{"id":7841,"date":"2025-11-21T17:10:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T01:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7841"},"modified":"2025-11-21T17:10:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T01:10:17","slug":"tgfi-volume-531-christianity-improves-longevity-plus-some-smart-people-who-believe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2025\/11\/21\/tgfi-volume-531-christianity-improves-longevity-plus-some-smart-people-who-believe","title":{"rendered":"TGFI Volume 531: Christianity improves longevity, plus some smart people who believe"},"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<\/p><p>You\u2019ve heard of TGIF? This is TGFI: Things Glen Found Interesting<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Fridays I share articles\/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues likely to be of interest to Christians in college. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom. I welcome your suggestions, so 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.christianitytoday.com\/2025\/11\/mclaughlin-how-the-church-could-literally-save-your-life\/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=post&amp;utm_campaign=article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">More Than a Magic Pill<\/a> (Kathryn Butler, Christianity Today): \u201cChurch attendance reduces all-cause mortality by nearly 30 percent over a 15-year period and protects woman against suicide by 400 percent. Weekly churchgoing in women over 40 is as protective against death as annual mammograms, McLaughlin writes. Those attending services more than weekly at age 20 have \u2018a roughly seven-year greater life expectancy than their nonchurchgoing peers.\u2019 Churchgoing protects against alcohol, smoking, and drug abuse and decreases the odds of depression by one-third.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I been sayin\u2019 it. Preach!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/2025\/11\/alvin-plantinga-god-philosopher-properly-basic-belief\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alvin Plantinga, God\u2019s Philosopher<\/a> (Daniel Silliman, Christianity Today): \u201cIn the 1950s there was not a single published defense of religious belief by a prominent philosopher,\u201d said philosopher Kelly James Clark, one of Plantinga\u2019s students. \u201cBy the 1990s there were literally hundreds of books and articles, from Yale to UCLA and from Oxford to Heidelberg, defending and developing the spiritual dimension. The difference between 1950 and 1990 is, quite simply, Alvin Plantinga.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cremieux.xyz\/p\/the-making-of-an-elite-japanese-christians\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Making of an Elite: Japanese Christians<\/a> (Cremieux, Substack): \u201cIt\u2019s probably surprising to hear that 20% of the post-World War II Prime Ministers of Japan before the newly-elected Sanae Takaichi have been Christian. Out of those 35 Prime Ministers since 1945, Shigeru Yoshida and Tar\u014d As\u014d were Catholic, and Tetsu Katayama, Ichir\u014d Hatoyama, Masayoshi \u014chira, Shigeru Ishiba, and Yukio Hatoyama were various flavors of Protestant. How this happens in a country that\u2019s less than 1% Christian and in which there\u2019s significant anti-Christian discrimination is perplexing, but I think it makes sense given how today\u2019s Japanese Christians came to&nbsp;be.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Fascinating reading. The role of the samurai was very unexpected to&nbsp;me!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/11\/19\/us\/trump-politics-religion-christianity.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2U8.2GEH.jnEb7DwAc075\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How Two Times Reporters Cover Christianity in a Polarized America<\/a> (Patrick Healy, Elizabeth Dias &amp; Ruth Graham, New York Times): \u201cI think a lot about which details to include in a story, and how I\u2019m describing people and scenes. Part of fairness is not taking cheap shots by subtly depicting one side as backward or unsophisticated, for example. I also try to bring people into as many houses of worship as possible. And I would define that expansively, from traditional church services to prayer meetings to worship services in the Trump White&nbsp;House.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Unlocked. A really well-done interview. I have generally found Graham and Dias to be fair and insightful. Most of the stories involving the NYT being tone-deaf to religion have come about when journalists who don\u2019t cover the religion beat try to drag religion into their story without fully understanding what they\u2019re trying to describe.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/p\/it-used-to-be-get-married-now-its-stay-single\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">It Used to Be \u2018Get Married.\u2019 Now It\u2019s \u2018Stay Single.\u2019<\/a> (Freya India, The Free Press): \u201cI keep hearing about how there\u2019s too much pressure to settle down. Apparently everyone wants to know when you\u2019re getting married, when you\u2019re having kids.\u2026 My whole life I\u2019ve only ever felt the opposite, an overwhelming pressure to be single. In the secular liberal world I used to think there were no expectations, no pressure. There is, though: The pressure today is to avoid anything that might stick, to run through life without getting snagged on any responsibilities, without getting tethered to someone else too early.\u2026 We don\u2019t scrutinize the 25-year-old who is still single but the one who settles down. In fact, this feels like the only life decision left to disapprove of, the only one acceptable to judge. Wanting to commit is the <em>one <\/em>desire that is discouraged, treated with suspicion, the only thing in the modern world we are ever told to&nbsp;delay.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/stanforddaily.com\/2025\/11\/16\/senior-scaries-treating-dating-like-the-job-market\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Senior Scaries: Treating dating like the job market<\/a> (Erin Ye, Stanford Daily): \u201cThe last time I was on the phone with my mom, she told me that it was my own fault I didn\u2019t have a boyfriend. \u2018You need to start treating dating like it\u2019s the job market: you\u2019re not applying to positions, you\u2019re not interviewing, you\u2019re not even doing things that you can add to your r\u00e9sum\u00e9,\u2019 she said. \u2018You just need to get out there. Think of it like getting an <em>internship<\/em>. Don\u2019t worry about the return offer just&nbsp;yet!\u2019&nbsp;\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/2025\/11\/ice-deportation-saddleback-hispanic-ministry-leaders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">They Led at Saddleback Church. ICE Said They Were Safe.<\/a> (Andy Olsen, Christianity Today): \u201cThe growing abolition of discretion, perhaps more than any other aspect of the administration\u2019s immigration suppression, will cause the deepest pain for many families that previously had little to fear. Individuals within the US immigration edifice have long had some authority to exercise compassion in situations where, in their judgment, the cost to society of a person\u2019s removal might be higher than the cost of nonremoval. One could view such discretion, as the Trump administration does, as a weakness. Or one could see discretion as the cardinal quality that separates a human justice system from a cold enforcement machine with all the sensibility of a red-light camera.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A moving story, told with all the messy details.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/nigeria-christian-muslim-killings-kidnapping-trump-af57834a1ce47488397bf07931b5cf51\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trump says Christians are being persecuted in Nigeria. The reality is more complicated<\/a> (Chinedu Asadu, AP News): \u201cNigeria\u2019s population of 220 million is split almost evenly between Christians, who live predominantly in the south, and Muslims, mostly in the north \u2014 where attacks have long been concentrated and where levels of illiteracy, poverty and hunger are among the country\u2019s highest. Nationwide, Muslims constitute a slight majority. Experts and data from two nonpartisan sources \u2014 the U.S.-basedt and Council on Foreign Relations \u2014 show Christians are often targets in a small percentage of overall attacks that appear to be motivated by religion, in some northern states. But the numbers and analysts also indicate that across the north, most victims of overall violence are Muslims.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I was skeptical of the headline, but the article makes a good case for it. Having said that, the author hasn\u2019t shown that there isn\u2019t a problem of religious persecution in Nigeria; the author has only shown that there is also a problem of rampant lawlessness.<\/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:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/2025\/11\/6-7-in-the-bible\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">6\u20137 in the Bible<\/a> (Kristy Etheridge, Christianity Today): \u201cNews outlets from <em>The New York Times<\/em> to <em>The Indian Express<\/em> have covered the global phenomenon that delights children, puzzles grownups, and leaves school teachers 67 percent sure they should retire early.\u2026 a church in Charlotte, North Carolina, created an entire outreach event around the infamous numbers. Jonathan White is a pastor and director of children\u2019s programming at Mecklenburg Community Church. When he determined that the 6\u20137 trend wasn\u2019t harmful and wasn\u2019t going away, he wrote it into the church\u2019s November family night.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/scholars-now-believe-number-of-the-beast-is-actually-67\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Scholars Now Believe Number Of The Beast Is Actually 67<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-11-batman-effect-mere-sight-superhero.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Batman effect: The mere sight of the \u2018superhero\u2019 can make us more altruistic<\/a> (Gaby Clark, Phys.org): \u201cIn the experimental condition, another experimenter dressed as Batman entered the scene from another door of the train. Faced with this unexpected encounter, passengers were significantly more likely to offer their seats: 67.21% of passengers offered their seats in the presence of Batman, or more than two out of three, compared to 37.66% in the control experiment, or just over one out of&nbsp;three.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recommended by an alumnus.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/millions-convert-to-christianity-after-theologians-confirm-there-is-no-microsoft-teams-in-heaven\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Millions Convert To Christianity After Theologians Confirm There Is No Microsoft Teams In Heaven<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/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>You\u2019ve heard of TGIF? This is TGFI: Things Glen Found Interesting On Fridays I share articles\/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues likely to be of interest to Christians in college. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom. I welcome your suggestions, so if you read something fascinating please pass \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2025\/11\/21\/tgfi-volume-531-christianity-improves-longevity-plus-some-smart-people-who-believe\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cTGFI Volume 531: Christianity improves longevity, plus some smart people who believe\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":[266,124,120,161,160,227,347,221,112,177,252,164],"class_list":["post-7841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-africa","tag-apologetically-interesting","tag-famous-christians","tag-global-christianity","tag-how-the-church-is-perceived","tag-immigration","tag-japan","tag-journalism","tag-marriage","tag-media","tag-philosophy","tag-relationships"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-22t","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7841","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=7841"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7844,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7841\/revisions\/7844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}