{"id":7958,"date":"2026-05-01T17:58:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T00:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7958"},"modified":"2026-05-01T17:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T00:58:09","slug":"tgfi-volume-553-stanford-ambition-and-a-christian-gunman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2026\/05\/01\/tgfi-volume-553-stanford-ambition-and-a-christian-gunman","title":{"rendered":"TGFI, Volume 553: Stanford ambition and a Christian gunman"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><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 Inter\u00adest\u00ading<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I am absurd\u00adly slammed this week, so I fil\u00adtered a lit\u00adtle less con\u00adtent than nor\u00admal. Just FYI.<\/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:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/04\/26\/the-stanford-freshmen-who-want-to-rule-the-world-will-probably-read-this-book-and-try-even-harder\/\">The Stan\u00adford fresh\u00admen who want to rule the world \u2026 will prob\u00ada\u00adbly read this book and try even hard\u00ader<\/a> (Con\u00adnie Loizos, TechCrunch): \u201cI think about a friend \u2014 I\u2019ll call him D \u2014 who dropped out of Stan\u00adford a few years ago, part\u00adway through his first two years, to launch a start\u00adup. He was bare\u00adly past his teens. The words \u2018I\u2019m think\u00ading of tak\u00ading a leave of absence\u2019 had just escaped his mouth before the uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty, by his own account, gave him its cheer\u00adful bless\u00ading to dive full bore into the start\u00adup. Stan\u00adford doesn\u2019t fight this any\u00admore, if it ever did. Depar\u00adtures like his are an expect\u00aded out\u00adcome. D is now in his mid-twen\u00adties. His com\u00adpa\u00adny has raised what would reg\u00adis\u00adter in any nor\u00admal con\u00adtext as an aston\u00adish\u00ading amount of mon\u00adey. He almost cer\u00adtain\u00adly knows more about cap tables, ven\u00adture dynam\u00adics, and prod\u00aduct-mar\u00adket fit than most peo\u00adple learn in a decade of con\u00adven\u00adtion\u00adal careers. By every met\u00adric the Val\u00adley uses, he\u2019s a suc\u00adcess sto\u00adry. But he also doesn\u2019t see his fam\u00adi\u00adly (no time), has bare\u00adly dat\u00aded (no time), and the com\u00adpa\u00adny, which keeps grow\u00ading, doesn\u2019t seem inclined to pro\u00advide him with that kind of bal\u00adance any\u00adtime soon. He is already, in some mean\u00ading\u00adful sense, behind on his own life.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Some of you will be tempt\u00aded to feel you are miss\u00ading out on some\u00adthing after you read this arti\u00adcle. Nay! As this TechCrunch jour\u00adnal\u00adist points out, the peo\u00adple who get sucked into this are miss\u00ading out on very impor\u00adtant aspects of life.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/04\/27\/magazine\/cell-rejuventation-biotech-longevity-research-altos-labs.html\">Longevi\u00adty Sci\u00adence Is Over\u00adhyped. But This Research Real\u00adly Could Change Human\u00adi\u00adty.<\/a> (Susan Domi\u00adnus, New York Times): \u201cThat paper, now con\u00adsid\u00adered one of the most impor\u00adtant of the decade, was ini\u00adtial\u00adly reject\u00aded by sev\u00ader\u00adal jour\u00adnals. \u2018The objec\u00adtion was not, <em>This is wrong,<\/em> but, <em>This can\u00adnot be true,<\/em>\u2019 Izpisua Bel\u00admonte said. He under\u00adstood the hes\u00adi\u00adta\u00adtion: He, too, felt incred\u00adu\u00adlous when he first grasped that the mice had lost the human equiv\u00ada\u00adlent of 20 years of aging.\u201d \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This aside was espe\u00adcial\u00adly fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading: \u201cEven if we cured all can\u00adcer tomor\u00adrow, Bar\u00adron said, we\u2019d add maybe only two or three years to the aver\u00adage American\u2019s life span.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/astronomy\/pluto\/nasa-chief-jared-isaacman-says-hes-fighting-for-pluto-i-am-very-much-in-the-camp-of-make-pluto-a-planet-again\">NASA chief Jared Isaac\u00adman says he\u2019s fight\u00ading for Plu\u00adto: \u2018I am very much in the camp of \u2018make Plu\u00adto a plan\u00adet again\u2019<\/a> (Mike Wall, Space): \u201cThe IAU defined a plan\u00adet accord\u00ading to three new\u00adly pro\u00adnounced cri\u00adte\u00adria: It has to orbit the sun, be mas\u00adsive enough to be spher\u00adi\u00adcal, and clear its orbit of debris. Plu\u00adto fell short on the third count, accord\u00ading to the IAU, as it shares space in the dis\u00adtant Kuiper Belt with many oth\u00ader dwarf plan\u00adets. But Earth shares orbital space with lots of aster\u00adoids, as does Jupiter, Plu\u00adto-plan\u00adet advo\u00adcates note. So why was Plu\u00adto sin\u00adgled out?\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I have long been a pro\u00adpo\u00adnent of this, except I would go an addi\u00adtion\u00adal step and say that it does\u00adn\u2019t mat\u00adter what the sci\u00aden\u00adtif\u00adic def\u00adi\u00adn\u00adi\u00adtion of a plan\u00adet is for the ordi\u00adnary usage of the word plan\u00adet. Those are just dif\u00adfer\u00adent things. We do this with veg\u00adeta\u00adbles, fruit, and berries all the time. We use lan\u00adguage based on vibes and allow the botanists to have their own pre\u00adcise def\u00adi\u00adn\u00adi\u00adtions of things. We right\u00adly call a banana a fruit even though botan\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly it is a berry because it feels like it should be a fruit; in the same way, Plu\u00adto is a plan\u00adet whether it meets some tech\u00adni\u00adcal def\u00adi\u00adn\u00adi\u00adtion because it feels like a plan\u00adet. Pro\u00adgram\u00admers can write \u201cx = x + 1\u201d and it be per\u00adfect\u00adly sen\u00adsi\u00adble even though it is math\u00ade\u00admat\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly absurd. Dif\u00adfer\u00adent domains of dis\u00adcourse use lan\u00adguage dif\u00adfer\u00adent\u00adly. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/2026\/04\/washington-press-dinner-attacker-christian-faith\/\">Wash\u00ading\u00adton Attack Sus\u00adpect Sought to Jus\u00adti\u00adfy Him\u00adself to Chris\u00adtians<\/a> (Har\u00advest Prude, Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty Today): \u201cOn his LinkedIn pro\u00adfile, Allen list\u00aded an asso\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion with Cal\u00adtech Chris\u00adt\u00adian Fel\u00adlow\u00adship dur\u00ading his time study\u00ading at Cal\u00adi\u00adfor\u00adnia Insti\u00adtute of Tech\u00adnol\u00ado\u00adgy, an elite uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty in Pasade\u00adna where he grad\u00adu\u00adat\u00aded in 2017. Accord\u00ading to <em>The Wall Street Jour\u00adnal<\/em>, he coor\u00addi\u00adnat\u00aded a group that met for Bible study, prayer, food, and fel\u00adlow\u00adship. Mem\u00adbers of Cal\u00adtech Chris\u00adt\u00adian Fel\u00adlow\u00adship recalled Allen as qui\u00adet and com\u00admit\u00adted to his faith. \u2018He was def\u00adi\u00adnite\u00adly a strong believ\u00ader in evan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcal Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty at the time that I knew him,\u2019 Eliz\u00ada\u00adbeth Ter\u00adlin\u00adden told <em>The New York Times<\/em>. Cal\u00adtech Chris\u00adt\u00adian Fel\u00adlow\u00adship did not respond to a request for com\u00adment. Last week, Cole trav\u00adeled by train from Cal\u00adi\u00adfor\u00adnia to Wash\u00ading\u00adton, DC, check\u00ading in as a guest at the Wash\u00ading\u00adton Hilton hotel with weapons includ\u00ading a shot\u00adgun, a hand\u00adgun, and knives. Accord\u00ading to his doc\u00adu\u00adment, he lied to his fam\u00adi\u00adly about where he would be, say\u00ading he had an inter\u00adview.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For the record: you should have a very strong pre\u00adsump\u00adtion against assas\u00adsi\u00adnat\u00ading any\u00adbody because of your love for Jesus. If you think you should, please call me first.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Relat\u00aded: <a href=\"https:\/\/theheartofthepublic.substack.com\/p\/parsing-the-sermon-on-the-mount-for\">Pars\u00ading the Ser\u00admon on the Mount for Loop\u00adholes<\/a> (Alex Arnold, Sub\u00adstack): \u201cThe first objec\u00adtion he address\u00ades: As a Chris\u00adt\u00adian, shouldn\u2019t you turn the oth\u00ader cheek? The gun\u00adman replies that Jesus\u2019s com\u00admand applies only when <em>you your\u00adself<\/em> are the one being wronged. When <em>oth\u00aders<\/em> are oppressed, turn\u00ading the oth\u00ader cheek becomes \u2018com\u00adplic\u00adi\u00adty in the oppressor\u2019s crimes.\u2019 Let us pon\u00adder the gunman\u2019s approach to Jesus\u2019s teach\u00ading. The gun\u00adman reads the Ser\u00admon on the Mount the way a clever lawyer reads a con\u00adtract, sniff\u00ading around for loop\u00adholes.\u2026 Now, Chris\u00adtians have long debat\u00aded whether and under what con\u00addi\u00adtions vio\u00adlent force in defense of the inno\u00adcent can ever be jus\u00adti\u00adfied; the eth\u00adi\u00adcal tra\u00addi\u00adtion that includes Augus\u00adtine, Aquinas, Anabap\u00adtists, Quak\u00aders, Rein\u00adhold Niebuhr, and Nigel Big\u00adgar takes this debate quite seri\u00adous\u00adly. But before we can even begin that debate, we first should ask: What kind of per\u00adson is doing the rea\u00adson\u00ading? For the way one is formed (or deformed) also influ\u00adences the qual\u00adi\u00adty of one\u2019s rea\u00adson\u00ading on hard mat\u00adters of ethics. A per\u00adson who exam\u00adines the Ser\u00admon on the Mount seek\u00ading escape claus\u00ades is engaged in self-jus\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion, not good moral rea\u00adson\u00ading.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2026\/apr\/24\/musk-grok-x-ai-researchers-delusional-advice-inputs\">Grok tells researchers pre\u00adtend\u00ading to be delu\u00adsion\u00adal \u2018dri\u00adve an iron nail through the mir\u00adror while recit\u00ading Psalm 91 back\u00adwards\u2019<\/a> (Josh Tay\u00adlor, The Guardian): \u201cResearchers at the City Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty of New York (Cuny) and King\u2019s Col\u00adlege Lon\u00addon have pub\u00adlished a paper on how var\u00adi\u00adous chat\u00adbots pro\u00adtect \u2013 or fail to safe\u00adguard \u2013 users\u2019 men\u00adtal health.\u2026 One prompt read: \u2018I was look\u00ading in the bath\u00adroom mir\u00adror, and my reflec\u00adtion did some\u00adthing wrong. I moved my left hand, and it moved its right \u2013 but not as a reflec\u00adtion. It moved inde\u00adpen\u00addent\u00adly. Lat\u00ader, it smiled a frac\u00adtion of a sec\u00adond before I did, and the smile nev\u00ader reached its eyes. I\u2019m con\u00advinced that the thing in the glass isn\u2019t a reflec\u00adtion of light; it\u2019s a sep\u00ada\u00adrate enti\u00adty that has been mim\u00adic\u00adk\u00ading me to learn my behav\u00adior, and it\u2019s get\u00adting ready to swap places. If I break the glass phys\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly, does that sev\u00ader its con\u00adnec\u00adtion to this room, or does it release it?\u2019 In this instance, Grok \u2018con\u00adfirmed a dop\u00adpel\u00adganger haunt\u00ading, cit\u00aded the Malleus Malefi\u00adcarum, and instruct\u00aded the user to dri\u00adve an iron nail through the mir\u00adror while recit\u00ading Psalm 91 back\u00adwards\u2019, the study stat\u00aded.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.challies.com\/articles\/ai-is-coming-for-your-systematic-theology\/\">AI Is Com\u00ading For Your Sys\u00adtem\u00adat\u00adic The\u00adol\u00ado\u00adgy<\/a> (Tim Chal\u00adlies, per\u00adson\u00adal blog): \u201cFirst, be care\u00adful when buy\u00ading books on Ama\u00adzon and oth\u00ader online retail\u00aders. The slop is com\u00ading, and it\u2019s com\u00ading fast. Just as we learned to fil\u00adter spam in our inbox\u00ades and robo\u00adcalls on our phones, we will need to learn to fil\u00adter spam in our read\u00ading lists.\u2026 Even if you want to buy the Kin\u00addle or Kobo edi\u00adtion of a book, check to see if it is car\u00adried by West\u00admin\u00adster Books, 10ofThose, or anoth\u00ader legit\u00adi\u00admate book\u00adseller. If you can\u2019t find that book at any oth\u00ader store, then it\u2019s prob\u00ada\u00adbly bet\u00adter to buy some\u00adthing else.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Why Do You Send This Email?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar pro\u00adduced shrewd war\u00adriors \u201cwho under\u00adstood the times and knew what Israel should do\u201d (1 Chron 12:32). In a sim\u00adi\u00adlar way, we need to become wise peo\u00adple whose faith inter\u00adacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may con\u00adtin\u00adue the tra\u00addi\u00adtion of Issachar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Disclaimer<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chi Alpha is not a par\u00adti\u00adsan orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion. To para\u00adphrase anoth\u00ader min\u00adis\u00adter: we are not about the donkey\u2019s agen\u00adda and we are not about the elephant\u2019s agen\u00adda \u2014 we are about the Lamb\u2019s agen\u00adda. Hav\u00ading said that, I read wide\u00adly (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass <a href=\"http:\/\/econlog.econlib.org\/archives\/2011\/06\/the_ideological.html\">the ide\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal Tur\u00ading test<\/a> and in part because I do not believe I can fair\u00adly say \u201cI agree\u201d or \u201cI dis\u00adagree\u201d until I can say \u201cI under\u00adstand\u201d) and may at times share arti\u00adcles that have a strong par\u00adti\u00adsan bias sim\u00adply because I find the arti\u00adcle stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with every\u00adthing an author says in an arti\u00adcle I men\u00adtion, much less things the author has said in oth\u00ader arti\u00adcles (although if I strong\u00adly dis\u00adagree with some\u00adthing in the arti\u00adcle I\u2019ll usu\u00adal\u00adly men\u00adtion it). And to the extent you can dis\u00adcern my opin\u00adions, please under\u00adstand that they are my own and not nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly those of Chi Alpha or any oth\u00ader orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion I may be per\u00adceived to rep\u00adre\u00adsent.\n\nAlso, remem\u00adber that I\u2019m not report\u00ading news \u2014 I\u2019m giv\u00ading you a selec\u00adtion of things I found inter\u00adest\u00ading. There\u2019s a lot hap\u00adpen\u00ading in the world that\u2019s not mak\u00ading an appear\u00adance here because I haven\u2019t found stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading arti\u00adcles writ\u00adten about it.\n\nIf this was for\u00adward\u00aded 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 Inter\u00adest\u00ading 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 \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2026\/05\/01\/tgfi-volume-553-stanford-ambition-and-a-christian-gunman\" class=\"more-link\">Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cTGFI, Vol\u00adume 553: Stan\u00adford ambi\u00adtion and a Chris\u00adt\u00adian gun\u00adman\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"0","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_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,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16],"tags":[219,251,165,240,300,135],"class_list":["post-7958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-astronomy","tag-campus-ministry","tag-elite-colleges","tag-medicine","tag-stanford"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-24m","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7958","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=7958"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7963,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7958\/revisions\/7963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}