{"id":7059,"date":"2022-11-25T17:35:51","date_gmt":"2022-11-26T01:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7059"},"modified":"2022-11-25T17:35:51","modified_gmt":"2022-11-26T01:35:51","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-378","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2022\/11\/25\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-378","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 378"},"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 volume 378, which is apparently the maximum number of objects you can slice a cube into using 13&nbsp;cuts.<\/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 rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/11\/25\/us\/the-chosen-jesus-streaming-tv.html\" target=\"_blank\">Jesus Christ, Streaming Star<\/a> (Ruth Graham, New York Times): \u201cConceived by a little-known creator, featuring no major stars and funded primarily, at first, through small contributions without the support of a Hollywood studio, [The Chosen] began on an obscure proprietary app and is now given away for free. Its I.P. is 2,000 years old. But despite the long odds, the faith-based drama series has become a bona fide phenomenon in many parts of Christian culture, attracting a fervent ecumenical fandom while remaining almost invisible to others.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/11\/20\/business\/caesars-sports-betting-universities-colleges.html\" target=\"_blank\">How Colleges and Sports-Betting Companies \u2018Caesarized\u2019 Campus Life<\/a> (Anna Betts, Andrew Little, Elizabeth Sander, Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly &amp; Walt Bogdanich, New York Times): \u201cThe deals came together largely in private, The Times found, with minimal discussion on campus about their potential impact on students, athletes and the integrity of college sports.\u201d&nbsp;<ul>\n<li>I love that the lead author is named&nbsp;Betts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/marginalrevolution.com\/marginalrevolution\/2022\/11\/ai-conquers-diplomacy.html\" target=\"_blank\">AI Conquers Diplomacy<\/a> (Alex Tabarrok, Marginal Revolution): \u201cKeep in mind that since the game is zero-sum to do well the AI must convince humans to do what is NOT in their interest. We really do need to invest more in the alignment problem.\u201d&nbsp;<ul>\n<li>The research: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/ai.facebook.com\/blog\/cicero-ai-negotiates-persuades-and-cooperates-with-people\/\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/ai.facebook.com\/blog\/cicero-ai-negotiates-persuades-and-cooperates-with-people\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Responses to the proposed \u201cRespect for Marriage Act\u201d&nbsp;<ul>\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/wng.org\/opinions\/no-respect-for-religious-freedom-in-respect-for-marriage-act-1668861516\" target=\"_blank\">No respect for religious freedom in the \u201cRespect for Marriage Act\u201d<\/a> (Kristen Waggoner, World): \u201c[This legislation] fuels hostility towards Americans who hold beliefs about marriage rooted in honorable or philosophical premises.It imposes a new obligation to recognize same-sex relationships on religious organizations that work closely with government. It creates new tools for progressive activists and the Department of Justice to enforce that obligation. It gives the Internal Revenue Service a new argument for taking tax-exempt status away from religious non-profits. It makes religious freedom and free speech cases harder to win by elevating the federal government\u2019s interest in same-sex marriage.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/thedispatch.com\/newsletter\/frenchpress\/why-i-changed-my-mind-about-law-and-marriage-again\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/thedispatch.com\/newsletter\/frenchpress\/why-i-changed-my-mind-about-law-and-marriage-again\/\">Why I Changed My Mind About Law and Marriage, Again<\/a> (David French, The Dispatch): \u201cI agree with University of Virginia professor Douglas Laycock. \u2018The act contains \u201cimportant protections\u201d for religious liberty, including \u201can explicit statement by Congress that \u201cdiverse beliefs about the role of gender in marriage\u201d\u2014including the belief that marriage is between a man and woman rather than between persons of the same sex\u2014\u201care held by reasonable and sincere people based on decent and honorable philosophical premises\u201d and that such beliefs \u201care due proper respect.\u201c&nbsp;\u2018 Other provisions provide protections for the tax exemptions for religious organizations, hold that religious organizations don\u2019t have to participate in the solemnization of same-sex marriages, and specifically reject the approach of the Equality Act, which sought to undermine the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericanconservative.com\/respect-for-marriage-act-an-imprudent-compromise\/\" target=\"_blank\">Respect For Marriage Act: An Imprudent Compromise<\/a> (Rod Dreher, The American Conservative): \u201c[Lawmakers] have to make their political decisions recognizing the social and cultural realities of contemporary America, a country where a majority of young people prize sexual autonomy more than religious liberty, and who love gay more than God. That\u2019s not likely to get any better, and is in fact likely to get far worse. What then? I don\u2019t identify with David French\u2019s eagerness to compromise, and I would draw the lines of compromise in different places \u2026 but French seems to understand the shaky ground on which Christian trads stand better than a lot of people who are right about marriage do.\u201d Dreher is responding to a different article by French than the one below, which was printed a day&nbsp;later.<\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/thedispatch.com\/newsletter\/frenchpress\/an-open-letter-to-those-who-think-ive-lost-my-christian-faith\/\" target=\"_blank\">An Open Letter to Those Who Think I\u2019ve Lost My Christian Faith<\/a> (David French, The Dispatch): \u201c\u2026read the text of the bill. Does that language truly give the IRS a \u2018new argument for taxing tax-exempt status away\u2019?&nbsp;And does the act create \u2018new tools for progressive activists and the Department of Justice\u2019 to enforce an obligation to recognize same-sex marriages on \u2018religious organizations that work closely with government\u2019? [It does&nbsp;not.]\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Two articles describing how out-of-control euthanasia is getting in some countries:&nbsp;<ul>\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commonsense.news\/p\/scheduled-to-die-the-rise-of-canadas\" target=\"_blank\">Scheduled to Die: The Rise of Canada\u2019s Assisted Suicide Program<\/a> (Rupa Subramanya, Bari Weiss\u2019s Substack): \u201cNext March, the government is scheduled to expand the pool of eligible suicide-seekers to include the mentally ill and \u2018mature minors.\u2019 According to Canada\u2019s Department of Justice, parents are generally \u2018entitled to make treatment decisions on their children\u2019s behalf. The mature minor doctrine, however, allows children deemed sufficiently mature to make their own treatment decisions.\u2026\u2019 Dr. Dawn Davies, a palliative care physician who supported MAiD when it was first conceived, said she had \u2018tons of worries\u2019 about where this might lead. She could imagine kids with personality disorders or other mental health issues saying they wanted to die. \u2018Some of them will mean it, some of them won\u2019t,\u2019 she said. \u2018And we won\u2019t necessarily be able to discern who is&nbsp;who.\u2019&nbsp;\u201d<\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.firstthings.com\/web-exclusives\/2022\/11\/safeguards-cannot-make-euthanasia-safe\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cSafeguards\u201d Cannot Make Euthanasia Safe<\/a> (Robert Clarke, First Things): \u201cThere is a clear slippery slope from approving euthanasia in rare terminal cases to approving just about any mental health diagnoses. Twenty-three-year-old Shanti de Corte was recently euthanized due to the mental trauma she suffered from the 2016 Brussels airport terrorist attack, after which she \u2018never felt safe.\u2019 Her death signals our society\u2019s failure to support the vulnerable and wounded. We have abandoned authentic care and compassion in favor of&nbsp;death.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2022\/oct\/27\/megalopolis-how-coastal-west-africa-will-shape-the-coming-century\" target=\"_blank\">Megalopolis: how coastal west Africa will shape the coming century<\/a> (Howard W French, The Guardian): \u201cBy 2100, the Lagos-Abidjan stretch is projected to be the largest zone of continuous, dense habitation on earth, with something in the order of half a billion people [all in one giant megalopolis].\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=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/textsfromsuperheroes.com\/post\/701764979142066176\/mystiqueturkey\" target=\"_blank\">A Thanksgiving Scheme<\/a> (Texts From Superheroes)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/pastor-spontaneously-chokes-up-at-same-point-in-all-5-services\/\" target=\"_blank\">Pastor Spontaneously Chokes Up At Same Point In All 5 Services<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gocomics.com\/pearlsbeforeswine\/2022\/11\/23\" target=\"_blank\">An Introductory Speech<\/a> (Pearls Before Swine)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gocomics.com\/pearlsbeforeswine\/2022\/11\/21\" target=\"_blank\">Joe Rogan<\/a> (Pearls Before Swine)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AuJZsC_LmAQ\" target=\"_blank\">Key, Card, Illusion | Horret Wu<\/a> (Penn &amp; Teller Fool Us, YouTube): eight enchanting minutes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bauRGCH5720\" target=\"_blank\">Amazing time-traveling card trick<\/a> (Penn &amp; Teller Fool Us, YouTube): eight fairly astonishing minutes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/xkcd.com\/2703\/\" target=\"_blank\">Paper Title<\/a> (xkcd)&nbsp; the mouseover text is good as&nbsp;well<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thefarside.com\/2022\/11\/25\/3\" target=\"_blank\">Moses Parting His Hair<\/a> (The Far&nbsp;Side)<\/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 rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/christianscholars.com\/are-the-wages-of-sin-really-death-moral-and-epidemiologic-observations\/\" target=\"_blank\">Are the Wages of Sin Really Death?: Moral and Epidemiologic Observations<\/a> (David Lyle Jeffrey and Jeff Levin, Christian Scholar\u2019s Review): \u201cSo, are the wages of sin <em>really <\/em>death? As far as population-health research suggests, the answer is a guarded yes.\u201d The authors are professors at Baylor, one of epidemiology and the other of literature. From <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2020\/05\/15\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-250\" target=\"_blank\">volume 250<\/a>. I know I shared it recently. It\u2019s worth sharing again.<\/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 volume 378, which is apparently the maximum number of objects you can slice a cube into using \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2022\/11\/25\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-378\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 378\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":"An article about gambling written by an author named Betts along with other interesting 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":[131,266,219,167,322,113],"class_list":["post-7059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-academia","tag-africa","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-euthanasia","tag-gambling","tag-lgbtq"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1PR","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7059","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=7059"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7070,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7059\/revisions\/7070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}