5/7/15 – The fourth episode of The Pietist Schoolman Podcast is now available on iTunes and via the Christian Humanist website. It features philosopher Ray VanArragon discussing intellectual virtue and vice, character formation as an aspect of higher education, and the relationship between the Reformed and Pietist traditions.
I suspect that even before they found this blog or the books I’ve edited, most of my readers were already familiar with the German Pietists who started the movement known as Pietism: Philipp Spener, August Francke, Nicolaus von Zinzendorf, perhaps even Johanna Petersen, Gottfried Arnold, Alexander Mack, and other Radical Pietists. But if we consider why a Pietist ethos is … More The Swedish Pietists: A New Book from Mark Safstrom
5/6/15 – The penultimate episode of Past & Presence revolves around the relationship of historians to the church. In addition to a conversation on that topic with my colleague Amy Poppinga, I interview a Bethel History alum who serves as an Anglican pastor here in the Twin Cities. And the whole episode is hosted from three great European cathedrals — … More Past and Presence: Historians and the Church
Introducing my talk on Pietism and Christian colleges last Thursday morning at Messiah College, my friend Devin Manzullo-Thomas underscored that my training is in the history of international relations. It’s not something I hide in such settings — I’d pointed out exactly the same thing before a similar talk earlier in the month — but hearing it aloud from … More “Who Do You Think You Are?”: On Doing Theology as a Non-Theologian
5/4/15 – Readers of this blog would do well to check out the Baptist Pietist Clarion, edited by my friend and occasional guest-blogger G.W. Carlson. In addition to recurring Clarion themes like racial reconciliation, peacemaking, church-state separation, and Baptist identity, the April 2015 issue features reviews of books by Philip Yancey, Christena Cleveland, Frank Lambert, and Roger Olson & Christian Collins Winn.
Here… • My conflicted, tentative embrace of Western Civ. • Why Christian colleges ought to be engaged in interfaith dialogue. • A report on my visit to Messiah College. • More praise for Becoming Grace, the institutional history that Jared helped to edit. …There and Everywhere • In the wake of the week’s events in Baltimore, … More That Was The Week That Was
Ever since I entered the world of Christian higher education, I’ve been bumping into people connected to Messiah College. And that pattern has only amplified since I started researching Pietism. So it was perhaps inevitable that I would find my way to Grantham, PA… It was a rich, full day yesterday at Messiah. Let me just share … More My Visit to Messiah College
4/30/15 – Sara Shady and Amy Poppinga guest on episode 3 of The Pietist Schoolman Podcast to talk about love, hospitality, courage, and the importance of Christian colleges building bridges across religious and other borders. You can find that episode and all others on iTunes or via the Christian Humanist website.
Over the weekend I had the pleasure of taking five Bethel University students to Mankato, Minnesota, where Bethany Lutheran College hosted the second annual Minnesota Undergraduate History Symposium. (#1 was at the University of Northwestern – St. Paul; #3 will be at Bethel next spring.) Thanks to @RyanCMacPherson and @BethanyLutheran for hosting a great #muhs2015! pic.twitter.com/PWQfixivkp … More Christianity and Western Civ
Here… • The Armenian genocide turned 100. (Lots more links below on this topic…) • Whatever it means to be a prophet, Michael Eric Dyson was pretty sure that Cornel West isn’t one. • There are worse ways to spend a Saturday than listening to enthusiastic undergraduates talk about history. (By the way, later this week I’ll share … More That Was The Week That Was
The Pietist Schoolman 