{"id":6602,"date":"2021-06-11T21:05:49","date_gmt":"2021-06-12T05:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=6602"},"modified":"2021-06-11T21:05:49","modified_gmt":"2021-06-12T05:05:49","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-305","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2021\/06\/11\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-305","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 305"},"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>305 is apparently the 5<sup>th<\/sup> \u2018hexagonal prism number\u2019, which totally sounds made up and I am slightly skeptical of. This is because 305 = (<em>n<\/em>&nbsp;+ 1)(3<em>n<\/em><sup>2<\/sup>&nbsp;+ 3<em>n<\/em>&nbsp;+ 1) where n=4 (presumably the first hexagonal prism number is 1, when n=0).<\/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=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cardus.ca\/comment\/article\/the-fading-of-forgiveness\/?fbclid=IwAR1Ha0tw7uRecJlmBmFHnDuz81iX0aOJEhuOoN5-0z57FDI_WKBQ5a9GTtU\">The Fading of Forgiveness<\/a> (Tim Keller, Cardus): \u201cIn other words, we no longer ground our values in the sacred. We simply treat the values themselves as sacred.\u2026 When the moral norms are detached from faith in a just God, it detaches them also from faith in a merciful and forgiving God. In such a \u2018secular religion,\u2019 deviation from norms is simply unforgiveable.\u201d Full of insights.<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/news\/2021\/june\/singapore-christians-migrant-workers-circuit-breaker-agwo.html\">Loving the Foreigners\u2014Even When They Have a Deadly Disease<\/a> (Hwee Hwee Tan, Christianity Today): \u201cWhile migrant workers had long lived challenging lives in Singapore, it was their unique vulnerability during the circuit-breaker period that really woke up local Christians to the need to help them\u2014in both the short and long&nbsp;term.\u201d<\/li><li>A crisis inside America\u2019s largest evangelical denomination:<ul><li> <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/frenchpress.thedispatch.com\/p\/russell-moores-cri-de-coeur-should?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMzIyMjQyLCJwb3N0X2lkIjozNzI1NTIzMywiXyI6IjEzUFRFIiwiaWF0IjoxNjIzMDczMDYyLCJleHAiOjE2MjMwNzY2NjIsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0yMTc2NSIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.EjD-eIIaypqB8V43CVeHJXFj4j9YT4u_mtcCV0IEIf0\">Russell Moore\u2019s Warnings Should Bring a Reckoning<\/a> (David French, The Dispatch): \u201cChristians, let me ask you a question. When the #MeToo movement launched\u2026 did you think, \u2018Stop obsessing over scandal. Most members of the media and most folks in Hollywood are good people\u2019? Or did you think that multiple powerful American institutions were beset with deep cultural and spiritual problems? .\u2026 #MeToo did reveal moral rot. But let\u2019s flip it all around. When you heard about corruption and sexual misconduct&nbsp;at America\u2019s largest Christian university, what did you think? What did you think when you read about the&nbsp;sexual scandal at Hillsong&nbsp;or when you learned about Ravi Zacharias\u2019 record of abuse and his ministry\u2019s&nbsp;terrible mistreatment of whistleblowers? Did you pause to consider the larger implications of a&nbsp;decade of sexual predation&nbsp;at one of America\u2019s largest Christian camps or the camp\u2019s efforts to&nbsp;intimidate and coerce victims into silence?\u201d I don\u2019t often tip my hand, but FYI Moore and French are two of my favorite evangelical cultural commentators. If they ever agree on something, you can be pretty sure that is my position as&nbsp;well.<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2021\/06\/russell-moore-sbc\/619122\/?utm_source=twitter\">The Scandal Rocking the Evangelical World<\/a> (Pete Wehner, The Atlantic): \u201cAnd the rot that has been so powerfully and so painfully exposed by Russell Moore is not an indictment of Jesus any more than the failures of the religious authorities in first-century Palestine were. A theologian recently reminded me that the Church is not the hope of the world; its purpose is to be a witness to the hope of the world, even if that witness is often imperfect. But those of us of the Christian faith do seem to be overdoing the imperfect part.\u201d<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/samueldjames.substack.com\/p\/where-did-all-the-evangelical-prophets?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMzIyMjQyLCJwb3N0X2lkIjozNzQ3ODY3MywiXyI6ImVzL1ZLIiwiaWF0IjoxNjIzNDM1ODkzLCJleHAiOjE2MjM0Mzk0OTMsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0yMTE3MyIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.m37ZQ3QpPESK-Ckaabh-bNMSwgBOUz3D0hAIPIf3dFw\">Where Did All the Evangelical Prophets Go<\/a>? (Samuel D. James, Substack): \u201cThe godlessness of the left maps very cleanly onto the evangelical church\u2019s radar because its institutions and leaders are watching for it all the time, but the godlessness of the right is obviously not yet something someone can talk about confidently, expecting their denomination or ecclesiastical support system to back them on.\u201d&nbsp;Some good insights here.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>The future of America:<ul><li>A calm perspective: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/06\/08\/opinion\/trump-2024.html\">Are We Destined for a Trump Coup in 2024?<\/a> (Ross Douthat, New York Times): \u201cThen keep in mind, too, that in the event of a Biden-Trump rematch in 2024, Biden, not Trump, will enjoy the presidency\u2019s powers; Kamala Harris, not Mike Pence, will preside over the electoral count; and Trump will be four years older, unlikely to run a fourth time, and therefore somewhat less intimidating in defeat.\u201d<\/li><li>Alarmed from the left: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/snyder.substack.com\/p\/911-and-16\">9\/11 and 1\/6<\/a> (Timothy Snyder, Substack): \u201cThe scenario then goes like this.&nbsp;The Republicans win back the House and Senate in 2022, in part thanks to voter suppression.&nbsp;The Republican candidate in 2024 loses the popular vote by several million and the electoral vote by the margin of a few states.&nbsp;State legislatures, claiming fraud, alter the electoral count vote.&nbsp;The House and Senate accept that altered count.&nbsp;The losing candidate becomes the president.&nbsp;We no longer have \u2018democratically elected government.\u2019&nbsp;And people are angry. No one is seeking to hide that this is the plan.\u201d&nbsp; The author is a historian at&nbsp;Yale.<\/li><li>Alarmed from the right: <a href=\"https:\/\/imprimis.hillsdale.edu\/increasingly-unrecognizable-civilization\/\">Our Increasingly Unrecognizable Civilization<\/a> (Mark Steyn, Imprimis): \u201c\u2026one notices that America is farther down this road than any other country in the Western world. In other words, at this moment of crisis for Western Civilization, or for what we used to call Christendom, the leading country of the free world is pulling the wrong way.\u201d Sent my way by a friend of the ministry.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/noahpinion.substack.com\/p\/a-few-thoughts-on-depression?utm_campaign=Recomendo&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=Revue%20newsletter\">A few thoughts on depression<\/a> (Noah Smith, Substack): \u201cFor some reason, human company helps. In fact, it is the single thing that helps the most. But not the kind of company a sad person needs. What a depressed person needs is simply to talk to people,&nbsp;<em>not&nbsp;<\/em>about their problems or their negative thoughts or their depression, but about anything else \u2014 music, animals, science. The most helpful topic of conversation, I\u2019ve found, is absurdity \u2014 just talking about utterly ridiculous things, gross things, vulgar offensive things, bizarre things. Shared activities, like going on a hike or playing sports, are OK, but talking is much, much more important.\u201d<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/06\/06\/us\/aclu-free-speech.html#click=https:\/\/t.co\/3hybBeh6po\">Once a Bastion of Free Speech, the A.C.L.U. Faces an Identity Crisis<\/a> (Michael Powell, New York Times): \u201cI got the sense it was more important for A.C.L.U. staff to identify with clients and progressive causes than to stand on principle,\u201d he said in a recent interview. \u201cLiberals are leaving the First Amendment behind.\u201d<\/li><li>Some snapshots of academia:<ul><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/05\/25\/magazine\/cherokee-native-american-andrea-smith.html\">The Native Scholar Who Wasn\u2019t<\/a> (Sarah Viren, New York Times): \u201cOf the 1,500 university educators listed as Native American at the time, said Bill Cross, who helped found the American Indian\/Alaska Native Professors Association, \u201cwe\u2019re looking realistically at one-third of those being Indians.\u201d<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/06\/07\/us\/amy-chua-yale-law.html\">Gripped by \u2018Dinner Party-gate,\u2019 Yale Law Confronts a Venomous Divide<\/a> (Sarah Lyell and Stephanie Saul, New York Times): \u201cAt the law school, the episode has exposed bitter divisions in a top-ranked institution struggling to adapt at a moment of roiling social change. Students regularly attack their professors, and one another, for their scholarship, professional choices and perceived political views. In a place awash in rumor and anonymous accusations, almost no one would speak on the record.\u201d<\/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 wp-block-list\"><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=E8Sm_nwrHgU\">Magician Patrick Kun Delivers a Jaw-Dropping Performance<\/a> (America\u2019s Got Talent, YouTube): seven minutes<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/elon-musk-excited-to-once-again-be-richest-man-on-earth-while-jeff-bezos-is-in-space\/\">Elon Musk Excited To Once Again Be Richest Man On Earth While Jeff Bezos Is In Space<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/god-condemned-for-forgiving-racism\/\">God Condemned For Forgiving Racism<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gocomics.com\/pearlsbeforeswine\/2021\/06\/09\">The Trolley Problem<\/a> (Pearls Before Swine)<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/notthebee.com\/article\/south-african-mom-gives-birth-to-ten-babies-passing-previous-record-of-9-set-only-last-month\">South African mom gives birth to TEN BABIES, passing previous world record of 9 set only last month<\/a> (Not The&nbsp;Bee)&nbsp;<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=r84pbPbBAFY\">How JK Rowling flummoxed Stephen Fry<\/a> (YouTube): three and a half minutes<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.capecodtimes.com\/story\/news\/2021\/06\/11\/humpback-whale-catches-michael-packard-lobster-driver-mouth-proviencetown-cape-cod\/7653838002\/\">\u2018I was completely inside\u2019: Lobster diver swallowed by humpback whale off Provincetown<\/a> (Doug Fraser, Cape Cod Times): \u201cInitially, Packard thought he was inside a great white shark, but he couldn\u2019t feel any teeth and he hadn\u2019t suffered any obvious wounds. It quickly dawned on him that he had&nbsp;been swallowed by a whale.\u201d Passed my way by a student.<\/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:\/\/stevecoast.substack.com\/p\/the-world-will-only-get-weirder\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/stevecoast.substack.com\/p\/the-world-will-only-get-weirder\">The world will only get weirder<\/a> (Steven Coast, personal blog): \u201cWe fixed all the main reasons aircraft crash a long time ago. Sometimes a long, long time ago. So, we are left with the less and less probable events.\u201d The piece is a few years old so the examples are dated, but it remains very intriguing. (first shared in <a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2016\/09\/16\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-67\">volume 67<\/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>more sublists 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":"More sublists than normal in this one: a sign that I read more than in a typical week.","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":[131,168,140,292,152,160,117,291,290,162],"class_list":["post-6602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-academia","tag-america","tag-culture","tag-depression","tag-free-speech","tag-how-the-church-is-perceived","tag-politics","tag-singapore","tag-southern-baptists","tag-theology"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1Iu","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6602","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=6602"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6608,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6602\/revisions\/6608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}