I’ll be going back on break tomorrow, while we spend a week with my parents in Virginia. But first, let me briefly return to a series I started earlier this month: blogging through some of the excellent questions I was asked via Skype by Mr. Ferda’s 8th grade history class in Kalispell, Montana. The first … More Good Questions: How Do You Become a Historian?
I originally composed a draft of this devotion for the final meeting of Bethel’s Christianity and Western Culture course last Friday, but what I shared as a benediction to a group of first-year students — from a text I first prayed over students ten years ago, at the end of my first semester at Bethel, … More A Benediction for the Class of 2013
Some of what’s been happening around the blogosphere while I’ve been taking a break: • With his new book, Jamie Smith continues to develop his argument (from Desiring the Kingdom) that “Human beings are at their core defined by what they worship rather than primarily by what they think, know, or believe. That is bound … More That Was The Week That Was
5/21/13 – Let me interrupt my blogging break for a moment to engage in some wanton self-promotion… Tomorrow afternoon, my colleague Sam Mulberry and I will be hosting West by Midwest, what we hope will become an annual event at Bethel dedicated to sharing innovative teaching ideas. We’ll preview our new online version of Bethel’s … More West by Midwest 2013
To save me from myself, I’m going to announce a one- or two-week hiatus from blogging. I have about six hundred pages of papers to grade, final exams to write (and grade), a summer online course to create, etc., etc. Put it all together and… Well, it’s hard to view my writing a single word … More Taking a Break
Here… • I shared answers to the first two of many good questions that I was asked via Skype by an 8th grade history class in Kalispell, Montana: Did my history teachers make me want to be a historian?; and Who’s my favorite historical figure? • Paying tribute to Dallas Willard, who died of cancer … More That Was The Week That Was
Of the eighteen questions drafted by the Montana 8th grade history class that I Skyped with last week, this was the one I dreaded most. Naturally, it came up pretty quickly… Who is your favorite historical figure? Now, I’ve been to graduate school, so I’ve learned a thing or two about how to avoid answering … More Good Questions: Who Is Your Favorite Historical Figure?
Just two days after announcing via his Twitter feed that he had stage 4 cancer, Dallas Willard died yesterday. At the end of this post, I’ll offer my own small contribution to the collection of tributes that is already proliferating, but first a few words from people who knew him well: • Richard Foster wrote … More RIP Dallas Willard (1935-2013)
Today’s semi-rerun takes me back pretty far in the life of this blog, to December 2011. But then, the debate goes back to the eve of the Civil War… Original Post: “This Day in History: John Brown’s Body” Follow Up: “An Exchange on John Brown” (New York Review of Books, May 9, 2013) “I tend … More Following Up: Debating John Brown
Last week I had the chance to chat by Skype with some 8th grade social studies students in Kalispell, Montana. Their teacher, Mr. Ferda (one of my favorite Bethel alums), had each student draft a question ahead of time, and while we didn’t quite get to all of them, the questions were so good that … More Good Questions: Did Your History Teachers Make You Want to Be a Historian?
The Pietist Schoolman 