Shantz, An Introduction to German Pietism

The Challenge of Introducing Pietism

April 2, 2014

In recent months I’ve been invited to review two books seeking to introduce English-speaking audiences to German Pietism: Douglas Shantz’s An Introduction to German Pietism: Protestant Renewal at the Dawn of Modern Europe (Johns Hopkins University Press, paperback $31.50 on Amazon), and Michelle Clifton-Soderstrom’s Angels, Worms, and Bogeys: The Christian Ethic of Pietism (Cascade Books, $15.20). While … More The Challenge of Introducing Pietism

Header for the Christ & University blog

Check Out the Christ and University Blog

April 1, 2014

One of the blessings of taking a two-week break from blogging myself is that it gave me time to catch up on some other blogs. One is Christ & University, a newer group blog that I’d particularly recommend to those who come to The Pietist Schoolman for reflections on the intersection of Christianity and education. Featuring a roster of scholars from … More Check Out the Christ and University Blog

Noah (2014) Poster

That Was The Week That Was

March 29, 2014

Thanks to G.W. Carlson (paying tribute to Baptist geneticist Elving Anderson) and Jared Burkholder (shedding light on the history of the prosperity gospel) for keeping this blog from total inactivity while I extended my break from blogging to work on an article due next Tuesday. Elsewhere this past week in the blogosphere… • Courtesy of the Pew Research Center, here’s … More That Was The Week That Was

Bowler, Blessed

The Prosperity Gospel and Historical Legitimacy

March 28, 2014

For those of us who are children of the 1980s, mention of the Prosperity Gospel conjures up images of fallen televangelists like Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker or Protestant outlanders such as Benny Hinn. But in recent years, more marketable versions of health and wealth Christianity have been mainstreamed by preachers from Joyce Meyer to … More The Prosperity Gospel and Historical Legitimacy

Elving Anderson

RIP V. Elving Anderson, 1921-2014 (G.W. Carlson)

March 27, 2014

V. Elving Anderson died on March 9, 2014 after serving a distinguished career as educator and researcher. (See his obituary here.) He was born in 1921 in Stromsburg, Nebraska, into a family deeply rooted in the Swedish Baptist heritage. He attended Bethel Junior College (A.A. degree), studied at the Seminary, and then completed his B.A. … More RIP V. Elving Anderson, 1921-2014 (G.W. Carlson)

Blue Ridge Mountains

Spring Break

March 14, 2014

I’m not sure I’ve ever been quite so ready for a spring break as I am right now. It’s been a productive nine months since the last time we visited my parents in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia — new online course, new face-to-face course, book deal, papers presented, rabbles roused — but I’m ready … More Spring Break

First page of the March 2014 issue of the Baptist Pietist Clarion

In the New Baptist Pietist Clarion: Pietism, Baptists, and Walter Rauschenbusch

March 13, 2014

The newest issue of The Baptist Pietist Clarion, an annual newsletter edited by my friend and occasional co-blogger G.W. Carlson, is now available in print and online. (For the former, I can put you in touch with GW. For the latter, click here.) Some highlights in a typically strong, wide-ranging issue: • Joel Lawrence reflects on … More In the New Baptist Pietist Clarion: Pietism, Baptists, and Walter Rauschenbusch