{"id":6450,"date":"2021-01-02T20:29:26","date_gmt":"2021-01-03T04:29:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=6450"},"modified":"2021-01-02T20:32:04","modified_gmt":"2021-01-03T04:32:04","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-282","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2021\/01\/02\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-282","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 282"},"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>On <s>Fridays<\/s> (Saturday this week) 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 rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/blog.supplysideliberal.com\/post\/2020\/12\/31\/how-perfectionism-has-made-the-pandemic-worse\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.supplysideliberal.com\/post\/2020\/12\/31\/how-perfectionism-has-made-the-pandemic-worse\" target=\"_blank\">How Perfectionism Has Made the Pandemic Worse<\/a> (Miles Kimball, personal blog): \u201cI\u2019ve noticed one regularity in how the US (and many other countries) have handled the pandemic: perfectionism has been getting in the way of a quick and powerful response. Every little bit would have helped reduce the reproduction ratio of the coronavirus, but only things that were big bits were allowed.\u201d The author is an economist at UC Boulder.&nbsp;<ul><li><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/public-health-bodies-may-be-talking-at-us-but-theyre-actually-talking-to-each-other\/2020\/12\/27\/2c5064a2-4626-11eb-975c-d17b8815a66d_story.html\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/public-health-bodies-may-be-talking-at-us-but-theyre-actually-talking-to-each-other\/2020\/12\/27\/2c5064a2-4626-11eb-975c-d17b8815a66d_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">Public health bodies may be talking at us, but they\u2019re actually talking to each other<\/a> (Megan McArdle, Washington Post): \u201c\u2026when a large group acts as though a complicated problem is a no-brainer, that doesn\u2019t mean the solution is obvious; it means something has gone badly&nbsp;wrong.\u201d<\/li><li><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.scottaaronson.com\/blog\/?p=5224\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scottaaronson.com\/blog\/?p=5224\" target=\"_blank\">My vaccine crackpottery: a confession<\/a> (Scott Aaronson, personal blog): \u201cI think [our failure] will be clear to future generations, who\u2019ll write PhD theses exploring how it was possible that we invented multiple effective covid vaccines in mere days or weeks, but then simply sat on those vaccines for a year, ticking off boxes called \u2018Phase I,\u2019 \u2018Phase II,\u2019 etc. while civilization hung in the balance.\u201d The author is a CS prof at UT Austin.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/12\/28\/health\/covid-psychosis-mental.html\">Small Number of Covid Patients Develop Severe Psychotic Symptoms<\/a> (Pam Belluck, New York Times): \u201c[she] had become infected with the coronavirus in the spring. She had experienced only mild physical symptoms from the virus, but, months later, she heard a voice that first told her to kill herself and then told her to kill her children.\u201d Shared with me by a student who noted it is both interesting and freaky. This really highlights what a bullet we dodged with this pandemic \u2014 can you imagine a plague whose main effect was to make people violently psychotic? Society would end. Full-on zombie apocalypse.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.relevantmagazine.com\/faith\/church\/rick-warren-on-the-year-we-had\/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" href=\"https:\/\/www.relevantmagazine.com\/faith\/church\/rick-warren-on-the-year-we-had\/\" target=\"_blank\">Rick Warren On The Year We Had<\/a> (Cameron Strang, Relevant Magazine): \u201cWe have led over 16,000 people to Christ since March. We\u2019re in revival. We\u2019re averaging about 80 people a day coming to Christ\u201480 people a day.\u2026 Of those 16,000 people who have come to Christ, over 12,000 of them have come through personal, one-on-one witnessing by my members. Not led to Christ by my sermons. By one on one evangelizing.\u201d<\/li><li><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-africa-55332142\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-africa-55332142\" target=\"_blank\">East Africa fears second wave \u2014 of locust swarms<\/a> (Navin Singh Khadka, BBC): \u201cNew swarms of desert locusts are threatening the livelihoods of millions of people in the Horn of Africa and Yemen despite a year of control efforts, the United Nations has warned.\u201d This is the latest news concerning an article from August an alumnus recently shared with me: <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/future\/article\/20200806-the-biblical-east-african-locust-plagues-of-2020\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/future\/article\/20200806-the-biblical-east-african-locust-plagues-of-2020\" target=\"_blank\">The Biblical locust plagues of 2020<\/a> (David Njagi, BBC): \u201cIn 2020, locusts have swarmed in large numbers in dozens of countries, including Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Somalia, Eritrea, India, Pakistan, Iran, Yemen, Oman and Saudi Arabia. When swarms affect several countries at once in very large numbers, it is known as a plague.\u201d<\/li><li><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/12\/24\/opinion\/zoom-church-christmas-covid-loss.html\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/12\/24\/opinion\/zoom-church-christmas-covid-loss.html\" target=\"_blank\">Why You Can\u2019t Meet God Over Zoom<\/a> (Esau McCaulley, New York Times): \u201cThe very inadequacy of church services, Zoom and otherwise, is a reminder we do not come into churches to encounter a life lesson on how to raise our children or to learn to be good Americans, whatever that means. Our aim is much more audacious. We are attempting to encounter God and, in so doing, find ourselves, possibly for the first time.\u201d The author is a New Testament professor at Wheaton College.&nbsp;<ul><li>This isn\u2019t really a knock on McCaulley so much as an observation and a hope: many Christians who write for publications like the NYT lead with the negatives and slowly build to their point that \u201cchurch isn\u2019t so bad really and maybe someday you should check it out.\u201d I wonder if that is a byproduct of the editorial process or if it is simply a selection effect in the sort of Christian intellectual who wants to (and is permitted to) write an op-ed for a culturally influential publication.<\/li><li>Thinking about this puts me in mind of Erica Campbell\u2019s song <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4G5BAQhLzMw\">I Luh God<\/a> (YouTube, three minutes). It swept through our ministry a few years ago, I think because it scratched an itch in our students. Our students had dance parties to it after our worship services. She sang with confident joy: \u201cI luh God, you don\u2019t luh God? What\u2019s wrong with&nbsp;chu?\u201d<\/li><li>When we discuss the faith as though it were a series of syllogisms we\u2019re being foolish. People\u2019s questions need answers, certainly. But all the answers in the world will do no good if, at some level, people don\u2019t hope Christianity is true. We must kindle hope before we go to the trouble of overcoming objections to&nbsp;hope.<\/li><li>I say all that to say this: if you ever write an op-ed for the New York Times, do apologetics without being apologetic. Bring as much joy to it as you can and let your writing be filled with winsome confidence. We need a whole flock of Christian intellectuals with the swagger of a G.K. Chesterton.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/quillette.com\/2020\/12\/28\/higher-education-risks-no-longer-being-worth-it-heres-how-to-change-course\/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" href=\"https:\/\/quillette.com\/2020\/12\/28\/higher-education-risks-no-longer-being-worth-it-heres-how-to-change-course\/\" target=\"_blank\">Higher Education Risks No Longer Being Worth It \u2013 Here\u2019s How to Change Course<\/a> (Christos Makridis, Quillette): \u201cFor all the talk about racial equity in colleges, you would think that faculty would be working with local small business owners, especially minorities, to mentor and equip them to drive greater profitability and impact. Unfortunately, that rarely happens.\u201d Christos is an alumnus of our ministry.<\/li><li><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/frenchpress.thedispatch.com\/p\/the-church-needs-prophets-but-wants\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" href=\"https:\/\/frenchpress.thedispatch.com\/p\/the-church-needs-prophets-but-wants\" target=\"_blank\">The Church Needs Prophets, But It Wants Lawyers<\/a> (David French, The Dispatch): \u201cAmerican Christian culture is rife with congregants looking for lawyers, not prophets and not pastors. The church-shopping phenomenon puts us in churches that make us feel quite comfortable, and the sheer number of available congregations (especially in the South and parts of the Midwest) makes us quite mobile.\u201d&nbsp;<ul><li>I almost didn\u2019t share this one because I thought it was more useful for ministry leaders, but after I had mentally deep-sixed it a student emailed me and said: \u201cI think it could be useful for Christians who find themselves frustrated by and unable to support blanket criticism of the church and of organized religion from the left, but also dissatisfied by responses from the right that frame any criticism as part of a culture war and trivialize issues within the church as just a few bad examples. I think for me it also was helpful in thinking of how I might respond to non-Christians when these kinds of criticisms come up in conversation and how I can be both defend Christianity and the good parts of the church while acknowledging continued brokenness and need for improvement. It also happened to tie in nicely with a sermon I heard on Sunday about how Christians have no problem recognizing sin as the cause of brokenness in the world but often point to the sins of others, whether of peers, leaders, or past generations, instead of their own sin as the cause of that brokenness. In that sense I think it both helped me think about how to process the failings of prominent Christians and talk about them with non-believers as well as be reminded by these failings to remember that beyond defending the church, my response as an individual should also be to identify and root out sin in my own life even when the damage is not as obvious to my community.\u201d&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li> <div><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/709959352435346\/posts\/what-happens-on-january-6th-in-november-160-million-americans-voted-on-december-\/3517705981660655\/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/709959352435346\/posts\/what-happens-on-january-6th-in-november-160-million-americans-voted-on-december-\/3517705981660655\/\" target=\"_blank\">WHAT HAPPENS ON JANUARY 6th <\/a>(Ben Sasse, Facebook): \u201cThere is some voter fraud every election cycle \u2013 and the media flatly declaring from on high that \u2018there is no fraud!\u2019 has made things worse. It has heightened public distrust, because there are, in fact, documented cases of voter fraud every election cycle. But the crucial questions are: (A) What evidence do we have of fraud? and (B) Does that evidence support the belief in fraud on a scale so significant that it could have changed the outcome? We have little evidence of fraud, and what evidence we do have does not come anywhere close to adding up to a different winner of the presidential election.\u201d<\/div> <ul><li> <div>Sasse is one of the Nebraska senators and is also a former seminary president. Missouri senator Josh Hawley, who this seems to be aimed at, is also an outspoken believer on Capitol Hill. Hawley, incidentally, did his undergrad at Stanford. He graduated the year we were launching Chi Alpha, so our paths have never crossed.<\/div> <\/li><li>Hawley doesn\u2019t have a statement as comprehensive as Sasse\u2019s, but here is an excerpt from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawley.senate.gov\/sen-hawley-will-object-during-electoral-college-certification-process-jan-6\">his press release<\/a>: \u201cI cannot vote to certify the electoral college results on January 6 without raising the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws. And I cannot vote to certify without pointing out the unprecedented effort of mega corporations, including Facebook and Twitter, to interfere in this election, in support of Joe&nbsp;Biden.\u201d<\/li><li>I generally avoid political posts like this because I find the minutia of politics uninteresting. In this case, the fact that two evangelicals who are normally political allies are having a substantive and public disagreement intrigues me.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul><\/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.gocomics.com\/pearlsbeforeswine\/2020\/12\/27\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.gocomics.com\/pearlsbeforeswine\/2020\/12\/27\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">Farewell, 2020<\/a> (Pearls Before Swine)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/imgur.com\/gallery\/GgWEcDQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/imgur.com\/gallery\/GgWEcDQ\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">Quarantine Books<\/a> (Imgur)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/new-calvinist-video-game-just-cutscenes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/new-calvinist-video-game-just-cutscenes\/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">New Calvinist Video Game Just 40 Hours Of Non-Interactive Cutscenes<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gocomics.com\/pearlsbeforeswine\/2021\/01\/01\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.gocomics.com\/pearlsbeforeswine\/2021\/01\/01\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">Predestination<\/a> (Pearls Before Swine)<\/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:\/\/palladiummag.com\/2019\/08\/05\/the-real-problem-at-yale-is-not-free-speech\/\">The Real Problem at Yale Is Not Free Speech<\/a> (Natalia Dashan, Palladium): \u201cThe campus \u2018free speech\u2019 debate is just a side\u2010effect. So are debates about \u2018diversity\u2019 and \u2018inclusion.\u2019 The real problems run much deeper. The real problems start with Marcus and me, and the masks we wear for each other\u2026. In a world of masks and fa\u00e7ades, it is hard to convey the truth. And this is how I ended up offering a sandwich to a man with hundreds of millions in a foreign bank account.\u201d I liked this one a lot. First shared in <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2019\/08\/23\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-215\">volume 215<\/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 (Saturday this week) 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 How Perfectionism Has Made the Pandemic Worse (Miles Kimball, personal blog): \u201cI\u2019ve \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2021\/01\/02\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-282\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 282\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":"Wow - I put a lot more of my own thoughts in this one than I normally do. Skim if you want to see what I really think about some things.","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":[131,266,124,120,160,275,117],"class_list":["post-6450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-academia","tag-africa","tag-apologetically-interesting","tag-famous-christians","tag-how-the-church-is-perceived","tag-pandemic","tag-politics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1G2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6450","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=6450"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6459,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6450\/revisions\/6459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}