{"id":8031,"date":"2026-09-18T18:38:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T01:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=8031"},"modified":"2026-09-18T18:38:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T01:38:40","slug":"tgfi-volume-572-happy-news-about-tolkien-and-lewis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2026\/09\/18\/tgfi-volume-572-happy-news-about-tolkien-and-lewis","title":{"rendered":"TGFI, Volume 572: happy news about Tolkien and Lewis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/a> 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. What Did Tolkien Real\u00adly Think about Nar\u00adnia?<\/a> (Hol\u00adly Ord\u00adway, Sehn\u00adsucht: The C. S. Lewis Jour\u00adnal): \u201cFrom A to Z, we seem to have a con\u00adsen\u00adsus: Lewis loved Mid\u00addle-earth, but Tolkien hat\u00aded Nar\u00adnia and the horse it rode in on. There is just one dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adty with this assess\u00adment: it is not sup\u00adport\u00aded by the evi\u00addence.\u2026 Tolkien was atten\u00adtive to and involved with his grandchildren\u2019s read\u00ading: it is very sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant that he kept the Nar\u00adnia books on hand, in his home, for them to read, and even direct\u00aded his grand\u00addaugh\u00adter to pri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adtize Nar\u00adnia above his own Lord of the Rings. Though he did not per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adly care for the Chron\u00adi\u00adcles, he evi\u00addent\u00adly saw their val\u00adue for their intend\u00aded audi\u00adence: chil\u00addren.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Are Amer\u00adi\u00adcans aban\u00addon\u00ading church\u00ades to be \u2018nones\u2019? This is the real\u00adi\u00adty.<\/a> (Byron R. John\u00adson & Thomas S. Kidd, Wash\u00ading\u00adton Post): \u201cRather than expe\u00adri\u00adenc\u00ading sim\u00adple growth or decline, Amer\u00adi\u00adcan reli\u00adgion is in a state of churn. Some sec\u00adtors are falling fast, while oth\u00aders show phe\u00adnom\u00ade\u00adnal growth. Through\u00adout his\u00adto\u00adry, Amer\u00adi\u00adcans have rou\u00adtine\u00adly mis\u00adin\u00adter\u00adpret\u00aded reli\u00adgious change as decline. Head\u00adlines about the demise of faith may be atten\u00adtion-grab\u00adbing, but they con\u00adceal a more com\u00adpli\u00adcat\u00aded and inter\u00adest\u00ading real\u00adi\u00adty.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. China\u2019s Top Spy Chief Warns A.I. Is a Threat to Par\u00adty Rule<\/a> (Lily Kuo, New York Times): \u201cIn an arti\u00adcle pub\u00adlished on Sun\u00adday in the state-run mag\u00ada\u00adzine Chi\u00adna Cyber\u00adspace, Mr. Chen called for more par\u00adty con\u00adtrol over A.I. and stricter gov\u00adern\u00adment over\u00adsight. This, he said, was nec\u00ades\u00adsary to pro\u00adtect polit\u00adi\u00adcal sta\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty at home; to defend against increas\u00ading\u00adly sophis\u00adti\u00adcat\u00aded cyber\u00adat\u00adtacks and mis\u00adin\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtion cam\u00adpaigns from \u2018hos\u00adtile forces\u2019; and to com\u00adpete mil\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adly with coun\u00adtries like the Unit\u00aded States.\u2026 The warn\u00ading from the pow\u00ader\u00adful secu\u00adri\u00adty agency makes clear that Chi\u00adna sees for\u00adeign A.I. mod\u00adels as an active threat to Chi\u00adna, accord\u00ading to Hen\u00adry Gao, a law pro\u00adfes\u00adsor at Sin\u00adga\u00adpore Man\u00adage\u00adment Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty. That effec\u00adtive\u00adly draws a red line before talks between Amer\u00adi\u00adcan and Chi\u00adnese offi\u00adcials on A.I. safe\u00adty risks, expect\u00aded ahead of a meet\u00ading between Pres\u00adi\u00addent Trump and China\u2019s leader, Xi Jin\u00adping, on Sept. 24 in Wash\u00ading\u00adton. \u2018Bei\u00adjing is going into these talks view\u00ading A.I. safe\u00adty not as a shared human\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan mis\u00adsion, but through an adver\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adal lens,\u2019 Mr. Gao said. It is mak\u00ading clear to Chi\u00adnese tech firms and for\u00adeign rivals that \u2018data sov\u00ader\u00adeign\u00adty and polit\u00adi\u00adcal secu\u00adri\u00adty will nev\u00ader be trad\u00aded away for inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal safe\u00adty accords,\u2019 he added.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Why Is Chi\u00adna Not Freak\u00ading Out about AGI?<\/a> (Richard Hana\u00adnia, Sub\u00adstack): \u201cIt\u2019s pos\u00adsi\u00adble that Sil\u00adi\u00adcon Val\u00adley is right about the pos\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty of doom and Chi\u00adna is wrong. But giv\u00aden that it is com\u00admon for cul\u00adtures to get into an intel\u00adlec\u00adtu\u00adal bub\u00adble, it might be infor\u00adma\u00adtive to think about how a for\u00adeign coun\u00adtry per\u00adceives an issue that has cre\u00adat\u00aded a great deal of debate with\u00adin the West. It is more worth study\u00ading Chi\u00adnese atti\u00adtudes than, say, those of Egypt or even Japan, since Chi\u00adna is the only oth\u00ader coun\u00adtry that is a sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant play\u00ader in this indus\u00adtry. This means that they are like\u00adly to have a high\u00ader degree of famil\u00adiar\u00adi\u00adty with AI tech\u00adnol\u00ado\u00adgy and debates over its dan\u00adgers than oth\u00aders, and also to have opin\u00adions that actu\u00adal\u00adly mat\u00adter. If Chi\u00adna has a com\u00adplete\u00adly dif\u00adfer\u00adent atti\u00adtude toward the ques\u00adtion of the exis\u00adten\u00adtial dan\u00adgers of AI, it would sug\u00adgest that maybe we should recon\u00adsid\u00ader our own posi\u00adtions.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. A.I. Faces Two Big Threats. Sil\u00adi\u00adcon Val\u00adley Does Not Know How to Deal With One.<\/a> (Tan\u00adner Greer, New York Times): \u201cThe indus\u00adtry must nav\u00adi\u00adgate the nar\u00adrow space between two new polit\u00adi\u00adcal forces, each capa\u00adble of derail\u00ading its progress. The first is the A.I. safe\u00adty move\u00adment, whose dire prophe\u00adcies of an A.I. apoc\u00ada\u00adlypse have fright\u00adened many of the great names in Wash\u00ading\u00adton. The sec\u00adond is the nation\u00adwide back\u00adlash against the data cen\u00adter. This grass-roots upris\u00ading is not as orga\u00adnized or as well fund\u00aded. Nor is it as artic\u00adu\u00adlate as the safe\u00adty movement\u2019s many Jere\u00admi\u00adahs. But the anger behind this back\u00adlash is real \u2014 and explo\u00adsive. The A.I. indus\u00adtry is bet\u00adter pre\u00adpared to deal with the first move\u00adment. It orig\u00adi\u00adnat\u00aded in Sil\u00adi\u00adcon Val\u00adley, and indus\u00adtry exec\u00adu\u00adtives have thought hard about the issues involved \u2014 as can be seen in the recent near\u00adly 4,000 word man\u00adi\u00adfesto on the top\u00adic from Dario Amod\u00adei, CEO of Anthrop\u00adic. No A.I. exec\u00adu\u00adtive is pub\u00adlish\u00ading long man\u00adi\u00adfestoes on how to resolve the back\u00adlash against the data cen\u00adter build\u00adout. This is a prob\u00adlem Sil\u00adi\u00adcon Val\u00adley does not know how to solve.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. He Might End Up the World\u2019s Most Edu\u00adcat\u00aded Per\u00adson<\/a> (Scott Cac\u00adci\u00ado\u00adla, New York Times): \u201cBeat\u00adon, she learned, had grad\u00adu\u00adat\u00aded magna cum laude from Har\u00advard in 2016, pick\u00ading up a master\u2019s degree in applied math\u00ade\u00admat\u00adics along the way. He had gone on to col\u00adlect an M.B.A. from Stan\u00adford. Then a law degree from Yale. That was fol\u00adlowed by a doc\u00adtor of phi\u00adlos\u00ado\u00adphy in pub\u00adlic pol\u00adi\u00adcy from Oxford, where he was a Rhodes schol\u00adar \u2014 all before age 28. Attend\u00ading class\u00ades remote\u00adly and in per\u00adson, he earned addi\u00adtion\u00adal master\u2019s degrees from \u2014 deep breath \u2014 the Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty of Penn\u00adsyl\u00adva\u00adnia (edu\u00adca\u00adtion entre\u00adpre\u00adneur\u00adship), Stan\u00adford (edu\u00adca\u00adtion tech\u00adnol\u00ado\u00adgy), Prince\u00adton (finance), Cor\u00adnell (health care pol\u00adi\u00adcy and eco\u00adnom\u00adics), Dart\u00admouth (imple\u00admen\u00adta\u00adtion sci\u00adence), King\u2019s Col\u00adlege Lon\u00addon (war stud\u00adies) and Tsinghua Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty in Bei\u00adjing (glob\u00adal affairs).\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. My Dumb\u00adphone Made My Life Bet\u00adter. It Made Every\u00adone Else\u2019s Worse.<\/a> (Stephanie H. Mur\u00adray, New York Times): \u201cI antic\u00adi\u00adpat\u00aded that not hav\u00ading a smart\u00adphone would make me more reliant on oth\u00ader peo\u00adple \u2014 per\u00adhaps with\u00adout Google Maps on hand, I\u2019d have to ask an actu\u00adal human for direc\u00adtions. And sure, that\u2019s hap\u00adpened. But I think it\u2019s more accu\u00adrate to say that I\u2019ve become more reliant on oth\u00ader people\u2019s smart\u00adphones<\/em>. Instead of order\u00ading from the bar or print\u00ading out movie tick\u00adets ahead of time, I inevitably wind up hav\u00ading some\u00adbody else scan the QR code menu or pull up the e\u2011tickets. It\u2019s still smart\u00adphones all the way down; I\u2019ve just exempt\u00aded myself from the costs of car\u00adry\u00ading one around.\u2026 To for\u00adgo smart\u00adphones in a world opti\u00admized for them is to become some\u00adone in con\u00adstant need of accom\u00admo\u00adda\u00adtion, but for total\u00adly self-imposed rea\u00adsons. Like adopt\u00ading a high\u00adly restric\u00adtive diet with\u00adout any of the health issues that might jus\u00adti\u00adfy the need to orga\u00adnize every din\u00adner out around it.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Less Serious Things Which Also Interested\/Amused Glen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n