">volume 190<\/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 installment can be titled \u201cAmerica In Decline, but the Bible Looking Pretty Solid. Also Australia.\u201d<\/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 installment can be titled \"America In Decline, but the Bible Looking Pretty Solid. 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