The Pietist Schoolman

Here…

• I really can’t thank David King enough for taking the time to answer some big questions about World Vision!

• I especially appreciated how David explained that the U.S. chapter is only one part of World Vision International. American Christians need to reminded that they don’t stand at the center of their religion’s universe — which is also why I thought it might be helpful to rethink what Lent means when it doesn’t take place during the season of spring.

• While I recommended books on Pietism by Douglas Shantz and Michelle Clifton-Soderstrom, the best introduction to that subject would probably be some hybrid of the two.

• Readers who come here especially for posts on Christian higher education and liberal arts may want to check out Christ & University.

…There and Everywhere

• If you missed it, make sure to read Jonathan Merritt’s autobiographical reflection on child abuse, sexuality, shame, identity, and grace — then follow it with his reflection on writing that piece.

• Can liberals and conservatives find common ground in supporting public policy that benefits two-parent families, whether the parents are same- or different-sex?

• Evangelicals and postevangelicals drawn to Anabaptism might be especially interested in the story of the 1961 meeting between Mennonite and Brethren in Christ leaders and Billy Graham, well retold by Devin Manzullo-Thomas.

• Dale Coulter challenged the increasingly common claim that evangelical opposition to abortion was a relatively recent development.

• “…let’s be clear,” wrote Old Testament scholar Joel Baden, that Scripture teaches that God both loves us and wiped out most of humanity in a flood “is our problem, not the Bible’s.”

• Is our chief end to glorify God? Yes, said Roger Olson, but…

• Long but worthwhile read: Malcolm Gladwell on the federal attack on the Branch Davidians in Waco.

• The Economist assessed the continuing “publishing phenomenon” that is the history of World War I. (Meanwhile, I can’t wait to see the new WWI exhibit about to debut at the Imperial War Museum, just in time for the war’s centenary.)

• Ten ways World War II could have ended differently.

• I’ve written on how Olympic athletes have substantially improved their performance over time. Why is the same not true of horses?

• The last few years I’ve thought that perhaps it’s time to retire my course on the Cold War, which I’ve been teaching since 2003. So much for that…

• Okay, once more to the academic vs. popular history well…

• I’ve been known to tell my students that history is closer to literature than science. In the 19th century, science itself was still written as literature.