Glen & Paula Davis

You’ve 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 it my way.

Things Glen Found Interesting

1. Two Hundred People Left Our Small Church (Benjamin Vrbicek, Christianity Today): "In seven years, our church—in terms of net attendance—has grown from around 150 to 350. But in the same amount of time, our church has lost as many as have stayed. The losses never occur rapidly, as though a levee burst, but more as a steady trickle or slow leak. A few of our members died. One went to jail. One wrote me an eight-page letter of grievances I was instructed to share with the elders; another wrote a chapter-length blog post suggesting we’re not even a church. Some parishioners didn’t let the door hit them on the way out because they kicked it off the hinges and left us to pick up the shattered pieces. These departures are by far the exceptions. Many of those who left told me neither why they left nor even that they had left. I often find out via back channels like social media and other impersonal means."
   • This is a fascinating article.
   • On a related note: one of a pastor's love languages is nearly always attendance. If you stop going to a church, pastors assume that part of the reason you stopped is that you don't like them. Even though they intellectually know that is not always the case, it is nonetheless a felt reality. It's not true of all pastors, but I feel very confident saying it is true of most pastors. Pastors often feel great sorrow when remembering people who quietly departed. Loving people who don't love you back (or you assume don't love you back) is a mandate of the Christian life, but it's not fun.
2. I read the entire Quran, all the Hadiths, and the Sira. Here is what I found. (A.C. Rosenthal, Substack): "Plenty of ancient texts contain things that make modern readers uncomfortable, and the Bible is not exempt from that category. The question that changed everything was structural. It is this: in Christianity, the founder is the standard against which the institution is measured. When the church falls short, the accusation is always: you are not living like Jesus. The standard itself is not in question. Jesus did not order raids. He did not arrange marriages with children. He did not authorize the execution of apostates. He was executed by the state, not empowered by it. Everything the church has done wrong can be measured against what Jesus actually did and found wanting. The standard holds. In Islam, the founder is the standard. When you examine the primary sources and find things that trouble you, you are not finding a gap between Islam and Muhammad. You are finding Muhammad."
   • Recommended by a friend of the ministry. A solid article with a gentle tone.
3. Why have papers by one of history’s most famous physicists been retracted? (Sam Kean, Science): "In early May, Yves Gingras, a historian of physics at the University of Quebec (UQ) at Montreal, was browsing Retraction Watch, a website that catalogs fraud, data manipulation, and other scientific sins. He noticed a link that read, 'Retractions by Nobel Prize winners.' Were there really Nobel laureates whose papers had been withdrawn from the scientific literature? After clicking, Gingras froze. 'That’s impossible,' he recalls thinking. The fourth name on the list, with two retracted papers, was Max Planck—a legendary pioneer of quantum mechanics and the 1918 Nobel laureate in physics."
   • Brief and worth the read. Super-interesting.
4. He Went to Prison. Now He Is in Charge of Them. (P.G. Sittenfeld, The Free Press): "Josh Smith, 51, spent this past Christmas in prison. Just like he did for five years after being caught at the age of 21 in possession of a kilogram of cocaine and 150 pounds of marijuana. The difference? Smith wasn’t behind bars anymore. A year ago this month, he was sworn in as deputy director of the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), one of the world’s largest prison systems."
   • A fascinating profile of a Christian in public service.
5. I Co-Founded Wikipedia. Now I’m Banned for Life. (Larry Sanger, The Free Press): "In exasperation, I pointed out that the mob was not following due process. There was no designated prosecutor, but rather many self-selected ones. There was no list of charges, and whatever anyone said became an actionable charge. There was no assigned judge, because my accusers were also my judges. And of course there was no presumption of innocence, no jury, and no requirement of decorum that would forbid prejudicial statements. I knew Wikipedia’s disciplinary processes were bad—but I had never experienced them myself. I was tried by a faceless mob. I learned that their greatest anger is reserved for those who refuse to bow in awe of their mighty power."
   • Sanger is, incidentally, a relatively recent convert to Christianity, as I mentioned last year.
6. Science raises more questions than it answers (Sarah Salviander, Substack): "[Skeptics] have faith (not entirely unwarranted on their limited knowledge) that natural theories will eventually fill every gap, not realizing that the gaps tend to widen and multiply the deeper we go. The ratio of what we know to what we don’t know keeps shrinking, and I suspect that’s by design. What’s an atheist to do once they fully grasp this? I don’t know—maybe just accept that the universe is funny that way. But they should stop accusing Christians of a 'God of the gaps' fallacy when we invoke God for what is truly unexplainable by natural means."
   • Recommended by an alumnus.
7. Who Should Be Admitted to the Lord’s Supper? 4 Views (Davy Ellison, The Gospel Coalition): "Today, the table is celebrated less frequently and more languidly by many. It shouldn’t be so—everyone (but especially church leaders) needs to consider the supper’s frequency, significance, and benefits. I want to help you think more deeply about who should be admitted to the supper. If communion is a precious and profound privilege, who participates is important."
   • The author comes to a wrong conclusion, but explains some positions that you might not know existed along the way.

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Disclaimer

Chi Alpha is not a partisan organization. To paraphrase another minister: we are not about the donkey’s agenda and we are not about the elephant’s agenda - we are about the Lamb’s agenda. Having said that, I read widely (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass the ideological Turing test and in part because I do not believe I can fairly say “I agree” or “I disagree” until I can say “I understand”) 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’ll 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. Also, remember that I’m not reporting news - I’m giving you a selection of things I found interesting. There’s a lot happening in the world that’s not making an appearance here because I haven’t found stimulating articles written about it. If this was forwarded to you and you want to receive future emails, sign up here. You can also view the archives.