{"id":7806,"date":"2025-10-03T18:07:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T01:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7806"},"modified":"2025-10-03T18:07:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T01:07:34","slug":"tgfi-volume-524-beauty-and-virality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2025\/10\/03\/tgfi-volume-524-beauty-and-virality","title":{"rendered":"TGFI, Volume 524: beauty and virality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/a>\n<\/p>

You\u2019ve heard of TGIF? This is TGFI: Things Glen Found Inter\u00adest\u00ading<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Fri\u00addays I share articles\/resources about broad cul\u00adtur\u00adal, soci\u00adetal and the\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal issues like\u00adly to be of inter\u00adest to Chris\u00adtians in col\u00adlege. Be sure to see the expla\u00adna\u00adtion and dis\u00adclaimers at the bot\u00adtom. I wel\u00adcome your sug\u00adges\u00adtions, so if you read some\u00adthing fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading please pass it my way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things Glen Found Interesting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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  1. \u2018The Idea of the Beau\u00adti\u00adful Is a Sig\u00adna\u00adture of God\u2019: A Q&A With Mar\u00adi\u00adlynne Robin\u00adson<\/a> (Peter Wehn\u00ader, New York Times): \u201cCalvin says there is not a blade of grass that God cre\u00adat\u00aded that was not meant to rav\u00adish us with its beau\u00adty. The idea of the beau\u00adti\u00adful is a sig\u00adna\u00adture of God, I think for Calvin and Jonathan Edwards and many oth\u00ader peo\u00adple. This dis\u00adtil\u00adla\u00adtion of the joy, the sen\u00adso\u00adry joy, of being among things in the world. I think the loss of beau\u00adty is a loss of an intel\u00adlec\u00adtu\u00adal dis\u00adci\u00adpline, which sci\u00adence nev\u00ader lost because sci\u00aden\u00adtists always have the right to say a for\u00admu\u00adla is beau\u00adti\u00adful. We in the out\u00adside world, we\u2019ve aban\u00addoned the word and the con\u00adcept. It\u2019s sug\u00adges\u00adtive that the sci\u00aden\u00adtists use it.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Per\u00adform\u00ading Gen\u00adder, Left and Right<\/a> (Richard Hana\u00adnia, Sub\u00adstack): \u201cHow each side behaves is a metaphor for its strengths and weak\u00adness\u00ades as a move\u00adment. Con\u00adser\u00adv\u00ada\u00adtives fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal\u00adly get human nature and are more in tune with it, but tend to indulge in their instincts and act like idiots. Lib\u00ader\u00adals are thought\u00adful and polite but place a high pri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adty on emo\u00adtion\u00adal safe\u00adty and avoid\u00ading dan\u00adger\u00adous or uncom\u00adfort\u00adable sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtions.\u2026 These per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty and aes\u00adthet\u00adic dif\u00adfer\u00adences are cen\u00adtral to polit\u00adi\u00adcal divides. So much of pol\u00adi\u00adtics is who you know, and it\u2019s dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to go some\u00adwhere in a move\u00adment if you don\u2019t get along with the peo\u00adple in it. Elites there\u00adfore sort accord\u00ading to per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty in addi\u00adtion to ide\u00adol\u00ado\u00adgy.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Why Evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adism Is Built for Tik\u00adTok<\/a> (Riv\u00ader Page, The Free Press): \u201cOf course evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcals went viral on Tik\u00adTok. The medi\u00adum is per\u00adfect for the mes\u00adsage; but also, the mes\u00adsage is per\u00adfect for the medi\u00adum. Catholics have art and ancient rit\u00adu\u00adals. Evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcals have rhetoric and emotion\u2014the kind of stuff that trav\u00adels far and wide on a plat\u00adform where you have 15 sec\u00adonds to grab people\u2019s atten\u00adtion.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Craft Is the Anti\u00addote to Slop.<\/a> (Will Mani\u00addis, Sub\u00adstack): \u201cFrom Gen\u00ade\u00adsis, man enters not a par\u00adadise with\u00adout labor but a world of inten\u00adtion\u00adal cre\u00adation. The LORD God places man in the Gar\u00adden of Eden <\/em>\u2018to dress it and to keep it\u2019<\/em> (Gen\u00ade\u00adsis 2:15) estab\u00adlish\u00ading labor not as pun\u00adish\u00adment but as sacred voca\u00adtion. This orig\u00adi\u00adnal call\u00ading invites us to co-cre\u00adate the King\u00addom, tend\u00ading and devel\u00adop\u00ading the world with inten\u00adtion and care. Our fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal pur\u00adpose is not con\u00adsump\u00adtion but par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpa\u00adtion in the ongo\u00ading work of cre\u00adation. The ser\u00adpen\u00adt\u2019s temp\u00adta\u00adtion rep\u00adre\u00adsents the first short\u00adcut in human his\u00adto\u00adry.\u2026 <\/em>Human\u00adi\u00adty\u2019s first sin was, in part, choos\u00ading the easy short\u00adcut over the mean\u00ading\u00adful process \u2013 pre\u00adfer\u00adring effort\u00adless gain to the demand\u00ading but ful\u00adfill\u00ading work of tend\u00ading the gar\u00adden.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Real\u00adiz\u00ading a desired fam\u00adi\u00adly size: when should cou\u00adples start?<\/a> (Habbe\u00adma et al, Human Repro\u00adduc\u00adtion): \u201cWith\u00adout IVF, cou\u00adples should start no lat\u00ader than age 32 years for a [90% chance of a] one-child fam\u00adi\u00adly, at 27 years for a two-child fam\u00adi\u00adly, and at 23 years for three chil\u00addren. When cou\u00adples accept 75% or low\u00ader chances of fam\u00adi\u00adly com\u00adple\u00adtion, they can start 4\u201311 years lat\u00ader.\u201d\n