December 2, 1859 – John Brown is hanged I tend to sympathize with the many those historians who dislike slavery and John Brown, in that order. [I’m going to backtrack a bit here — I’m quickly realizing that I’m just an amateur when it comes to this aspect of US history; I ought not to … More This Day in History: John Brown’s Body
During my Thanksgiving hiatus I’m reprising some older posts: one each from June/July, August, September, and October. This one was originally posted on October 7, when I asked who people used to think of as the “worst person in history” before Adolf Hitler came along to seize that title. If you like what you see, … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: The Worst Person Before Hitler
During my Thanksgiving hiatus I’m reprising some older posts: one each from June/July, August, September, and October. This one was originally posted on September 6, when I took a break from my usual emphases on Christianity, history, and education to share another love: music. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! One of my favorite things about the church … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: My Four Favorite Sounds
During my Thanksgiving hiatus I’m reprising some older posts: one each from June/July, August, September, and October. This one was originally posted on August 18: as the summer neared its end, I reflected on conversations with former students. If you like what you see, please consider nominating this blog at the Cliopatria Awards, recognizing excellence … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: In Celebration of Alumni
I’ve mentioned once or twice before that my employer, Bethel University, is in the middle of developing its next master plan. We’ve seen a couple of scenarios from the consultants, and both anticipate a substantial expansion and renovation of our facilities: new buildings, sprucing up of old ones… It’s all very exciting, especially in this … More College Architecture and Christian Simplicity
11/15/11 – Last March historical theologian Roger Olson (formerly of Bethel, now of Baylor’s Truett Seminary, and one of the contributors to our Pietist Impulse book) delivered two talks on Pietism at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN: “The World We Have Lost” and “A World We Need to Find Again.” Luther Sem has now … More Roger Olson on Pietism
Some quick thoughts about what’s happened at Penn State in recent days, including the student rioting last night… First, I feel for people like sportswriter Michael Weinreb, who experienced an idyllic upbringing in State College — his father was on the Penn State faculty — and had a good experience at PSU himself. Despite that … More Unhappy Valley
11/8/11 – Last month I moderated a discussion about the role of Pietism in the history of Bethel University, asking questions of my Pietist Impulse in Christianity co-editors G.W. Carlson and Christian Collins Winn and sharing a few of my own observations. You can now watch a video recording of that conversation at this link.
November 8, 1923 – The Beer Hall Putsch in Munich November 8, 1937 – The “Eternal Jew” exhibition opens (also in Munich) It’s an important week for Nazi-related anniversaries. I’ve blogged earlier about the Putsch (on the 16th anniversary of which — November 8, 1939 — Georg Elser failed in his attempt to assassinate Hitler). … More This Day in History: The Worst of Sinners
Last week I mentioned that I was preparing to preach a sermon for the first time, at Salem Covenant Church of New Brighton, MN on All Saints’ Sunday. Despite my fears, it seemed to go well yesterday, and I thought I’d post my text in case anyone who wasn’t there was interested in reading it. … More A Stretched People
The Pietist Schoolman 