Gardner Hall, Eastern Nazarene College

Christian Colleges among Those Named by Department of Education for Financial Scrutiny

April 6, 2015

Several members of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) appeared on a recently-released list of 560 institutions of higher learning whose federal aid has been restricted by the U.S. Department of Education, in many cases because of financial concerns. Under secretary of education Ted Mitchell explained that what the department calls “Heightened Cash Monitoring is not necessarily … More Christian Colleges among Those Named by Department of Education for Financial Scrutiny

A football game at Notre Dame Stadium

Further Thoughts on the “Protestant Notre Dame”

April 2, 2015

Just what would make Liberty University — or Baylor University or any other claimant to the title — “the Protestant Notre Dame“? Among other fine responses to my post on this topic yesterday, Aaron Morrison suggested that Liberty president Jerry Falwell, Jr. “needed to clarify what he meant by ‘Notre Dame’” before deeming his school … More Further Thoughts on the “Protestant Notre Dame”

Vines Center at Liberty University

Is Liberty University the “Protestant Notre Dame”?

April 1, 2015

Last month I spent spring break visiting my parents in southwestern Virginia. Thanks to bad weather in Roanoke, our plane was diverted to nearby Lynchburg, where I walked out of the terminal and saw a sprawling university campus a stone’s throw away: Liberty University. Liberty’s president — Jerry Falwell, Jr. — has ambitious goals, reports Slate staff writer Betsy Woodruff: “Falwell … More Is Liberty University the “Protestant Notre Dame”?

Screen shot from Past & Presence: the Minnesota Korean War Memoriall

Past and Presence: Christian History, Part I

April 1, 2015

4/1/15 – This week’s eighth episode of Past & Presence starts a two-part conversation about Christian approaches to the discipline of history — starting with George Marsden’s Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship. (I’ll have a post next week on that conversation after the second half airs.) Plus I get to indulge my interest in commemoration by visiting war (and … More Past and Presence: Christian History, Part I

Bowman, Portrait of a People

Recent Conversations on Evangelicalism and Pietist-Anabaptist Identity

March 30, 2015

Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to Bridgewater College, which is located in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, just outside Harrisonburg, Virginia. The occasion, spearheaded by Steve Longenecker, was a symposium on the history of the (Schwarzenau) Brethren tradition’s relationship with evangelicalism. The intersection of evangelicalism with Pietist and Anabaptist groups is a topic that has … More Recent Conversations on Evangelicalism and Pietist-Anabaptist Identity

Sunday School in 1946 Kentucky

That Was The Week That Was

March 28, 2015

Here… Thanks to everyone who responded to our “comment drive” questions: • Which movies are most historically accurate? (And how important is that?) • What’s your favorite biography? • Why is the Civil War so fascinating, 150 years later? …There and Everywhere • One source sustaining my fascination with that conflict is the New York Times‘ Disunion blog, which recently pointed … More That Was The Week That Was

McPherson, The War That Forged a Nation

Comment Drive: Why’s the Civil War So Fascinating?

March 27, 2015

I suspect that I’ve blogged long enough that I’m running out of mildly embarrassing self-revelations, but here’s one oddity I might not have shared: I like to relax by reading about the American Civil War. How European/international historians relax on their spring breaks. pic.twitter.com/JIIUFen4J7 — Chris Gehrz (@cgehrz) March 16, 2015 Yes, while others spend spring break on … More Comment Drive: Why’s the Civil War So Fascinating?

Gaddis, Kennan: An American Life

Comment Drive: What’s Your Favorite Biography?

March 25, 2015

This week’s “comment drive” got off to a good start asking about historical movies… Let’s see if we can generate even more conversation about one of filmmaker’s favorite genres of history: biography. In this week’s installment of Past & Presence, our department’s webisode series, we turn to biography: I host from my hometown of Stillwater, Minnesota; we … More Comment Drive: What’s Your Favorite Biography?

The Imitation Game poster

Comment Drive: What’s the Most Historically Accurate Movie?

March 23, 2015

In the spirit of my fellow historian-blogger John Fea’s annual “spring membership drive,” I’d like to make an intentional effort this week to encourage readers to give back to this blog by sharing their opinions. While I appreciate everyone who reads The Pietist Schoolman, it’s rare for any post to get more than a single comment. Let’s see if … More Comment Drive: What’s the Most Historically Accurate Movie?