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
Last month I posted an excerpt from Shirley Mullen’s foreword to Becoming Grace, a volume I helped to edit about the history of Grace College and Theological Seminary. Today I offer the book’s second foreword, written by Jeff Bach, in its entirety. Jeff is an accomplished historian of Pietism and is best known for his landmark book … More Jeff Bach on Becoming Grace
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
4/26/15 – My weekend links wrap will be postponed until tomorrow afternoon while I spend the day at the second annual Minnesota Undergraduate History Symposium, kindly hosted this year by Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, MN. I’ll be speaking as part of a panel on “Western Civilization and the Christian Liberal Arts Tradition” and perhaps live-tweeting … More The 2015 Minnesota Undergraduate History Symposium
A century ago today, one of the great crimes in modern history began to unfold in the ancient city of Istanbul. In the middle of that Saturday night, Ottoman police rounded up the leading figures of their capital city’s Armenian community. One of them, an influential bishop named Grigoris Balakian, survived to leave behind this account: We arrived … More The 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
4/23/15 – On episode #2 of The Pietist Schoolman Podcast, I’m joined by theologian Christian Collins Winn for a conversation about civility, academic freedom, being Baptist, ACC basketball, and why Pietists like Philipp Spener and the Blumhardts have “hope for better times.” Check out Christian’s book with Roger Olson, Reclaiming Pietism, and the collection he edited with John Drury, Karl Barth … More Thursday’s Podcast: Hope for Better Times
4/22/15 – This week’s episode of Past & Presence takes us to the intersection of popular culture and the past. I take viewers on a walking tour of F. Scott Fitzgerald sites in the author’s hometown of St. Paul, MN, and moderate a conversation about how the past is portrayed in films, TV series, video games, novels, and other media.
When the editorial staff of The New Republic resigned last year in a clash with new ownership, I pretty much resolved never to read the venerable magazine again. But I’ve found myself clicking those links again, most often when they address a topic that was never exactly a strength of the old TNR: religion. Most of this is thanks to … More Is Cornel West (or Michael Eric Dyson) a Prophet?
The Pietist Schoolman 