I won’t be teaching it for several months yet, but I’m starting to think through a new course that I’ll be teaching this fall at Bethel University: “Christians and Unity.” It’s going to be one of the first sections offered in a new first-year general education course called Inquiry Seminar, in which [w]hile exploring a specific topic of … More Starting to Think Through a New Course: Christians and Unity
Back in November 2012 I wondered about the economic diversity of Christian and church-related colleges and universities. “While I’m glad to see more attention being given to the treatment of women and people of color on Christian college campuses,” I wrote, “it also makes me realize how little I’ve heard us talk about a third potential … More Economic Diversity and Social Mobility at Christian Colleges
I hope I don’t sound too much like our president when I insist that we had a great turnout Sunday morning for the start of my new class at Salem Covenant Church, on “The Church and the Wars of the 20th Century.” To set the table, I proposed some big questions that will run through our narrative, none … More Unexpected Sites of Christian Pacifism
Here… • I don’t normally start my blogging week on a Saturday night, but as I wrote in response to the executive order on refugees, “things are not normal. It’s just my privilege to live as if they are.” • There are spiritual dangers facing both supporters and opponents of the Trump administration, and one of … More That Was The Week That Was
On Tuesday Jerry Falwell, Jr., the president of Liberty University, told the Chronicle of Higher Education that he’s been asked by the Trump administration to head up a task force recommending higher ed policy changes for the Department of Education. (In late November Falwell had told the Associated Press that he turned down the Secretary of Education position … More The Face of Christian Higher Education Is Not Jerry Falwell, Jr.
So how can Christians and churches protect themselves from the spiritual dangers that I wrote about earlier this week? You won’t be surprised to learn that I think it’s got to start with looking to the past. But if it’s too self-serving for me to say that, then take it from a non-historian: The inner lives of many have been … More Why Churches Like Mine Need to Recover an Immigrant Memory
If its 500th anniversary has got you interested in learning more about the Reformation, check out one of Tommy Kidd’s recent posts at the Evangelical History blog: a Reformation reading list drawn from recommendations by historians Mark Noll, John Fea, my Anxious Bench colleague Beth Allison Barr, and Kidd himself. I’m stronger on later centuries in European history, but I … More The Best Books to Read for Reformation 500
As a result of Trump’s election conservative Christians (a larger group than evangelicals, but including most of them) will see fewer trespasses on institutional religious liberty from the executive branch. They will be able to support judges more amenable to their rights. They will be welcomed at the White House and have access to the … More The Spiritual Dangers of Living under the Trump Administration
“Everything feels so normal.” That’s what I remember thinking as I waited in line at Minneapolis-St. Paul airport this past Monday, about to reenter the country after being gone for three weeks. After all, we’d had a change in president since I last set foot in my native land. And not just any president, but one whose election … More On Banning Refugees
Part two of my attempt to curate some of what I read while traveling this month. Yesterday I focused on Christianity; today, articles and blog posts about history and education. • Now that we’re in the year 2017, the floodgates have opened on pieces about the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Among many others writing … More That Was The Month That Was: History and Education
The Pietist Schoolman 