{"id":7667,"date":"2025-05-02T17:46:24","date_gmt":"2025-05-03T00:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7667"},"modified":"2025-05-02T17:46:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-03T00:46:24","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-502-political-faith-sexual-mores-young-adulthood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2025\/05\/02\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-502-political-faith-sexual-mores-young-adulthood","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 502: political faith, sexual mores, young adulthood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><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 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<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:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/05\/01\/opinion\/trump-evangelicals-republicans.html?unlocked_article_code=1.EU8.SBp0.11szGK-jUUOE&amp;smid=url-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Christian Right Is Going Extinct<\/a> (David French, New York Times): \u201cThe Christian right is dead, but the religious right is stronger than it\u2019s ever been. Another way of putting it is that the religious right has divorced itself from historical Christian theology but still holds its partisan beliefs with religious intensity. The religious fervor is there. Christian virtues are&nbsp;not.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Unlocked. This article generated more discussion when shared with my students this week than any&nbsp;other.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/blogs\/trevin-wax\/gods-guidelines-sex-arent-arbitrary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">God\u2019s Guidelines for Sex Aren\u2019t Arbitrary<\/a> (Trevin Wax, The Gospel Coalition): \u201cJust as sin is like leprosy that deadens our ability to feel, so also with pornography there follows a deadening of the senses and the searing of the conscience. What once was sexually stirring no longer holds any power. That\u2019s not because the person watching porn has become more alive but because they\u2019ve become more dead. Could there be a better example of the wages of sin being&nbsp;death?\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I wish he had chosen a different topic for his second example (perhaps promiscuity), because the contentiousness around his second example will limit his article\u2019s overall appeal. I commend him for stating his views forthrightly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/30\/well\/mind\/happiness-flourishing-young-adult-study.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A Global Flourishing Study Finds That Young Adults, Well, Aren\u2019t<\/a> (Christina Caron, New York Times): \u201cYoung adulthood has long been considered a carefree time, a period of limitless opportunity and few obligations. But data from the flourishing study and elsewhere suggests that for many people, this notion is more fantasy than reality. A 2023 report from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, for example, found that young adults ages 18\u201325 in the United States reported double the rates of anxiety and depression as teens. On top of that, perfectionism has skyrocketed among college students, who often report feeling pressure to meet unrealistic expectations. Participation in community organizations, clubs and religious groups has declined, and loneliness is now becoming as prevalent among young adults as it is among older adults.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/thedispatch.com\/article\/great-books-self-learning-gen-z-loneliness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Don\u2019t Wait for Your Teacher<\/a> (Aliza J. Fassett, The Dispatch): \u201cBy the end of my first week of work, three people told me <em>Middlemarch <\/em>was their favorite book. I had never heard of it.&nbsp; It would have been easy to shake my fist and curse the course crafters for the sorry state of my literary repertoire, but nobody had actually <em>stopped<\/em> me from reading the great works. In other words, it was at least partly my own damn fault\u2014and it would be my own job to fix the problem. So, I committed to reading what I perceived to be the most referenced works of literature\u2014commonly referred to as the \u2018great books.\u2019 And once I started, I gained access to what felt like a whole new method of understanding the human experience.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ifstudies.org\/blog\/marry-early-and-flourish-together\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Marry Early and Flourish Together<\/a> (Kasen Stephensen, Institute for Family Studies): \u201cDuring my junior year at Stanford, I remember an assignment where we filled out a five-year plan with a professional and personal goal for each year. I planned to marry my then-fianc\u00e9e that year, so my personal goals were straightforward: have a wedding and start having kids over the following years. I knew my situation in life relative to my classmates was unusual, but I didn\u2019t realize how different my approach was until I shared my plan in a small group setting.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I do not believe I ever met Kasen while he was a student. I had absolutely zero influence on this guy: he has arrived at his conclusions independently. I encourage all young people to read this data-driven article.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.noahpinion.blog\/p\/how-to-have-friends-past-age-30\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to have friends past age 30<\/a> (Noah Smith, Substack): \u201c\u2026make new friends by <em>inviting them to join an existing friend group<\/em>.&nbsp; Basically, instead of \u2018Hey, want to come hang out with me?\u2019, it\u2019s easier to ask a new acquaintance \u2018Hey, want to come hang out with me and my friends?\u2019. The first is a bigger ask \u2014 it\u2019s basically like a friend date (and might sometimes get mistaken for an actual date). The latter is much lower stakes. Your friend group also serves as a source of \u2018social proof\u2019 \u2014 basically, a new friend can see that people like you, which makes them less afraid of becoming your friend.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The article is full of good advice for soon-to-be-grads<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.astralcodexten.com\/p\/testing-ais-geoguessr-genius\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Testing AI\u2019s GeoGuessr Genius<\/a> (Scott Alexander, Astral Codex Ten): \u201cWhen I was younger, I liked to hike mountains. The highest I ever got was 18,000 feet, on Kala Pattar, a few miles north of Gorak Shep in Nepal. To commemorate the occasion, I planted the flag of the imaginary country simulation that I participated in at the time (just long enough to take this picture \u2014 then I unplanted it). I chose this picture because it denies o3 the two things that worked for it before \u2014 vegetation and sky \u2014 in favor of random rocks. And because I thought the flag of a nonexistent country would at least give it pause. o3 guessed: \u2018<em>Nepal, just north-east of Gorak Shep, \u00b18 km<\/em>\u2019 This is <em>exactly <\/em>right. I swear I screenshot-copy-pasted this so there\u2019s no way it can be in the metadata, and I\u2019ve never given o3 any reason to think I\u2019ve been to&nbsp;Nepal.\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 simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/interestingengineering.com\/innovation\/world-first-t-rex-leather-handbag\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Millions of years-old dinosaur DNA to help build world-first T\u2011Rex leather handbag<\/a> (Mrigakshi Dixit,Interesting Engineering): \u201cWhile it was previously believed that dinosaur DNA wouldn\u2019t survive for millions of years, recent discoveries have found collagen preserved in various dinosaur fossils, including an 80-million-year-old T Rex. Last year, MIT researchers decoded how the dinosaur collagen survived for so long. Interestingly, they discovered a specific atomic mechanism that shields collagen from water\u2019s damaging effects.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I am not convinced this is real. But I want it to&nbsp;be!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/wife-beginning-to-suspect-husbands-thoughtful-relevant-responses-to-her-texts-might-be-ai-generated\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wife Beginning To Suspect Husband\u2019s Thoughtful, Relevant Responses To Her Texts Might Be A.I. Generated<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gocomics.com\/pearlsbeforeswine\/2025\/05\/02\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Politically Divided<\/a> (Pearls Before Swine)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I saw someone call this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DH4l3rAvNmy\/?igsh=MXB2ZWRjOGV6dm4xYg%3D%3D\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DH4l3rAvNmy\/?igsh=MXB2ZWRjOGV6dm4xYg%3D%3D\">AI generated country song<\/a> \u201cthe most American thing ever\u201d (Instagram). It is not Christian and many of the lyrics give me pause. But it is&nbsp;funny.<\/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. Things Glen Found Interesting Less Serious Things Which Also Interested\/Amused Glen Why Do You Send This&nbsp;Email? In the time \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2025\/05\/02\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-502-political-faith-sexual-mores-young-adulthood\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 502: political faith, sexual mores, young adulthood\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":[219,151,160,112,117,163,247],"class_list":["post-7667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-friendship","tag-how-the-church-is-perceived","tag-marriage","tag-politics","tag-sex","tag-wisdom"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1ZF","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7667","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=7667"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7668,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7667\/revisions\/7668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}