{"id":7624,"date":"2025-02-14T17:40:49","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T01:40:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7624"},"modified":"2025-02-14T17:40:49","modified_gmt":"2025-02-15T01:40:49","slug":"volume-491-a-philosopher-converts-a-christian-cyborg-and-a-comedian-riffs-on-pastors-who-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2025\/02\/14\/volume-491-a-philosopher-converts-a-christian-cyborg-and-a-comedian-riffs-on-pastors-who-scam","title":{"rendered":"Volume 491: a philosopher converts, a Christian cyborg, and a comedian riffs on pastors who scam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><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>\n\n    On Fri\u00addays I share articles\/resources about broad cul\u00adtur\u00adal, soci\u00adetal and the\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal issues. Be sure to see the expla\u00adna\u00adtion and dis\u00adclaimers at the bot\u00adtom. I wel\u00adcome your sug\u00adges\u00adtions. If you read some\u00adthing fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading please pass it my way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things Glen Found Interesting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/larrysanger.org\/2025\/02\/how-a-skeptical-philosopher-becomes-a-christian\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How a Skep\u00adti\u00adcal Philoso\u00adpher Becomes a Chris\u00adt\u00adian<\/a> (Lar\u00adry Sanger, per\u00adson\u00adal blog): \u201cWhen I real\u00adly sought to under\u00adstand it, I found the Bible far more inter\u00adest\u00ading and\u2014to my shock and consternation\u2014coherent than I was expect\u00ading. I looked up answers to all my crit\u00adi\u00adcal ques\u00adtions, think\u00ading that per\u00adhaps oth\u00aders had not thought of issues I saw. I was wrong. Not only had they thought of all the issues, and more that I had not thought of, they had well-worked-out posi\u00adtions about them. I did not believe their answers, which some\u00adtimes struck me as con\u00adtrived or unlike\u00adly. But often, they were shock\u00ading\u00adly plau\u00adsi\u00adble. The Bible could sus\u00adtain inter\u00adro\u00adga\u00adtion; who knew? It slow\u00adly dawned on me that I was acquaint\u00ading myself with the two-thou\u00adsand-year-old tra\u00addi\u00adtion of the\u00adol\u00ado\u00adgy. I found myself pos\u00adi\u00adtive\u00adly <em>ashamed<\/em> to real\u00adize that, despite hav\u00ading a Ph.D. in phi\u00adlos\u00ado\u00adphy, I had nev\u00ader real\u00adly under\u00adstood what the\u00adol\u00ado\u00adgy even <em>is.<\/em> The\u00adol\u00ado\u00adgy is, I found, an attempt to sys\u00adtem\u00adatize, har\u00admo\u00adnize, expli\u00adcate, and to a cer\u00adtain extent jus\u00adti\u00adfy the many, many ideas con\u00adtained in the Bible. It is what ratio\u00adnal peo\u00adple do when they try to come to grips with the Bible in all its rich\u00adness. The notion that the Bible might actu\u00adal\u00adly be able to inter\u00adest\u00ading\u00adly and plau\u00adsi\u00adbly sus\u00adtain such treat\u00adment is a propo\u00adsi\u00adtion that had nev\u00ader entered my head.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sanger, of course, is the co-founder of Wikipedia. He has a Ph.D. in phi\u00adlos\u00ado\u00adphy. <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Larry_Sanger\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Larry_Sanger<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Vague\u00adly relat\u00aded with a won\u00adder\u00adful title is this review of Douthat\u2019s new book <em>Believe<\/em>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.compactmag.com\/article\/the-erotic-case-for-god\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Erot\u00adic Case for God<\/a> (Audrey Poll\u00adnow, Com\u00adpact Mag\u00ada\u00adzine): \u201cIf you are being chased by a tiger down a cor\u00adri\u00addor, and reach a T, one side of which you believe leads to more tigers and the oth\u00ader leads to safe\u00adty (but you don\u2019t know which is which), you had bet\u00adter guess and run. The alter\u00adna\u00adtive is to stay still and get eat\u00aden by the first tiger. I\u2019m not sug\u00adgest\u00ading that we should choose a love, faith, career or any\u00adthing else on the basis of fran\u00adtic anx\u00adi\u00adety, just that the promise of \u2018safe\u00adty\u2019 offered by dis\u00adbe\u00adlief, by stay\u00ading aloof, by refus\u00ading to act, is illu\u00adso\u00adry. Psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly com\u00adfort\u00ading, per\u00adhaps, but not a real form of safe\u00adty in any sense.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/2025\/01\/elon-musk-neuralink-neural-implant-noland-arbaugh-christian-cyborg-brain-chip-eve\/?utm_medium=widgetsocial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Meet the Chris\u00adt\u00adian Cyborg Who Named His Brain Chip Eve<\/a> (Maaike E. Harm\u00adsen inter\u00adview\u00ading Noland Arbaugh, Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty Today): \u201cIn this field, I don\u2019t expect to see a lot of reli\u00adgious people\u2014in the tech field, the med\u00adical side of things. But then we start\u00aded meet\u00ading peo\u00adple face-to-face, and they met with me and my mom. My mom is very open with every\u00adone about her faith, so it very quick\u00adly became known who we were. And I was blown away by the num\u00adber of peo\u00adple who shared our beliefs. I think about every\u00adone that I met on the med\u00adical side; the vast major\u00adi\u00adty of them were Chris\u00adtians. We very quick\u00adly con\u00adnect\u00aded with all of them on a very per\u00adson\u00adal lev\u00adel. And it became more of an open dis\u00adcus\u00adsion. When I went in to do my surgery, the last thing I did before they put me under anes\u00adthe\u00adsia was ask if I could pray over the room. And so I prayed over all the sur\u00adgeons and the nurs\u00ades and every\u00adone that was a part of this. My prayer was put on the hos\u00adpi\u00adtal inter\u00adcom, and even Elon was lis\u00adten\u00ading in by phone.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Extreme\u00adly inter\u00adest\u00ading. Unlocked.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.graphsaboutreligion.com\/p\/is-there-any-large-protestant-denomination\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Assem\u00adblies of God: A Denom\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion That May Be Grow\u00ading<\/a> (Ryan Burge, Sub\u00adstack): \u201cI want\u00aded to end this by point\u00ading to a rea\u00adson that I believe that the AG has record\u00aded long term growth while most oth\u00ader larg\u00ader denom\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtions have been going the oth\u00ader direc\u00adtion \u2014 the AG has con\u00adtin\u00adued to move in the direc\u00adtion of racial diver\u00adsi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion. In 2001, the Assem\u00adblies of God\u2019s records indi\u00adcate that 71% of their rank and file mem\u00adber\u00adship was white and anoth\u00ader 16% were His\u00adpan\u00adic. African Amer\u00adi\u00adcans were just 6% of mem\u00adbers and Asians were only 3%. For ref\u00ader\u00adence, the South\u00adern Bap\u00adtist Con\u00adven\u00adtion is cur\u00adrent\u00adly 71% white, 3% His\u00adpan\u00adic, and 20% Black. How\u00adev\u00ader, the pews of the aver\u00adage AG church today look a whole lot dif\u00adfer\u00adent. Now, only 55% of those mem\u00adbers are white, down 16 points in just 22 years. Mean\u00adwhile, the Black share has near\u00adly dou\u00adbled to 11% and the His\u00adpan\u00adic por\u00adtion has risen to 23%. That\u2019s pret\u00adty impres\u00adsive giv\u00aden the inabil\u00adi\u00adty of many oth\u00ader denom\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtions to become less white to reflect the chang\u00ading demo\u00adgraph\u00adics of the coun\u00adtry.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Being an Assem\u00adblies of God min\u00adis\u00adter I liked this arti\u00adcle a lot, and I even com\u00adment\u00aded on it to help explain some of the stats. Click through for details.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/coldcasechristianity.com\/writings\/atheism\/are-atheists-right-is-free-will-an-unnecessary-unimportant-illusion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Are Athe\u00adists Right? Is \u201cFree Will\u201d An Unnec\u00ades\u00adsary, Unim\u00adpor\u00adtant Illu\u00adsion?<\/a> (J. Wern\u00ader Wal\u00adlace, blog): \u201cIn 2008, researchers from the Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty of Min\u00adneso\u00adta and the Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty of British Colum\u00adbia con\u00adduct\u00aded exper\u00adi\u00adments high\u00adlight\u00ading the rela\u00adtion\u00adship between a belief in Deter\u00admin\u00adism and immoral behav\u00adior. They found stu\u00addents who were exposed to deter\u00admin\u00adis\u00adtic lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture pri\u00ador to tak\u00ading a test were more like\u00adly to cheat on the test than stu\u00addents who were not exposed to lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture advo\u00adcat\u00ading Deter\u00admin\u00adism. The researchers con\u00adclud\u00aded those who deny free will are more inclined to believe their efforts to act moral\u00adly are futile and are, there\u00adfore, less like\u00adly to do so. In addi\u00adtion, a study con\u00adduct\u00aded by researchers from Flori\u00adda State Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty and Ken\u00adtucky Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty found par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpants who were exposed to deter\u00admin\u00adis\u00adtic lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture were more like\u00adly to act aggres\u00adsive\u00adly and less like\u00adly to be help\u00adful toward oth\u00aders. Even deter\u00admin\u00adist Michael Gaz\u00adzani\u00adga con\u00adcedes: \u2018It seems that not only do we believe we con\u00adtrol our actions, but it is good for every\u00adone to believe it.\u2019 The exis\u00adtence of free will is a com\u00admon char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adis\u00adtic of our expe\u00adri\u00adence, and when we deny we have this sort of free agency, there are detri\u00admen\u00adtal con\u00adse\u00adquences.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I find this plau\u00adsi\u00adble, although I will note that these sorts of stud\u00adies are exact\u00adly the sorts of stud\u00adies that are often inval\u00adi\u00addat\u00aded in repli\u00adca\u00adtion. Inter\u00adest\u00ading at the least.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I got inter\u00adest\u00aded enough to do some dig\u00adging, and this seems to be the first study ref\u00ader\u00adenced: Vohs, K. D., &amp; School\u00ader, J. W. (2008). <a href=\"https:\/\/doi-org.stanford.idm.oclc.org\/10.1111\/j.1467-9280.2008.02045.x\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Val\u00adue of Believ\u00ading in Free Will: Encour\u00adag\u00ading a Belief in Deter\u00admin\u00adism Increas\u00ades Cheat\u00ading<\/a>. <em>Psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal Sci\u00adence<\/em>, <em>19<\/em>(1), 49\u201354.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The sec\u00adond study is, I believe Baumeis\u00adter, R. F., Masi\u00adcam\u00adpo, E. J., &amp; DeWall, C. N. (2009). <a href=\"https:\/\/doi-org.stanford.idm.oclc.org\/10.1177\/0146167208327217\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Proso\u00adcial Ben\u00ade\u00adfits of Feel\u00ading Free: Dis\u00adbe\u00adlief in Free Will Increas\u00ades Aggres\u00adsion and Reduces Help\u00adful\u00adness<\/a>. Per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty and Social Psy\u00adchol\u00ado\u00adgy Bul\u00adletin, 35(2), 260\u2013268.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>While find\u00ading the above arti\u00adcles, I stum\u00adbled upon this one by one of the same authors which amused me with its cheek\u00adi\u00adness: Baumeis\u00adter, R. F., &amp; Lau, S. (2024). <a href=\"https:\/\/doi-org.stanford.idm.oclc.org\/10.1177\/27538699241258002\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal sci\u00aden\u00adtists should dis\u00addain deter\u00admin\u00adism<\/a>. Pos\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty Stud\u00adies &amp; Soci\u00adety, 2(3), 282\u2013302.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I did a quick search to see if there were any pub\u00adli\u00adca\u00adtions demon\u00adstrat\u00ading a fail\u00adure to repli\u00adcate, and found the promis\u00ading-soud\u00ading arti\u00adcle by Mon\u00adroe, A. E., &amp; Ysidron, D. W. (2021). <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1037\/xge0000788\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Not so moti\u00advat\u00aded after all? Three repli\u00adca\u00adtion attempts and a the\u00ado\u00adret\u00adi\u00adcal chal\u00adlenge to a moral\u00adly moti\u00advat\u00aded belief in free will<\/a>. <em>Jour\u00adnal of Exper\u00adi\u00admen\u00adtal Psy\u00adchol\u00ado\u00adgy: Gen\u00ader\u00adal, 150<\/em>(1), e1\u2013e12. But it turns out that paper is answer\u00ading a dif\u00adfer\u00adent ques\u00adtion (why do peo\u00adple believe in free will, where\u00adas the main post above is about what effect does believing\/disbelieving in free will have on behav\u00adior)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/suzannevenker.substack.com\/p\/dont-waste-a-perfectly-good-decade\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Don\u2019t waste a per\u00adfect\u00adly good decade<\/a> (Suzanne Venker, Sub\u00adstack): \u201cThe mes\u00adsage these sons and daugh\u00adters receive is sim\u00adple: <em>Do not pri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adtize love. Get your career in order, and do not make sac\u00adri\u00adfices for any\u00adone. Life (i.e. mar\u00adriage and fam\u00adi\u00adly) will fall into place lat\u00ader<\/em>. <em>And if you have to go into debt to achieve this goal, have at it. You can eas\u00adi\u00adly pay it off lat\u00ader.&nbsp; <\/em>This is spec\u00adtac\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly bad advice.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Shared with me by a friend of the min\u00adistry (I think in response to the arti\u00adcle I shared last week).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Relat\u00aded in a nonob\u00advi\u00adous way: <a href=\"https:\/\/ifstudies.org\/blog\/why-so-blue-liberal-women-are-less-happy-more-lonely-but-why\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why So Blue: Lib\u00ader\u00adal Women are Less Hap\u00adpy, More Lone\u00adly. But Why<\/a>? (Grant Bai\u00adley &amp; Brad Wilcox, Insti\u00adtute for Fam\u00adi\u00adly Stud\u00adies): \u201cTak\u00aden togeth\u00ader, our analy\u00adsis leads us to three con\u00adclu\u00adsions. First, the ide\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal divide in emo\u00adtion\u00adal well-being between young lib\u00ader\u00adal and con\u00adser\u00adv\u00ada\u00adtive women endures. Sec\u00adond, this ide\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal divide does not appear to be just a con\u00adse\u00adquence of neg\u00ada\u00adtive think\u00ading; it also seems to flow from the fact that lib\u00ader\u00adal young women are less like\u00adly to be inte\u00adgrat\u00aded into core Amer\u00adi\u00adcan institutions\u2014specifically mar\u00adriage and religion\u2014that lend mean\u00ading, direc\u00adtion, and a sense of sol\u00adi\u00addar\u00adi\u00adty to women\u2019s lives. Third, low\u00ader lev\u00adels of mar\u00adriage and church\u00adgo\u00ading among lib\u00ader\u00adal women may also have a hand in their ele\u00advat\u00aded reports of lone\u00adli\u00adness, which, in turn, dimin\u00adish\u00ades their odds of being hap\u00adpy.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.slowboring.com\/p\/the-paradox-of-trumps-first-weeks?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=159185&amp;post_id=156883998&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=3o9&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The para\u00addox of Trump\u2019s first weeks<\/a> (Matt Ygle\u00adsias, Sub\u00adstack): \u201cI think there\u2019s a sense in some quar\u00adters that Trump has accom\u00adplished more in three weeks than Biden did in three years, but this is just not true. I do think it\u2019s true that Biden achieved less durable pol\u00adi\u00adcy change than you\u2019d expect rel\u00ada\u00adtive to the sums of mon\u00adey appro\u00adpri\u00adat\u00aded due to Democ\u00adrats\u2019 over-reliance on tem\u00adpo\u00adrary pro\u00adgrams. But they still made sub\u00adstan\u00adtive changes in absolute terms on the areas they pri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adtized, includ\u00ading pre\u00adscrip\u00adtion drug afford\u00adabil\u00adi\u00adty for senior cit\u00adi\u00adzens and clean ener\u00adgy deploy\u00adment. Much of that seems like\u00adly to be kept in place by the new GOP tri\u00adfec\u00adta.&nbsp; Repub\u00adli\u00adcans, mean\u00adwhile, are mak\u00ading very lit\u00adtle for\u00adward progress on their leg\u00adisla\u00adtive agen\u00adda.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A fair analy\u00adsis of the last few weeks. Pay less atten\u00adtion to peo\u00adple claim\u00ading tri\u00adumph or pro\u00adclaim\u00ading doom \u2014 pol\u00adi\u00adtics is com\u00adpli\u00adcat\u00aded and few moments have as much long-term sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcance as they seem to while they are dom\u00adi\u00adnat\u00ading the head\u00adlines.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Relat\u00aded: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/the-lede\/the-strategy-behind-trumps-defiance-of-the-law\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Strat\u00ade\u00adgy Behind Trump\u2019s Defi\u00adance of the Law<\/a> (Jean\u00adnie Suk Gersen, The New York\u00ader): \u201c\u2026what is play\u00ading out through a veneer of chaos is a delib\u00ader\u00adate and orga\u00adnized tac\u00adti\u00adcal pro\u00adgram to under\u00adtake actions that pro\u00advoke a raft of law\u00adsuits, some of which could become good vehi\u00adcles for estab\u00adlish\u00ading a con\u00adsti\u00adtu\u00adtion\u00adal vision in which the Pres\u00adi\u00addent has sole author\u00adi\u00adty over the entire exec\u00adu\u00adtive branch. That vision is not new: it\u2019s known as the uni\u00adtary exec\u00adu\u00adtive the\u00ado\u00adry and has a long pedi\u00adgree, dat\u00ading back to the found\u00ading. Based on where the Supreme Court has been head\u00ading in its exec\u00adu\u00adtive-pow\u00ader cas\u00ades for some time\u2014even before Trump appoint\u00aded three Justices\u2014it is like\u00adly that the Court will, to some extent, affirm that vision. Trump has a pret\u00adty good track record of judi\u00adcial vin\u00addi\u00adca\u00adtion after engag\u00ading in con\u00adduct alleged to be unlaw\u00adful.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Non-alarmist takes like this are much more per\u00adsua\u00adsive than the freak\u00adouts I see online. As Gersen notes lat\u00ader, \u201cThe first Trump Admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion did not flout judi\u00adcial orders, though some peo\u00adple wor\u00adried about it.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/article\/marketing-jesus-he-gets-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mar\u00adket\u00ading Jesus: The Promise and Per\u00adil of \u2018He Gets Us\u2019<\/a> (Samuel D. James, The Gospel Coali\u00adtion): \u201cThere\u2019s a dan\u00adger here of con\u00adtext col\u00adlapse, where an idea that\u2019s true and cor\u00adrect in one par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar con\u00adtext los\u00ades its truth\u00adful\u00adness by being broad\u00adcast in a way that dis\u00adre\u00adgards that con\u00adtext. For exam\u00adple, \u2018Jesus gets us\u2019 is a mes\u00adsage best used for peo\u00adple who have already accept\u00aded their need for a Sav\u00adior and desire assur\u00adance that noth\u00ading they\u2019ve done can cause Jesus to cast them out (John 6:37). In terms of a mass audi\u00adence whose cul\u00adtur\u00adal reli\u00adgion is most like\u00adly expres\u00adsive indi\u00advid\u00adu\u00adal\u00adism, how\u00adev\u00ader, \u2018he gets us\u2019 sounds like a mantra that rein\u00adforces the pri\u00adma\u00adcy of the self. This men\u00adtal\u00adi\u00adty keeps my per\u00adson\u00adal psy\u00adchol\u00ado\u00adgy at the cen\u00adter, so the ques\u00adtion that mat\u00adters isn\u2019t \u2018What must I do to be saved\u2019 but \u2018What must you do to affirm me?\u2019&nbsp;\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rec\u00adom\u00admend\u00aded by an alum\u00adnus.<\/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=\"wp-block-list simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/atheist-accepts-multiverse-theory-every-possible-universe-except-biblical-one\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Athe\u00adist Accepts Mul\u00adti\u00adverse The\u00ado\u00adry Of Every Pos\u00adsi\u00adble Uni\u00adverse Except Bib\u00adli\u00adcal One<\/a> (Baby\u00adlon Bee) \u2014 an oldie but a good\u00adie. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=8SoKi4e5NL4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pas\u00adtors are Scam\u00adming Believ\u00aders out of Mil\u00adlions<\/a> (Josh John\u00adson, YouTube): sev\u00aden\u00adteen min\u00adutes, most\u00adly respect\u00adful and insight\u00adful\u00adly humor\u00adous. The final sto\u00adry does\u00adn\u2019t feel like it\u2019s going any\u00adwhere but it actu\u00adal\u00adly is and is worth the pay\u00adoff.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cpqlpvdvzlzo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Argenti\u00adna canal turns bright red, alarm\u00ading res\u00adi\u00addents<\/a> (Nathan Williams, BBC): \u201cA canal in a sub\u00adurb of Argenti\u00adna\u2019s cap\u00adi\u00adtal Buenos Aires turned bright red on Thurs\u00adday, alarm\u00ading local res\u00adi\u00addents. Pic\u00adtures and videos show the intense\u00adly coloured water flow\u00ading into an estu\u00adary, the Rio de la Pla\u00adta, which bor\u00adders an eco\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal reserve.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Want to envi\u00adsion one of the ten plagues? Check this out.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/HolyPostPodcast\/status\/1889404845146181665\">Pos\u00adsi\u00adbly Kait\u00adlyn Schiess\u2019 spici\u00adest take yet.<\/a> \u2014  I don\u2019t know a lot about the Bachelor\/Bachelorette shows, but assum\u00ading this descrip\u00adtion is accu\u00adrate you can put me on team Kait\u00adlyn.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/2025\/02\/gabriel-and-the-guardians-genesis-anime-angel-studios\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A Gen\u00ade\u00adsis Series Inspired By Ani\u00adme<\/a> (J. D. Peabody inter\u00adview\u00ading Jason Moody, Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty Today): \u201cIt\u2019s for both Chris\u00adtians and gen\u00ader\u00adal audi\u00adences. Think about the paint\u00ading <em>The Last Sup\u00adper<\/em>. Lots of peo\u00adple are moved by it. It has caused mil\u00adlions of peo\u00adple to reflect on their faith. But da Vin\u00adci wasn\u2019t nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly a \u2018Chris\u00adt\u00adian painter\u2019\u2014he was just a painter. And you don\u2019t have to have faith to appre\u00adci\u00adate his work. <em>The Last Sup\u00adper<\/em> isn\u2019t \u2018Chris\u00adt\u00adian\u2019 art\u2014it\u2019s just art. We want what we\u2019re cre\u00adat\u00ading to prompt ques\u00adtions, because that\u2019s what good art does.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>See the trail\u00ader at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=70SXqWJ6rJU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=70SXqWJ6rJU<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Why Do You Send This Email?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar pro\u00adduced shrewd war\u00adriors \u201cwho under\u00adstood the times and knew what Israel should do\u201d (1 Chron 12:32). In a sim\u00adi\u00adlar way, we need to become wise peo\u00adple whose faith inter\u00adacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may con\u00adtin\u00adue the tra\u00addi\u00adtion of Issachar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Disclaimer<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chi Alpha is not a par\u00adti\u00adsan orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion. To para\u00adphrase anoth\u00ader min\u00adis\u00adter: we are not about the donkey\u2019s agen\u00adda and we are not about the elephant\u2019s agen\u00adda \u2014 we are about the Lamb\u2019s agen\u00adda. Hav\u00ading said that, I read wide\u00adly (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass <a href=\"http:\/\/econlog.econlib.org\/archives\/2011\/06\/the_ideological.html\">the ide\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal Tur\u00ading test<\/a> and in part because I do not believe I can fair\u00adly say \u201cI agree\u201d or \u201cI dis\u00adagree\u201d until I can say \u201cI under\u00adstand\u201d) and may at times share arti\u00adcles that have a strong par\u00adti\u00adsan bias sim\u00adply because I find the arti\u00adcle stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with every\u00adthing an author says in an arti\u00adcle I men\u00adtion, much less things the author has said in oth\u00ader arti\u00adcles (although if I strong\u00adly dis\u00adagree with some\u00adthing in the arti\u00adcle I\u2019ll usu\u00adal\u00adly men\u00adtion it). And to the extent you can dis\u00adcern my opin\u00adions, please under\u00adstand that they are my own and not nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly those of Chi Alpha or any oth\u00ader orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion I may be per\u00adceived to rep\u00adre\u00adsent.\n\nAlso, remem\u00adber that I\u2019m not report\u00ading news \u2014 I\u2019m giv\u00ading you a selec\u00adtion of things I found inter\u00adest\u00ading. There\u2019s a lot hap\u00adpen\u00ading in the world that\u2019s not mak\u00ading an appear\u00adance here because I haven\u2019t found stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading arti\u00adcles writ\u00adten about it.\n\nIf this was for\u00adward\u00aded 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 Fri\u00addays I share articles\/resources about broad cul\u00adtur\u00adal, soci\u00adetal and the\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal issues. Be sure to see the expla\u00adna\u00adtion and dis\u00adclaimers at the bot\u00adtom. I wel\u00adcome your sug\u00adges\u00adtions. If you read some\u00adthing fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading please pass it my way. Things Glen Found Inter\u00adest\u00ading Less Seri\u00adous Things Which Also Interested\/Amused Glen Why Do You Send This Email? In \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2025\/02\/14\/volume-491-a-philosopher-converts-a-christian-cyborg-and-a-comedian-riffs-on-pastors-who-scam\" class=\"more-link\">Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cVol\u00adume 491: a philoso\u00adpher con\u00adverts, a Chris\u00adt\u00adian cyborg, and a come\u00addi\u00adan riffs on pas\u00adtors who scam\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_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_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,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16],"tags":[124,298,341,160,117,214,247],"class_list":["post-7624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-apologetically-interesting","tag-assemblies-of-god","tag-free-will","tag-how-the-church-is-perceived","tag-politics","tag-technology","tag-wisdom"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1YY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7624","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=7624"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7626,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7624\/revisions\/7626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}