Author: Chris Gehrz

Faderman, Story of the Struggle

How Can Christians Love Their LGBT Neighbors? Start by Learning Their History

June 14, 2016

I didn’t expect to write two posts on my first day on the job at The Anxious Bench. But while the first one was actually drafted last Thursday and Friday, Sunday’s mass shooting in Orlando left me feeling like I might have something more to say. So in this afternoon’s post, I attempted to reflect on what it means … More How Can Christians Love Their LGBT Neighbors? Start by Learning Their History

Scrabble tiles forming Brextit and EU

British Christians Debate “Brexit”

June 14, 2016

In 1975 Great Britain held a referendum on its 1973 admission to what was then still the European Economic Community. By a two-to-one margin, British voters ratified their country’s new role in Europe. In nine days, they will revisit that decision with another referendum, one that could well end with Britain negotiating a withdrawal from the European … More British Christians Debate “Brexit”

Orlando police arriving at the Pulse nightclub on 6/12/2016

Best of The Pietist Schoolman: “Thoughts and Prayers”

June 13, 2016

Like everyone, I’m stunned and grieved by the news from Orlando yesterday. I’m not sure I have anything useful to say… except to repost what I shared the last time there was a mass shooting on anything like this scale. Sadly, I only had to go back seven months in my archive to find that post. It … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: “Thoughts and Prayers”

Hillary Clinton campaigning in March 2016

Seeing the Election through My Daughter’s Eyes

June 9, 2016

I haven’t written a lot about the Democratic side of the 2016 presidential election. (Frankly, if it weren’t that the Republicans had picked the nominee they apparently they have picked, I wouldn’t be writing much about them either.) But I don’t think I ought to let the week go by without saying something about what Hillary Clinton … More Seeing the Election through My Daughter’s Eyes

Worship service

Three of My Favorite Un-Cheery Christian Songs

June 7, 2016

If you missed it in my Saturday wrap-up, Leah Libresco’s analysis of the unrelenting cheeriness of contemporary Christian music (CCM) is well-deserving of your attention. Looking through the last five years’ worth songs to wind up Billboard’s year-end Christian Top 50 charts, she found striking lyrical imbalance: There were 2.5 times as many mentions of “grace” as “sin” in … More Three of My Favorite Un-Cheery Christian Songs

Anxious Bench logo

Announcing My New Blogging Gig: The Anxious Bench

June 7, 2016

I’m happy to announce that, starting next week, I’ll be a regular contributor at The Anxious Bench, a group blog on the Patheos Evangelical channel. I’ll be filling the Tuesday slot occupied by Bench co-founder Thomas Kidd, who will be blogging for The Gospel Coalition when he’s not churning out award-winning books about 18th century American religious history. Even … More Announcing My New Blogging Gig: The Anxious Bench

Jünger, Storm of Steel (2016)

That Was The Week That Was

June 4, 2016

Come back in a couple days for an exciting announcement about a new blogging gig of mine… but first, here’s some of what was blogged about last week. Here… • How should the Church respond to Donald Trump? By “telling it like it is.” • Are historians and other humanists leaning too heavily on “utilitarian” apologetics? Yes (not that I’m going to stop trying … More That Was The Week That Was

Old Main at St. Olaf College

The Humanities in Church-Related Higher Ed: A Broader View

June 2, 2016

Because I work for a member institution of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) and study evangelical models of higher education, I occasionally need to be reminded that the CCCU represents only a fraction of the colleges and universities related to Christian churches. But after consecutive weekends in which I attended the seminary graduation … More The Humanities in Church-Related Higher Ed: A Broader View