{"id":7924,"date":"2026-03-13T17:09:52","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T00:09:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7924"},"modified":"2026-03-13T17:09:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T00:09:52","slug":"tgfi-volume-546-atheists-who-believe-in-souls-why-bad-code-leads-to-evil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2026\/03\/13\/tgfi-volume-546-atheists-who-believe-in-souls-why-bad-code-leads-to-evil","title":{"rendered":"TGFI, Volume 546: atheists who believe in souls &amp; why bad code leads to&nbsp;evil"},"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:\/\/worldviewbulletin.substack.com\/p\/isaiah-identified-in-archaeology\">Isaiah Identified in Archaeology<\/a> (Titus Kennedy, Substack): \u201cDespite fulfilling the role of prophet for more than 50 years, serving under multiple kings, and encountering the Assyrians, until recently there was no archaeology directly attesting to the renowned Isaiah, and at present, there is no archaeological confirmation for the prophets Hosea, Nahum, and Micah, who were contemporary with Isaiah. This all changed when excavations of an Iron Age II layer of the 8th to 7th century BC at the Ophel area in Jerusalem unearthed a seal impression. This discovery was a clay bulla about 1.3 cm in diameter impressed by a seal with the name \u2018Isaiah\u2019 and the title \u2018prophet\u2019 in the paleo-Hebrew script.\u2026 Excavations in this area also discovered a bulla of one of the kings Isaiah served under, Hezekiah of Judah, along with 32 other Hebrew bullae with various names. It was found outside what has been called the \u2018royal bakery,\u2019 where royal officials and other dignitaries may have discarded old letters and the clay seals attached to those documents.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some thoughts on&nbsp;AI&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blessedendurance.substack.com\/p\/why-i-dont-want-my-pastor-to-use\">Why I Don\u2019t Want My Pastor to Use AI<\/a> (Leah, Substack): \u201cIf my pastor won\u2019t wrestle with God through writing a sermon, I begin to question: will he wrestle with Him in prayer? Will he be bothered to wrestle with God over the state of my soul, to plead on my behalf when I am tempted and suffering? \u2026God called you to be my pastor. I want <em>you<\/em> to be <em>my<\/em> pastor.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nicholasdecker.substack.com\/p\/who-uses-ai-in-congress\">Who Uses AI in Congress?<\/a> (Nicholas Decker, Substack): \u201cAdoption has been substantial. In the past three months of the 119th Congress, fully 25% of documents in the Congressional Record are AI-generated.\u2026 However, mere adoption is an uninteresting topic. Of course they are going to adopt the tools available. What would be much more interesting is if AI tools were having an actual effect on the policy positions or the rhetorical emphasis. Unfortunately, we can pretty conclusively rule those out.\u201d \u2014 The author is a PhD student in econ at George Mason.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.graphsaboutreligion.com\/p\/the-afterlife-isnt-going-away\">The Afterlife Isn\u2019t Going Away<\/a> (Ryan Burge, Substack): \u201cIn the full sample, 88% of folks said that they did believe that each being possesses both a soul and a physical body. I look at survey data all day, and here\u2019s what I know: it\u2019s hard to get 88% of Americans to agree on anything, really. If you tried to pull together a battery of ten public policy proposals, it\u2019s very unlikely that any of them would get 88% support. But the data tells this story clearly: almost all Americans believe that there\u2019s something happening beyond our physical bodies.\u2026 Among the non-religious, there\u2019s also a huge divide on this question. Among nothing in particulars, 80% believe in a soul. That\u2019s just a few clicks away from the national average. Agnostics score 11 points lower than nothing in particulars. But then take a look at atheists\u2014just one-third of them believe \u2018in a soul or spirit in addition to their physical bodies.\u2019&nbsp;\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>He kinda buried the lede here: 1\/3 of atheists believe in a soul. That\u2019s remarkable!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some thoughts on the&nbsp;war&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/11\/arts\/television\/iran-war-trump-memes-social-media-videos.html?partner=slack&amp;smid=sl-share\">The Trump Administration Goes to War, by Any Memes Necessary<\/a> (James Poniewozik, New York Times): \u201cFor Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, war was hell. But as represented by the Trump White House\u2019s social feeds, war is&nbsp;LOL.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recommended by a student and quite interesting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepublicdiscourse.com\/2026\/03\/100437\/\">America\u2019s Conflict in Iran Is Not a Just War<\/a> (Ed Feser, Public Discourse): \u201cMany who have commented on the war on social media appear to think that as long as some aim for which a war is fought is in itself a good aim\u2014such as deposing tyrants or preventing them from getting hold of weapons of mass destruction\u2014then the war has met the just-cause condition of just war doctrine. That is not the case. This is merely a necessary condition for having a just cause for war, not a sufficient condition.\u2026 It is clear that the attack on Iran was not in fact a \u2018preemptive war\u2019 in the sense of a military action taken in order to head off an imminent attack. Rather, it is a \u2018preventive war,\u2019 in the sense of a military action carried out against a country that does not pose an imminent threat but _could_ do so in the future. But while preemptive war can be justifiable in light of the just war criteria developed in the natural law tradition, preventive war cannot be.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Feser is a Catholic philosopher.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/2026\/03\/why-i-changed-my-mind-bible-prophecy-politics\/\">Why I Changed My Mind on Bible Prophecy and Politics<\/a> (Russell Moore, Christianity Today): \u201cMy doctoral dissertation was about how viewpoints on last things shaped evangelical Christian attitudes toward social and political engagement.\u2026 The kingdom of God\u2014present already but not yet fulfilled\u2014tells us what to care about (justice, peace, the poor, the vulnerable) while also shielding us from the disillusionment or bloodthirstiness that can come with expecting to have to bring the fullness of that kingdom on our own. As embodied in Jesus, the kingdom concerns us not just with outcomes but with ways and means, even as it prompts humility on how to get to those common goals. I have no idea what will happen in Iran. I have no idea what will happen in the modern state of Israel. I have no idea whether we have 5 more minutes or 45 million more years before the Apocalypse. Jesus said, \u2018It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority\u2019 (Acts 1:7). Who needs a prophecy chart when we already have the&nbsp;Way?\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some thoughts on a Texas politician:&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/08\/opinion\/james-talarico-christian-democrat-texas-primary.html\">James Talarico Is a Christian X\u2011Ray<\/a> (David French, New York Times): \u201cFor too long we\u2019ve evaluated Christians in politics primarily through their policy positions. Are you pro-life or pro-choice? Do you support same-sex marriage? What\u2019s your position on immigration enforcement? Yet this is exactly backward. If you were to crack open Scripture today and start reading, one of the first things you should notice is that the Bible contains remarkably few political mandates. You can read it from cover to cover and not know the definitive biblical tax rate, welfare program or foreign policy. But the next thing you\u2019ll notice is that there is an immense amount of guidance describing how Christians should behave. Indeed, in the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul says that the fruit of the spirit is a set of virtues \u2014 \u2018love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.\u2019 Absent from that list is a single theological or ideological proposition. That\u2019s not to say that theology or ideology are unimportant. It does really matter whether a politician is pro-life or pro-choice, but there is no spiritual or political scenario where you can abandon Christian virtue for the sake of the alleged greater good, and if a Christian politician abandons Christian virtue, then Christian believers should abandon him or&nbsp;her.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>FYI, this one has been super-divisive on social media. Some have said it is evidence of French\u2019s apostasy and others have said it is self-evidently true. Judge for yourself.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/andrewsullivan.substack.com\/p\/the-christianism-of-the-left-f59\">The Christianism Of The Left<\/a> (Andrew Sullivan, Substack): \u201c\u2026the fusion of Christianity and politics isn\u2019t exclusively right-wing. You can invoke God to defend anything, after all. And a new left-Christianism has emerged in the 21st century that is a mirror image of the right\u2019s. Left-Christians have come to adorn their churches with transqueer and BLM flags, treat NPR as the Holy Office, adopt language \u2014 \u2018white supremacy,\u2019 \u2018cis-heterosexism,\u2019 \u2018patriarchy\u2019 \u2014 directly from critical theory, and interpret Scripture to mandate higher taxes, DEI, abortion on demand, and open borders. I find that Christianism just as toxic to faith and politics. Which brings me to James Talarico, the Christianist running for Senate in&nbsp;Texas.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/13\/opinion\/china-exports-consumer-spending.html\">China\u2019s Long-Promised Consumer Boom Is a Mirage<\/a> (Anne Stevenson-Yang, New York Times): \u201cChina\u2019s people, perhaps more than at any time in the last few decades, are in no mood to go out and splurge. Many have been airing growing anxiety online about falling incomes and scarce jobs. The average income was just over $500 a month in 2025. Unemployment is high.\u2026 China\u2019s people, perhaps more than at any time in the last few decades, are in no mood to go out and splurge. Many have been airing growing anxiety online about falling incomes and scarce jobs. The average income was just over $500 a month in 2025. Unemployment is high.\u2026 These are hardly the foundations of a vibrant consumer economy, and the future looks no better.\u201d \u2014 I have been a consistent skeptic of China\u2019s economy ever since I first heard about ghost cities over a decade ago. If you\u2019re unfamiliar with the term, Google it. Do some digging and you\u2019ll be surprised.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/03\/10\/opinion\/ai-chatbots-virtue-vice.html\">This A.I. Experiment Reopened an Ancient Argument About Vice<\/a> (Dan Kagan-Kans, New York Times): \u201c[A] paper published in Nature in January demonstrates that in machines corruption can metastasize \u2014 that in them, something imprudent or a bit bad, like writing insecure code, is not so different from something wicked like praising Hitler. This doesn\u2019t prove virtue ethicists right about humanity\u2019s moral nature. But it suggests they\u2019re onto something, and that the ancients weren\u2019t as na\u00efve or strangely ideological as they can sometimes seem.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>One of the more fascinating things I\u2019ve read in a&nbsp;while.<\/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:\/\/x.com\/PresbyInn\/status\/2030739678924562804\">What Christian denominations\/traditions sound like to normal people on X<\/a> (Twitter): \u201cTrad Catholic: \u2018Clearly you haven\u2019t read the Summa Thomistic\u00e6 of St. Vittorio Jose Canseco Maria Dominguez Palato Nu\u00f1ez or you would know that\u2026\u2018<br>Orthodox: \u2018This was already settled by that Holy Council of Epiphistos in 853 when they accepted the reply of Metropolitan Hierarch St. \u03a7\u03b1\u03c1\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03b4\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03a3\u03bf\u03c6\u03c1\u03bf\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03b4\u03b5\u03c2 \u043d\u0435\u0432\u0435\u0436\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0435\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0439 when he said\u2026\u2018<br>Scottish Presbyterians: \u2018If you read \u201cThe Christian\u2019s Sure Defense Against the Stank of Antichrist by Robert MacSmellie, you\u2019d see&nbsp;that..\u201c&nbsp;\u2018<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/InsideLucysHead\/status\/2031279926855217492\">How would the Church of England deal with the statement that \u201cThe cat sat on the mat\u201d if it appeared in the Bible?<\/a> (Twitter): I found this very funny, but your mileage may&nbsp;vary.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/billions-dead-as-doomsday-clock-springs-forward-for-daylight-saving-time\">Billions Dead As Doomsday Clock Springs Forward For Daylight Saving Time<\/a> \u2014 (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\/2026\/03\/13\/tgfi-volume-546-atheists-who-believe-in-souls-why-bad-code-leads-to-evil\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cTGFI, Volume 546: atheists who believe in souls &amp; why bad code leads to&nbsp;evil\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":[],"class_list":["post-7924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-23O","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7924","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=7924"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7928,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7924\/revisions\/7928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}