A few days into this centenary year of its beginning, the First World War is already prompting controversy: Yesterday New York Times Europe correspondent Alan Cowell checked in with an update on what remains an open question among historians: Was the outbreak of war primarily due to the reckless, cynical ambitions of German military and … More WWI at 100: Commemoration and “Political Correctness”
My new World War II course — belatedly kicking off this afternoon — fulfills a general education category at Bethel that focuses on the development of Western life and thought in the “modern” era. So as I set up the course today, one theme I need to introduce is the war as a crucible of … More Are Human Rights in Decline?
As you’ve likely heard by now, the South African statesman Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela died earlier today at the age of 95. The reaction has been overwhelming; I’ll just sample a few responses. “Our nation has lost its greatest son,” lamented South African president Jacob Zuma. F.W. de Klerk paid tribute to the man whom was … More RIP Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)
When I wrote a piece on religious persecution for All Saint’s Sunday, I pointed to some specific examples of Christians — and non-Christians — whose religious beliefs and practices put them at significant risk. I think it’s a serious problem, and plan to devote more attention than usual to religious freedom in my Human Rights … More How Many Christians Are Martyred Each Year?
Didn’t know that this blog had a foreign correspondent, did you? Yes, today we’re happy to share an update on what’s been happening at the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, courtesy of our “man in Busan,” my colleague Christian Collins Winn. As always, I’ll disclaim that opinions of guest-posters are their own, … More A Report from the 10th Assembly of the WCC (Christian Collins Winn)
This All Saints’ Sunday Christians around the world are being urged to pause and pray for their sisters and brothers in Christ who face persecution. Let me encourage my readers to join in, but to pray still more widely for all those who suffer persecution because of religious faith — and for those who persecute … More Persecution and Prayer
I’m not quite as excited about this announcement as the one I blogged about earlier today, but that’s just me being selfish, since it’s great news for lots of people, including the central figure… Rev. Efrem Smith will be leaving his position as superintendent of the Pacific Southwest Conference of my denomination, the Evangelical Covenant … More Efrem Smith to Head World Impact
When I started to put together this week’s edition of my Saturday links post, I realized that I’d flagged so many links related to Syria that I should just go ahead and present them as a separate post… The standard edition of That Was The Week That Was will go up later today or tomorrow. … More That Was The Week That Was: Syria
I wish I could say that I was clever enough to have planned yesterday’s post on the beginning of the Second World War in Asia to be published on the 68th anniversary of the Japanese surrender that ended that conflict, but… Total coincidence. But I was reminded of the significance of August 15 in the … More China and Japan 68 Years after WWII
When I blogged earlier this year about the election of Jorge Bergoglio as a “pope of firsts,” the first such groundbreaking I explored was Pope Francis as the “First Latin American Pope.” I noted that some observers speculated that the election was meant, in part, to address the decline of Catholicism in regions like Francis’ … More Shifting Religion in South America
The Pietist Schoolman 