{"id":6988,"date":"2022-08-12T18:14:50","date_gmt":"2022-08-13T02:14:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=6988"},"modified":"2022-08-12T18:14:50","modified_gmt":"2022-08-13T02:14:50","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-363","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2022\/08\/12\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-363","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 363"},"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>This is number 363, which can be represented as 3<sup>1<\/sup>&nbsp;+ 3<sup>2&nbsp;<\/sup>+ 3<sup>3&nbsp;<\/sup>+ 3<sup>4&nbsp;<\/sup>+ 3<sup>5<\/sup><\/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\" href=\"https:\/\/experimentalhistory.substack.com\/p\/why-arent-smart-people-happier\" target=\"_blank\">Why aren\u2019t smart people happier?<\/a>&nbsp;(Adam Mastroianni, Substack): \u201cMy grandma does not know how to use the \u2018input\u2019 button on her TV\u2019s remote control, but she does know how to raise a family full of good people who love each other, how to carry on through a tragedy, and how to make the perfect pumpkin pie.\u2026 Excluding this kind of intelligence from our definitions doesn\u2019t just hurt our grandmas\u2014it hurts us too. If you don\u2019t value the ability to solve poorly defined problems, you\u2019ll never get more of it. You won\u2019t seek out people who have that ability and try to learn from them, nor will you listen to them when they have something important to say. You\u2019ll spend your whole life trying to solve problems with cleverness when what you really need is wisdom.\u201d<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/news\/2022\/august\/ar-bernard-nyc-affordable-housing-church.html\" target=\"_blank\">New York City\u2019s Largest Evangelical Church Plans Billion-Dollar Development<\/a>&nbsp;(Emily Belz, Christianity Today): \u201cOn 10.5 acres of church land,&nbsp;the proposed village&nbsp;would include thousands of units of affordable housing, a trade school, a supermarket, a performing arts center, 24\/7 childcare for night-shift workers, senior living facilities, and other amenities designed to revitalize the East New York neighborhood.\u201d<ul><li>But I thought churches were leeches on society exploiting their tax-exempt status without helping their communities! I\u2019m sure someone told me that&nbsp;once.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2022\/08\/02\/mixing-faith-with-furries-things-can-get-hairy\/\" target=\"_blank\">When mixing faith with furries, things can get hairy<\/a>&nbsp;(Riley Farrell, Religion News Service): \u201c\u2026Christians in the furry community are cautious about who knows about both their furry and faithful selves. Christian furries interviewed for this story, including leaders of the group that calls itself the Christian Furry Fellowship, asked to be anonymous, fearing \u2018doxxing\u2019 from within the largely secular furry community for their Christian identity and ostracization from their professional lives for their furry&nbsp;hobby.\u201d<ul><li>This was by far the most unexpected article I read this week. There\u2019s a lot happening here. I draw your attention to my disclaimers.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/blogs\/evangelical-history\/fact-checking-randall-balmers-urban-legend-on-the-real-origin-of-the-religious-right\/\" target=\"_blank\">Fact-Checking Randall Balmer\u2019s Urban Legend on the Real Origin of the Religious Right<\/a>&nbsp;(Jonathan Whitehead, The Gospel Coalition): \u201cBy the early 1970s, Evangelicals, Catholics, and other religious voters had discovered that politics would not leave them alone. Then their concerns about abortion, government overreach&nbsp;in schools, secular humanism at the FCC, and an unresponsive \u2018born again\u2019 President all merged into a single outlet, creating a torrent of Republican voters in 1978 and beyond.\u201d<ul><li>I posted a debunking of this claim a while ago, but this one is quite good. And the claim gets repeated enough in certain circles that debunkings should be repeated as&nbsp;well.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/frenchpress.thedispatch.com\/p\/there-is-a-secular-case-for-life\" target=\"_blank\">There Is a Secular Case for Life<\/a>&nbsp;(David French, The Dispatch): \u201cAmidst a squadron of religious conservative lawyers, there was a single atheist progressive. He was bearded, disheveled, and quiet, but when he spoke everyone fell silent. Everyone leaned forward to hear what he had to say. His name was Nat Hentoff. He was a writer for the&nbsp;<em>Village Voice<\/em>; he\u2019d published in&nbsp;<em>Playboy<\/em>. He was a progressive civil libertarian. He was also one of the most persuasive pro-life voices in the&nbsp;land.\u201d<\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/gfile.thedispatch.com\/p\/yearning-for-a-banana-republic?utm_source=email\" target=\"_blank\">Yearning for a Banana Republic<\/a>&nbsp;(Jonah Goldberg, The Dispatch): \u201cWhen serious people talk seriously about changing a regime, they\u2019re talking about changing the system of government. Regime change in Iraq meant getting rid of a totalitarian, terroristic dictatorship, not simply replacing Saddam Hussein with a more pliable and cooperative tyrant. America\u2019s regime isn\u2019t on any ballot. Symbolically, it&nbsp;<em>is the ballot<\/em>. More properly, it is the constitutional system that requires our leaders to be elected.\u201d<ul><li>This is straight&nbsp;fire. Not especially partisan but definitely political. Goldberg is a tremendous wordsmith.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.livescience.com\/synthetic-mouse-embryos\" target=\"_blank\">1st synthetic mouse embryos \u2014 complete with beating hearts and brains \u2014 created with no sperm, eggs or womb<\/a>&nbsp;(Nicoletta Lanese, Live Science): \u201cTo achieve this feat, the researchers used only stem cells and a spinning device filled with shiny glass&nbsp;vials.\u201d<ul><li>The title is, I think, poorly worded. These are not embryos assembled from raw materials; rather, the researchers successfully morphed a stem cell into an embryo. Which is also amazing!<\/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\" href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/god-confirms-chips-and-salsa-were-blessed-in-eternity-past-and-may-be-eaten-before-prayer\/\" target=\"_blank\">Theologians Confirm Chips And Salsa Were Blessed In Eternity Past And May Be Eaten Before Prayer<\/a>&nbsp;(Babylon Bee) \u2014 someone out here answering the questions Christians are truly asking<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/Cg3i3qXjDxz\/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=\">Marriages<\/a> (Don McMillan, Instagram): recommended by an alumnus (an unmarried alumnus, should you find that relevant when assessing the&nbsp;humor).<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dwGfLBwj-xw\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dwGfLBwj-xw\">Canadians Are Smarter<\/a> (Moody McCarthy, YouTube): three and a half minutes<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3DXoyWsdNHM\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3DXoyWsdNHM\">Techno Music The Music Of The Gods<\/a> (Tyler Boeh, YouTube): six 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 &nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/archive\/2019\/12\/leith-anderson-silence-moderate-evangelicals\/604120\/\" target=\"_blank\">Evangelicalism\u2019s Silent Majority<\/a>&nbsp;(Emma Green, The Atlantic): \u201cOne of my big takeaways from reporting on evangelical communities is that, contrary to some stereotypes, evangelicals are some of the most globally minded people in America. They donate to charities that do extensive aid work overseas. They\u2019re exposed to other countries through mission work or humanitarian trips.\u201d First shared in&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2020\/01\/03\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-232\" target=\"_blank\">volume 232<\/a>. (sadly, this is paywalled)<\/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:\/\/theglendavis.substack.com\/\">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 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. This is number 363, which can be represented as 31&nbsp;+ 32&nbsp;+ 33&nbsp;+ 34&nbsp;+ 35 Things Glen Found Interesting Why \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2022\/08\/12\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-363\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 363\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":"Links to enthrall your mind and\/or delight your heart.","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":[121,168,124,160,117],"class_list":["post-6988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-abortion","tag-america","tag-apologetically-interesting","tag-how-the-church-is-perceived","tag-politics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1OI","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6988","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=6988"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6991,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6988\/revisions\/6991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}