Here… • It wasn’t quite the total vacation from blogging that I’d expected, but only two posts this week: a critique of Christian History Magazine‘s attempt to rank the top 25 Christian writings of all time, and a reflection on my favorite Thanksgiving hymn. …There (Gobble, Gobble)… • Meanwhile, Tracy McKenzie concluded his Thanksgiving countdown with a … More That Was The Week That Was
Next to the works of Lina Sandell, probably no hymn is more beloved among us pietistic Swedish-Americans than “Thanks to God for My Redeemer.” The original lyrics by A.L. Storm (“Tack, O Gud”) were translated by one Covenant pastor, Carl Backstrom, and set to a tune by another, J.A. Hultman. I can’t imagine a more fitting source for … More Tack O Gud (Thanks to God)
Okay, I really hadn’t meant to blog this week. But then my onetime colleague Chris Armstrong posted a link to the newest issue of Christian History Magazine (he’s the senior editor) and I knew that I had to put up at least one post. How could a self-respecting Christian historian-blogger fail to make some kind of response to a list claiming … More Are These the Top 25 Christian Writings?
While Bethel doesn’t actually start its break until Wednesday, I plan to take the entire week off from blogging. In the meantime, let me suggest some alternate reading material: • Tracy McKenzie’s Thanksgiving countdown: “As an alternative to the ubiquitous countdown to Black Friday, each weekday this month I have been posting brief essays on … More Thanksgiving Break
Here… • Who’s an evangelical? Do they really support Syrian refugees? Or are they shockingly Islamophobic? • Oh, and remember to vote for our book — a finalist for the InterVarsity Press Readers’ Choice Awards. Congrats to our Academic Readers' Choice Award finalists! Vote now! https://t.co/HjxngGgfOE @mike_reeves @cgehrz pic.twitter.com/lDo4ZtS54s — IVP Academic (@ivpacademic) November 18, 2015 …There and Everywhere … More That Was The Week That Was
So I was all ready to take up the questions that closed my last post — Who’s an evangelical? and What shapes their response to issues like the refugee crisis? — when the National Association of Evangelicals and LifeWay Research announced their own answer to the first question. As reported by Bob Smietana of Christianity Today: “Evangelicals are people … More Who’s an Evangelical?
As the debate over refugees, terrorism, and Islam continued to swirl yesterday, some of you probably saw this story pop up on social media: Christian groups break with GOP over Syrian refugees https://t.co/irrUcDTv5v | AP Photo pic.twitter.com/cc2ZkYxRgw — POLITICO (@politico) November 18, 2015 “Christian groups break with GOP over Syrian refugees,” claimed the headline of … More What Do Evangelicals Actually Think about Refugees?
For a long time, it was considered unseemly for American presidential candidates to campaign actively in their own behalf. While that ship has long since sailed, I’m not sure that it’s any more appropriate for authors to clamor for year-end book awards. However, if you wanted to cast a vote for The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education… Well, I … More The Pietist Vision a Finalist for an IVP Readers’ Choice Award!
I’m not an evangelical who retreats from the label “evangelical.” But the results of a survey released today by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) have me feeling embarrassed and angry about my branch of the Christian family. In the 2015 edition of its annual American Values Survey, PRRI asked about a number of topics, but coming a day … More Evangelical Islamophobia
Thanks to some computer issues on Friday night and Saturday, I’ll just offer a shortened, belated set of links from a busy, sad last seven days. Here… • I’ve been describing Bethel at War, the digital history project that debuted this week, as “sneaky big” — Fletcher Warren and I started off with the idea that we’d write an … More That Was The Week That Was
The Pietist Schoolman 