Last Thursday morning in the Bethel University Library, philosopher David Williams (Azusa Pacific University) returned to his alma mater to give the seventh and final talk in a series previewing chapters from Whole and Holy Persons: A Pietist Approach to Christian Higher Education (forthcoming in late 2014 from InterVarsity Press). In “The Pietist Impulse and the Integration of Faith and Reason in the Contemporary Evangelical University,” David called on fellow evangelicals to remember the Pietist as well as the Reformed impulses at the origins of their movement and thereby recover a more holistic understanding of scholarship, teaching, and the function of the university. You can get a taste of his line of argument via some of my tweets from the talk:
You can watch David’s talk and the others in the series online, via the Bethel Library blog: (in alphabetical order by speaker)
Phyllis Alsdurf (journalism), “The Quest for an Evangelical University: Carl F.H. Henry and Carl H. Lundquist“- Chris Gehrz (history), “Pietism from the High Sierra to The Somme: Holistic Education in the Ecclesiola of Off-Campus Study“
- Marion Larson (English) and Sara Shady (philosophy), “Loving My (Religious) Other“
- Kathy Nevins (psychology), “Calling for Pietistic Community: Pia Desideria in the Classroom“
- Ray VanArragon (philosophy), “Intellectual Virtue and the Adventurous Christ Follower“
- David Williams (philosophy), “The Pietist Impulse and the Integration of Faith and Reason in the Contemporary Evangelical University“
- Samuel Zalanga (sociology), “Pietism and the Transformation of Individuals and Societies: Opportunities and Challenges in Christian Higher Education“
