{"id":7711,"date":"2025-06-27T17:54:51","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T00:54:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7711"},"modified":"2025-06-27T17:54:51","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T00:54:51","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-510-gambling-persecution-and-free-will","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2025\/06\/27\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-510-gambling-persecution-and-free-will","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 510: gambling, persecution, and free&nbsp;will"},"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.tandfonline.com\/eprint\/FZBKIATEZPCUE2WVDIPW\/full?target=10.1080\/15363759.2025.2507648#abstract\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Online Sports Gambling and College Students: A Christian Response to a Growing Industry<\/a> (Kimberley Reeve and Jared Pincin, Christian Higher Education): \u201cBecause the Bible does not offer direct guidance on the topic of gambling, Christian denominations take differing positions.\u2026 The common thread across these traditions is that there is a point where gambling becomes morally impermissible.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/lymanstone.substack.com\/p\/how-to-reign-in-runaway-sports-betting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Rein in Runaway Sports Betting<\/a> (Lyman Stone, Substack): \u201cA good regulatory response is simple: ban all win limits. Let winners win. Bettors don\u2019t like limits on winnings. They are obviously unfair. They are also clearly a key source of profits for companies.\u2026 Secondly, there <em>should <\/em>be limits on how much an individual can <em>lose<\/em> on a website. Once an individual has lost a certain amount of money, betting websites should be required to shut down their account. The harms of gambling are disproportionately caused by big-losers, and gambling companies can identify those big losers and protect them. They don\u2019t do this because <em>they make money when losers lose.\u2026 <\/em>So <em>no limits for winning, limits for losing<\/em> is a pretty reasonable regulatory approach. Winners don\u2019t threaten serious social harms. Losers do. Uncapping winners and protecting losers will also dramatically worsen the balance sheet of gambling sites, forcing them to charge higher spreads on bets, which will deter many gamblers.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/p\/christians-slaughtered-in-nigeria\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">As Christians Are Slaughtered, the World Looks Away<\/a> (Madeleine Kearns, The Free Press): \u201cThe world should have seen it coming. Since 2009, Islamists in northern Nigeria have destroyed over 18,000 churches and, throughout the country, have murdered over 50,000 Christians. A further 5 million Christians have been displaced within the country, according to a 2023 Vatican report.\u2026 If Western media reports on the persecution at all, it typically characterizes it as land disputes between neighboring ethnic groups. For instance, after the atrocities at Yelwata, the BBC reported: \u2018The authorities have not blamed any group, but it is safe to assume that there are lots of victims on both sides, as any attack usually leads to revenge and then a cycle of violence.\u2019 But where is the evidence that Christians are killing Fulani Muslims by the hundreds, shouting \u2018Christ is king\u2019 as they hack people of other faiths to&nbsp;death?\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/churchleaders.com\/voices\/513144-pentecostals-assemblies-of-god-report-spirit-filled-movement.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pentecostals Keep Growing: What the Assemblies of God\u2019s 2024 Report Shows About the Spirit-Filled Movement<\/a> (Ed Stetzer and Todd Korpi, ChurchLeaders): \u201cThe AG in the United States is a part of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), which together makes up one of the largest Protestant bodies on the planet with over 85 million adherents. The WAGF is now larger than the Anglican communion, which is often cited as the third-largest Christian tradition. Instead, the WAGF is itself now the third-largest Christian denominational tradition.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ed Stetzer is a professor\/dean at the Talbot School of Theology, and Todd Korpi is a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary. The Assemblies of God is, of course, the sponsor of Chi Alpha and the group with which I am ordained.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/thedispatch.com\/article\/women-extremism-climate-gaza-protests\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">When Women Are Radicalized<\/a> (Claire Lehmann, The Dispatch): \u201cThere is growing awareness of how young men can be drawn into far-right extremism or misogynistic subcultures, but we in the media\u2014and society more broadly\u2014pay less attention to how young women become drawn into political subcultures. Indeed, the terms \u2018radicalization\u2019 and \u2018women\u2019 are rarely\u2014if ever\u2014seen together. This oversight has consequences, because radicalization\u2014defined as rigid commitment to an ideological cause to the point where it distorts one\u2019s worldview, harms mental health, undermines relationships, or disrupts functioning\u2014is not a male-only phenomenon.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.betonit.ai\/p\/solipsismdeterminism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Solipsism\u00bbDeterminism<\/a> (Bryan Caplan, Substack): \u201cA large majority of my smartest friends insist that determinism is true. Physics textbooks say so, basic logic (\u2018Every effect must have a cause\u2019) says so, and they say so. Who am I to disagree? My answer begins with a truism: <em>The foundation of science is repeated, careful observation.<\/em> If scientists are allowed to dismiss piles of repeated, careful observations as \u2018illusion,\u2019 there is no science. Next step: I have a lifetime of repeated, careful observation of my own mind. Via introspection, I directly observe myself making genuine choices in every waking moment. Therefore: Any \u2018scientific\u2019 theory that contradicts these observations is, at best, incomplete.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/firstthings.com\/god-and-woman-at-cornell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">God and Woman at Cornell<\/a> (Mary Eberstadt, First Things): \u201cWhy does secularism flourish on college campuses? Earlier today, some of us were talking about the philosopher Ren\u00e9 Girard, who had an idea that sounds simple, but isn\u2019t: We figure out what we desire by seeing what other people desire. That\u2019s part of what happens with students on campus, and it\u2019s why even those raised in a religious home tend to become more secular\u2014because they don\u2019t see a lot of people like themselves in a place like Cornell. The idea dawns, even subconsciously, \u2018Well, maybe there\u2019s a reason why they all think differently from me. After all, we\u2019re in a very sophisticated place with highly educated people, so maybe I should be like that.\u2019 That\u2019s the relatively benign force that drives people who were raised religious toward secularism. There is another force, more malevolent: intimidation, the chilling effect of being surrounded by, or perceiving oneself to be surrounded by, people who think your belief system is ridiculous. There is also the fact that college is famously the place where a lot of young people break free from the constraining Judeo-Christian rulebook about sex and marriage. These realities together conspire to drive college kids away from&nbsp;faith.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.honest-broker.com\/p\/audiences-prove-that-the-experts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Audiences Prove that Experts Are Dead Wrong<\/a> (Ted Gioia, Substack): \u201cThe rebirth of longform runs counter to everything media experts are peddling. They are all trying to game the algorithm. But they\u2019re making a huge mistake. They believe that longform is doomed. They see that digital platforms reward ultra-short videos on an endless scroll. And they understand that this works because the interface is extremely addictive. So short <em>must<\/em> defeat long in the digital marketplace. That\u2019s obvious to them. But <em>all<\/em> the evidence now proves that this isn\u2019t happening.\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:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/man-very-particular-about-which-version-of-the-bible-he-buys-and-doesnt-read\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Man Very Particular About Which Version Of The Bible He Buys And Doesn\u2019t Read<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/flowingdata.com\/2025\/06\/26\/matching-potential-partners-based-on-browser-history\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Matching potential partners based on browser history<\/a> (FlowingData): \u201cIdeally, your romantic partner for life has similar interests, hopes, dreams, and browsing behavior. At least that\u2019s the premise of browser.dating, an actual service that you can sign up&nbsp;for.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/06\/23\/well\/the-ick.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">You\u2019ve Got \u2018The Ick.\u2019 Is Your Relationship Doomed?<\/a> (Jancee Dunn, New York Times): \u201cDr. Collisson suggested discussing concerns with your potential partner instead of your friends \u2014 as awkward as that conversation may be. Through his research he has learned that \u2018the vast majority of people are talking about their \u2018icks\u2019 to everybody except for the person eliciting the&nbsp;ick.\u2019&nbsp;\u201d<\/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\/06\/27\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-510-gambling-persecution-and-free-will\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 510: gambling, persecution, and free&nbsp;will\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":[266,298,240,341,322,195,123,177,126],"class_list":["post-7711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-africa","tag-assemblies-of-god","tag-elite-colleges","tag-free-will","tag-gambling","tag-gender","tag-islam","tag-media","tag-persecution"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-20n","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7711","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=7711"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7713,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7711\/revisions\/7713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}