Author: Chris Gehrz

Bradley Hall, Mount St. Mary's University

If You Value Academic Freedom, Consider Signing This Petition

February 9, 2016

I’m not much of a petition-signer. But today I added my name to this petition, and I hope that those of you who consider yourself part of what the author calls “the community of scholars” will consider doing likewise. It’s a response to the recent behavior of Simon Newman, president of Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Newman came … More If You Value Academic Freedom, Consider Signing This Petition

Donald Trump at Liberty University

Bringing Politicians to Christian College Campuses

February 8, 2016

Embedded in last week’s post about how Christian voters evaluate political candidates was an educational issue: How do colleges decide which speakers to invite to campus? First, Oklahoma Wesleyan president Everett Piper, who made clear that he and his institution — unlike Jerry Falwell, Jr. and Liberty University — would not invite one particular Republican presidential candidate to speak: In selecting … More Bringing Politicians to Christian College Campuses

Williams, Defenders of the Unborn

That Was The Week That Was

February 6, 2016

Here… • What qualities should Christian voters seek in political candidates? (Thanks to Mennonite World Review for picking up this post.) • We’ll be asking what’s wrong with Christianity when we record next week’s newest episode of The Pietist Schoolman Podcast, but I suggested that I shouldn’t really try to answer that question until I’m ready to answer a … More That Was The Week That Was

Title page from a 1676 edition of Spener, Pia Desideria

What’s Wrong with Chris(tianity) in 2016?

February 2, 2016

After a midwinter break, Mark Pattie and I are preparing to record the next podcast in our series thinking aloud through the book we’re writing for InterVarsity Press, tentatively called Hope for Better Times: Pietism and the Future of Christianity. The structure of our book will mirror that of Pia Desideria, the 1675 booklet published by the Lutheran pastor … More What’s Wrong with Chris(tianity) in 2016?

Donald Trump in September 2015

What Qualities Should Christian Voters Seek in Political Candidates?

January 27, 2016

I observed late last month that the candidacy of Donald Trump should push pastors — and others looked to for pastoral counsel — to take up the work of political theology and help their parishioners answer questions about Christian participation in politics. With the Iowa caucuses just hours away, at least one such question has come … More What Qualities Should Christian Voters Seek in Political Candidates?

Blanchard Hall

The Big Ten

January 27, 2016

I’m taking the week off from blogging while I get spring courses ready, so let’s go ahead and count down the top ten posts of January: “No One Is Safe”: Larycia Hawkins Responds to Wheaton How To Survive Being a Vikings Fan “Who’s an Evangelical?” Revisited (#DocHawk Version) Why Wheaton Matters — and Why I Need … More The Big Ten

Year of Mercy logo

Oh Mercy

January 22, 2016

“We live in a political world,” Bob Dylan once sang, “Where mercy walks the plank.” It’s a world, after all, where even a democratic socialist promises a “merciless” response to a vicious attack. Where a leading Republican presidential candidate can be criticized by a leading conservative columnist for engaging in a kind of discourse “marked by what you … More Oh Mercy

Donald Trump speaking in May 2015

The Pastoral Challenge (and Opportunity) of Donald Trump

January 20, 2016

I’ve already written one post criticizing the president of Liberty University for making imprudent comments at that school’s convocation. So I’ll leave it to others to say what’s on my mind about Jerry Falwell, Jr.’s introduction to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Monday: This would be hilarious if it weren't so counter to the mission of … More The Pastoral Challenge (and Opportunity) of Donald Trump