This 4th of July weekend I’m feeling more patriotic than I have in years, thanks to two speeches by Pres. Obama. First, his speech this past March at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Obama remembered the civil right activists who fifty years earlier had been brutally attacked during their peaceful march to Montgomery: As … More Patriotism, Love, and Grace: An Independence Day Meditation
In recent posts, I’ve called on evangelicals to have a genuine conversation about sexuality, in fitting with their Reformation heritage as Christians who are “reformed and always reforming.” In this guest post, my colleague Mark Bruce explains why it’s especially important — and difficult — to have such conversations at Christian colleges and universities. When asked for … More In Dubiis Libertas: Opening Up the Sexuality Conversation at Christian Universities (Mark Bruce)
In the wake of Friday’s landmark ruling from the Supreme Court, affirming that the right to marriage extends to same-sex couples, there’s already been much speculation about what’s next for evangelicals — who constitute something like a quarter of this country’s population but, according to opinion polls, are markedly less likely than their fellow Americans to support … More Evangelicalism after Obergefell: Reformed and Always Reforming
Year five of The Pietist Schoolman certainly got off to a busy start! I’m not sure how to possibly do justice to everything that happened just in the last day, let alone week, but here goes… Here… • Whatever your view of the Supreme Court ruling on marriage, I hope you listened to the joy and hurt in Andrew Sullivan’s … More That Was The Week That Was
Yesterday morning I had the chance to talk to a group of pastors pursuing their D.Min. degrees. Invited to share a parting comment, I encouraged them to cultivate what Krista Tippett has called a “ministry of listening.” I suggested that that was particularly true for us white, straight, middle-class men in America who are accustomed to having our … More A Day of Listening: Andrew Sullivan on Marriage
6/26/15 – Look who’s taking over C-SPAN: it’s Pietist Schoolman guest-blogger Jared Burkholder, speaking about religious pacifists during the American Revolution. Jared points to the diversity in responses from the Moravians, Mennonites, Brethren, and other “peace church” traditions — several rooted in Pietism. (Incidentally, I had wondered aloud about this topic way back in a 2012 blog post … More Jared on C-SPAN: Pacifists in the American Revolution
Click-baity? Sure, but only half as click-baity as what Russell Moore did this week for the Southern Baptists… Here are five things I wish everyone knew about Pietists: We still exist If most people know anything about Pietism, they most likely think of a religious movement in the late 17th and early 18th century. But unlike other Christian traditions, … More 5 Things I Wish Everyone Knew About Pietists
His encyclical Laudato Si’ has received such enormous (and justifiable) attention this month that I wonder how many people have noticed two smaller events involving Pope Francis: • On June 15th, the pope met with Czech Christians whose churches descend from the 15th century renewal movement led by Jan Hus, a key precursor to the Protestant Reformation … More Christian Unity as “Reconciled Diversity”
It was four years ago Saturday that I began to blog here at The Pietist Schoolman. As ever, that anniversary leaves me humbled that so many of you take the time to read and comment! And grateful to Jared Burkholder and my other guest-bloggers for sharing their writing, especially as I’ve reduced my own blogging load a bit. For the record, here are … More Year Four of The Pietist Schoolman
At least among Americans, I think, one of the least known consequences of World War II is that it left in its wake at least 50 million refugees — about one in 45 persons alive at the time. The policies of Hitler and Stalin had dislocated some 30 million persons just between 1939 and 1943, and millions more in … More World Refugee Day
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