Christianity – Page 86 – The Pietist Schoolman

Gericke, portrait of Frederick William I

Francke and Friedrich Wilhelm: Can Pietists Serve “Two Kingdoms”?

April 3, 2013

In 1713 the newly-crowned king of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm (Frederick William) I, visited the city of Halle and toured its pioneering educational and charitable institutions. The king’s tour guide was the institutions’ founder, the Pietist pastor August Hermann Francke. Their conversation soon turned to Friedrich Wilhelm’s central concern: the Prussian army. FW: What do you … More Francke and Friedrich Wilhelm: Can Pietists Serve “Two Kingdoms”?

And the Best Christian Book of All Time Is…

April 3, 2013

4/3/2013 – It’s here: the finals of the Best Christian Book of All Time tournament, being held by InterVarsity’s Emerging Scholars blog. Though Dietrich Bonhoeffer looked unstoppable in early rounds, his Cost of Discipleship lost out to C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity. In the other half of the bracket, Augustine’s Confessions edged the representative from the … More And the Best Christian Book of All Time Is…

Bethel students at the Taylor "Making Literature" conference

Students as Scholars

April 2, 2013

I’ll be honest: the primary point of this post is to cover one English major at Bethel with so much praise that she’ll feel compelled to take at least one History course from me before she graduates. But in the process, readers not named Abby Stocker might also find themselves reappraising their assumptions about what … More Students as Scholars

Behold, I Make All Things Old: Hope, Simplicity, and Amish Baseball

April 1, 2013

I’m a Christian, a baseball fan, and someone who absolutely loathes practical jokes. Which makes this April 1 about two-thirds of the way to being a sensational day. Setting aside the fooling that I’ll hope to avoid, today’s combination of Easter Monday with major league baseball’s opening day underscores what E.J. Dionne (quoting from a … More Behold, I Make All Things Old: Hope, Simplicity, and Amish Baseball

“Just One More Miracle…”

March 30, 2013

Unlikely as the start of this post will make it seem… Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn’t seen the last episode of the second series of Sherlock It’s been observed by many Christian preachers and writers that most of our life is akin to Holy Saturday, that oft-neglected time separating Good Friday and Easter Sunday. For … More “Just One More Miracle…”

The Cross: A Good Friday Meditation on World War and Holocaust

March 29, 2013

Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but the emperor.” Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is … More The Cross: A Good Friday Meditation on World War and Holocaust

Pietism, Resurrection, and the Virtue of Hope

March 28, 2013

Unless you limit its definition to that relatively small group of German Lutherans inspired by Philipp Jakob Spener and then led by August Hermann Francke in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Pietism is a tremendously diverse movement within Christianity — spanning centuries, oceans, languages, and confessions. So what do Pietists have in common? … More Pietism, Resurrection, and the Virtue of Hope

The Prodigal Father

March 27, 2013

It’s a testament to the power of Jesus’ parables that you can hear one for what seems like the millionth time and still find something new in it to ponder. For example: the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), which was our lectionary text earlier this month. As familiar as it is, I sometimes … More The Prodigal Father

Update: Best Christian Books Tournament

March 26, 2013

3/26/13 – It’s Sweet Sixteen time in the Best Christian Books of All Time tournament. Among other compelling match-ups… Two Doctors of the Church (Augustine vs. Aquinas), two famously initialed Britons (C.S. Lewis vs. G.K. Chesterton), and two living gurus of spiritual formation (Dallas Willard vs. Richard Foster). Plus Dietrich Bonhoeffer vs. himself! Cast your … More Update: Best Christian Books Tournament

House of Cards