I’m loath to draw any more attention to a music video that seems destined to reach far more people than my writing or teaching. But hey, the 500th anniversary of the 95 Theses doesn’t happen all that often, and we’re less than 10,000 hits away from the 300,000 mark. So once more, with feeling:
Tomorrow’s 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses has inspired so many books, articles, blog posts, and other reflections that you might think there’s nothing new to say about the Protestant Reformation. Until, that is, you’re prompted to consider its relationship to African Christianity, both historical and contemporary. First, the history — courtesy of McCormick … More What Has Wittenberg To Do with Addis Ababa?
Since today is a particularly significant Reformation Sunday, I’m going to forego my usual weekend links wrap and instead repost an updated version of my most recent piece for The Anxious Bench. “A red-letter date looms,” wrote Tal Howard in one of his many recent books, “31 October 2017, the five-hundredth anniversary of the Reformation, the widely recognized … More 3 Ways to Remember the Reformation
It’s counterfactual week on The Pietist Schoolman Podcast, as Sam and I conjure up thought experiments in which the Reformation either happens before Martin Luther comes on the scene, or proceeds in a timeline from which he’s been somehow removed. Featured Book Carlos Eire, Reformations: The Early Modern World, 1450-1650 Other Readings It doesn’t touch on the Reformation, but … More Thursday’s Podcast: Could the Reformation Have Happened Without Luther?
So here’s something I’ve been contemplating for about two months now: Do their studies equip historians to predict the future? Back in early September, labor historian Jefferson Cowie reflected on recent political events for The Chronicle of Higher Education. Mostly, his piece was a critique of how scholars in his field fail to understand the working … More Do Historians Predict the Future… or “Remember” It?
A couple times in the past twelve months I’ve praised From Bubble to Bridge: Educating Christians for a Multifaith World, by my Bethel University colleagues Marion Larson and Sara Shady. Before it came out in January, I called it “the first must-read Christian book of 2017,” and quoted the foreword by interfaith activist Eboo Patel: From … More Including Evangelical Students in Interfaith Work
Here… • Whether in the flagship magazine of American evangelicalism, a leadership magazine for Pentecostals, or among our readers on Amazon, the reviews of The Pietist Option have continued to be encouraging. • About 60% of my readers say that their church is doing something special to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. • As our … More That Was The Week That Was
I’ve been awaiting this week with bated breath: the first magazine reviews of The Pietist Option have come in… And they’re pretty terrific! This morning in Christianity Today, Hannah Anderson gives our book four stars. The review is behind the CT paywall (and I think will be in the November print issue), but here’s a taste of … More The Pietist Option Gets a Four-Star Review in Christianity Today
The newest episode of The Pietist Schoolman Podcast is now available! It features Sam and me talking about the Christianity that lies on the other side of 1517: the faith of the Middle Ages. We covered everything from grace and penance to Incarnation and sacramentalism, plus medievals’ relationship to the past. Our featured book this week is … More Thursday’s Podcast: Medieval Wisdom for Modern Christians
On the season debut of The Pietist Schoolman Podcast last week, we were looking at prior Reformation anniversaries when Sam asked a really good question about the 500th anniversary of that event: “Do you think in 2017 in America, this is going to break through into popular culture?” Probably not, I said on the fly, unless “you … More Is Your Church Marking #Reformation500?
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