{"id":7480,"date":"2024-07-19T18:13:19","date_gmt":"2024-07-20T01:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7480"},"modified":"2024-07-19T18:13:19","modified_gmt":"2024-07-20T01:13:19","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-462","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2024\/07\/19\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-462","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 462"},"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><br><br>    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 462, which my simple math brain likes because 4, 6, and 2 are related numbers.<\/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\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/wapo.st\/3ycKIC3\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/wapo.st\/3ycKIC3\">Sebastian Junger was a skeptic of the afterlife. Then he nearly died.<\/a> (Steven Petrow, Washington Post): \u201cJunger, a confirmed atheist and an adherent of the scientific method, had been raised by a physicist (his father) and a painter (his mother). His upbringing had left little room for a spiritual experience like this one, which turns out to be the central conundrum of this book and, I\u2019d venture, his life. The meeting with his father was understandably unnerving. \u2018He was dead, I was alive, and I wanted nothing to do with him.\u2019 But, it\u2019s hard to unsee what you\u2019ve seen: His father had not only visited him but opened the door to the idea that an afterlife might actually exist.\u2026 Ever the reporter, Junger is unwilling to write off these experiences as hallucinations (or any of the other medical explanations). He admits he was hoping for evidence of an afterlife, finding hints of it in the universality of NDEs that feature seeing the dead. After all, he writes, \u2018there are neurochemical explanations for why people hallucinate, but not for why they keep hallucinating the same&nbsp;thing.\u2019&nbsp;\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Unlocked.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/12\/opinion\/gender-affirming-care-cass-review.html?unlocked_article_code=1.8k0.bMnI.kjn0f-5fvsX_&amp;smid=url-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why Is the U.S. Still Pretending We Know Gender-Affirming Care Works?<\/a> (Pamela Paul, New York Times): \u201cImagine a comprehensive review of research on a treatment for children found \u2018remarkably weak evidence\u2019 that it was effective. Now imagine the medical establishment shrugged off the conclusions and continued providing the same unproven and life-altering treatment to its young patients. This is where we are with gender medicine in the United States.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Unlocked.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.graphsaboutreligion.com\/p\/we-asked-the-nones-a-bunch-of-questions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">We Asked the Nones a Bunch of Questions About Leaving Religion<\/a> (Ryan Burge, Substack): \u201cThe most popular reason [for leaving religion] by a significant margin was \u2018religious hypocrisy.\u2019 About 42% of the sample chose that reason for leaving. That was seven points higher than the second most popular \u2014 \u2018religion doesn\u2019t make sense.\u2019 That was chosen by 35% of the sample. The only other response that scored above 30% was religious bigotry (31%).\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Various pieces about the assassination attempt on&nbsp;Trump:&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/14\/us\/politics\/photo-path-trump-assassination.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Photo Appears to Capture Path of Bullet Used in Assassination Attempt<\/a> (John Ismay, New York Times): \u201cIn documenting the Pennsylvania campaign rally on Saturday afternoon that turned into an attempt on a former president\u2019s life, Doug Mills, a veteran New York Times photographer, appeared to capture the image of a bullet streaking past former President Donald J. Trump\u2019s head.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/p\/eli-lake-its-1968-all-over-again\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">It\u2019s 1968 All Over Again<\/a> (Eli Lake, The Free Press): \u201cThe near assassination of Trump is an echo of the violence of 1968, when both Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were gunned down in a two-month span in the spring of that year. Both were the victims of lone gunmen, James Earl Ray and Sirhan Sirhan, respectively. The murders threw America into a cycle of riots and crackdowns that culminated with the Democratic convention in Chicago at the end of August.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.richardhanania.com\/p\/why-are-there-so-few-assassinations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why Are There So Few Assassinations<\/a>? (Richard Hanania, Substack): \u201cConsider that there are a lot of crazy people out there who get agitated about politics. There is also an endless number of nihilists with nothing to live for, but who would probably like to see their names in the history books. Powerful firearms are widely available in many advanced nations, particularly the United States. In this country, it is common for malls or schools to get shot up by disturbed young men who expect to get nothing out of the act except that they might end up being part of a news story for a few days. Why don\u2019t more of these types go after major politicians?\u201d&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/15\/us\/politics\/trump-rally-crowd-gunman.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Video Shows Crowd Warning Law Enforcement About Gunman Before He Fired at Trump<\/a> (David Botti, Haley Willis and Malachy Browne, New York Times): \u201cVideo taken by a bystander shows people pointing to the man suspected of shooting at former President Donald J. Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania and frantically warning law enforcement, just two minutes before the first burst of gunfire rang out, according to an analysis of the footage by The New York&nbsp;Times.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spiked-online.com\/2024\/07\/14\/why-slavery-is-not-americas-original-sin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why slavery is not America\u2019s original sin<\/a> (Wilfred Reilly, Spiked): \u201cModern Americans tend to project our positive values back into the past while thinking that our sins are uniquely bad. What we don\u2019t understand is that contemporary Western beliefs about human dignity, inalienable rights, a right to freedom, etc, are the exception, not the norm.\u2026 Even a few open slave societies continue to exist today. In the Islamic republic of Mauritania, \u2018the very structure of society reinforces slavery\u2019.\u2026 CNN reporters and analysts claimed that between \u201910 per cent to 20 per cent of the [Mauritanian] population lives in slavery\u2019.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The author is a political scientist at Kentucky State. The article is an excerpt from his new book, which I have not&nbsp;read.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.robkhenderson.com\/p\/the-hidden-marriage-market\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Hidden Marriage Market<\/a> (Rob K. Henderson, Substack): \u201cToday, colleges and universities function as arranged matchmaking services. Charles Murray\u2019s term of art in <em>Coming Apart <\/em>is \u2018the college sorting machine.\u2019 The mechanism whereby people with distinctive tastes and preferences are brought together into educational institutions and the labor force.\u2026 It\u2019s true that most college graduates don\u2019t meet their spouse in college. But by graduating, you then, as Caplan notes, enter a refined dating pool for the rest of your&nbsp;life.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some stuff from the election and election-adjacent realm, focused on the Republican side because they just had their convention and Trump put forth Vance as his&nbsp;VP:&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/marginalrevolution.com\/marginalrevolution\/2024\/07\/the-changes-in-vibes-why-did-they-happen.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The changes in vibes \u2014 why did they happen?<\/a> (Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution): \u201cAnother way to put it is that Trump was a highly vulnerable, defeated President, facing numerous legal charges and indeed an actual felony conviction. Yet he now stands as a clear favorite in the next election. In conceptual terms, how exactly did that happen? I had been thinking it would be a good cognitive test to ask people why they think the vibes have changed, and then to grade their answers for intelligence, insight, and intellectual honesty.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cowen offers interesting hypotheses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aaronrenn.com\/p\/how-jd-vance-rejected-evangelicalism?utm_source=%2Finbox&amp;utm_medium=reader2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How J.D. Vance Rejected Evangelicalism<\/a> (Aaron Renn, Substack): \u201cHe explicitly sees religion through the lens of socio-economic status. Once he saw that it was possible to be Christian in the world of the elites, it became interesting and credible to him again. Note again that it\u2019s Catholics and Mormons who are key to this, not any sort of Protestants. At the time of this interview, Vance was still exploring Catholicism, to which he later converted.\u2026 There\u2019s also something in evangelicalism that\u2019s just off-putting to a lot of people like Vance. It\u2019s not just the working class Pentecostal congregations like the one I was raised in (which was very similar to Vance\u2019s experience). The average suburban megachurch is also incredibly cringe. I like to distinguish between middle class and striver class. Evangelicalism appeals to the middle class, but much less so to the striver class.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Renn is not wrong about the dynamics at play, but he is overlooking the presence of ministries like Chi Alpha on these elite campuses which are usually larger (in terms of weekly attendance) and perceived to be more vibrant than the Catholic ministries.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A foll0w-up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aaronrenn.com\/p\/catholic-conversionism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Catholic Conversionism<\/a> (Aaron Renn, Substack): \u201cIt\u2019s worth noting that although intellectuals often convert from evangelicalism to Catholicism, a lot more people over all convert the other direction, from Catholicism to evangelicalism.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If anyone thinks Catholicism is correct on the merits, then become a Catholic. I strongly disagree with you, but follow your convictions. But to anyone tempted to convert to Catholicism or anything else primarily because it makes your social life \/ career prospects better, I urge you to reconsider.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/17\/us\/jd-vance-yale-law-school.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How Yale Propelled J.D. Vance\u2019s Career<\/a> (Stephanie Saul, New York Times): \u201cSofia Nelson, a former classmate who is transgender and was once a close friend of both Mr. Vance and his wife, recalled that Mr. Vance delivered home-baked treats when they underwent top surgery. But years of friendship ended in 2021 over his support for an Arkansas bill opposing transgender care for minors.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Interesting when you ignore the partisan dynamic and instead focus on the cultural collision at&nbsp;Yale.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/reason.com\/volokh\/2024\/07\/18\/the-populist-gop-and-its-yale-law-and-harvard-law-leaders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Populist GOP and its Yale Law and Harvard Law Leaders<\/a> (Orin S. Kerr, The Volokh Conspiracy): \u201c\u2026populist conservative voters are fine with voting for conservative graduates of elite law schools because having attended those school affords conservative politicians a sort of veteran status of its own. The politicians running for GOP office don\u2019t speak fondly of their time at these schools. Instead, they present their time at Harvard Law or Yale Law as a difficult test of strength that they passed. They spent three years in the trenches of liberalism and they emerged victorious. They are now battle-hardened and ready to fight the liberals while in political office. From that perspective, graduating from these schools isn\u2019t a problem. Instead, like a medal on a military uniform, it\u2019s a credential.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This piece is pretty good, but it overlooks the deliberate pipeline that both sides have set up to scout and route promising young candidates from elite universities into political tracks. There are all kinds of conferences and grants and internships to facilitate this.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstthings.com\/web-exclusives\/2024\/07\/is-the-republican-party-becoming-pro-choice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Is the Republican Party Becoming Pro-Choice<\/a>? (Jonathon Van Maren, First Things): \u201cThe Republican National Committee proposed its 2024 GOP party platform in Milwaukee on July 8, and for the first time in forty years, this platform does not include support for a national abortion ban. Instead, the GOP\u2019s anti-abortion positions are softened and many of the party\u2019s previous pro-life commitments have been removed.\u2026 the GOP appears to be pivoting. Trump claims to hold a federalist position on abortion, but in practice he condemns only states that pass pro-life protections\u2014such as Florida\u2014while saying nothing about states with permissive abortion regimes.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/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=\"simple-list wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/16\/science\/cannibal-female-frog.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">She Didn\u2019t Like His Song, So She Tried to Eat Him<\/a> (Joshua Rapp Learn, New York Times): \u201cDr. Gould believes that a female may be able to tell whether a male is better for mating or eating based on the strength of his calls. This means males take a huge risk when trying to attract mates. \u2018You\u2019ve really got to give props to the male frogs out there, that they are putting their lives on the line to reproduce,\u2019 Dr. Gould&nbsp;said.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hMiJgHSfj5M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Denominations Host Game Night<\/a> (Keith Foskey, YouTube): two minutes of funny with some talkey-talkey at the&nbsp;end<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theplurisociety.com\/p\/the-death-of-hobbies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Death of Hobbies<\/a> (Sherry Ning, Substack): \u201cScrolling through an endless trail of short videos and watching cooking shows is pleasurable because it feels good, but it would be wrong to say you actually <em>enjoy<\/em> it. It would be much more enjoyable to learn how to cook and roll up your sleeves in the kitchen. When we participate in the motion, we turn from a consumer into a creator. And the act of creation is vital to us because we all unconsciously strive to seek meaning beyond the material world: There is something divine about creating. To bring forth something out of nothing, to have something exist because of you, to leave your mark on the world. Every creative act\u2014from developing a software to writing a book to making a large bowl of salad\u2014is a miniature Genesis.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This one really belongs above, but I didn\u2019t have space for it with my self-imposed limit of 7 big bullet points. I convinced myself it belongs here since it has to do with recreation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\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 462, which my simple math brain likes because 4, 6, and 2 are related numbers. Things \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2024\/07\/19\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-462\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 462\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":"","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":[124,153,240,160,113,112,117,178],"class_list":["post-7480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-apologetically-interesting","tag-catholicism","tag-elite-colleges","tag-how-the-church-is-perceived","tag-lgbtq","tag-marriage","tag-politics","tag-slavery"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1WE","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7480","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=7480"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7482,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7480\/revisions\/7482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}