Before supper tonight, we prayed words that I’ve probably said more than 40,000 times now: Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest And let these gifts to us be blessed. Amen Whether the gifts in question were this evening’s tacos and rice, some grander meal, or any of the other blessings that were on my mind at … More Come, Lord Jesus (really)
One of the most venerable historians in the blogosphere is Ann Little, whose Historiann blog has been around since the George W. Bush administration. As you might have noticed from her quotations in my Anxious Bench series on biography, Little is not only a gifted historian but an insightful, provocative observer of our discipline. See, for example, her post this past … More History: Jerks Studying Jerks
Onward, Christian soldiers: the war on Christmas is over, and the good guys won. Just ask Fox News host Bill O’Reilly: You may remember about 10 years ago, “The O’Reilly Factor” began spotlighting companies that refused to say the words “Merry Christmas.” In fact, some of those businesses actually ordered their employees not to say that. … More Happy Holidays (The War on Christmas Is Over)
I’ve been busy this morning packing up for our gradual trip back home, so I’ll have to catch up later and watch video of the 2016 Bethel Colloquium on Pietism. But I did manage to catch the opening remarks by Bethel provost Deb Harless and theology professor Christian Collins Winn, my friend and co-coordinator. Both spoke … More The Promise (and Problems) of “Usable Pasts”
While we expect a great turn-out tomorrow at the 2016 Bethel Colloquium on Pietism, we also know that those of you not living in or near the Twin Cities area probably weren’t able to attend. (I’m in that boat myself, since we’re in the last week of my sabbatical in Virginia.) So I’m happy to announce that … More How to Watch the 2016 Bethel Colloquium on Pietism Online
Our friend Stacey Hunter Hecht died a year ago today. I promise this won’t become an annual tradition, but this once, I thought I’d repost what I wrote about her. In the first four months of this year, three of my closest kith and kin were diagnosed with breast cancer. As we near the end of … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: On Friendship
To what extent did evangelical colleges and universities contribute to the election of Donald Trump? That’s the question that Adam Laats, author of a forthcoming book on the history of such schools in the 20th century, raised recently at History News Network. (I’ve recommended his blog before.) Seeking an explanation for the much-cited figure of 81% of … More How Did Evangelical College Students Vote in the Presidential Election?
Seventy-five years ago today, Japanese forces attacked the American military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, leading to U.S. involvement in World War II. That evening Pres. Franklin Roosevelt issued an emergency proclamation authorizing the arrest of “Alien enemies deemed dangerous to the public peace or safety of the United States.” Within three months, FDR had authorized the War Department … More When a Christian College Sheltered Japanese Americans During WWII
Even as I await the publication of my new book on Pietism, it’s gratifying to see people continuing to engage with its 2015 predecessor, The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education. At the end of a generous review in The Covenant Quarterly, Mark Safstrom puts that book in the context of work that Christian Collins Winn and I have been doing … More Covenant Visions of Christian Higher Education
Having been one of the earliest, most vocal evangelical supporters of Donald Trump, Liberty University president Jerry Falwell, Jr. was widely rumored to be in the running for a cabinet spot in the new administration. But Falwell told Religion News Service that he turned down an appointment as Secretary of Education, in part because his family members … More Following Up: Liberty University as the “Protestant Notre Dame”
The Pietist Schoolman 