Even two weeks later, I don’t think I have much to say about the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT that hasn’t been said already, and better than I could say it. But such tragedies are on my mind today for another reason: this fourth day of Christmas is the same day … More Providence, Irony, and Moral Reflection: Historians Confront Evil
Earlier this fall what would have been the 100th birthday of Clarence Jordan was celebrated with a two-day symposium whose participants included former president Jimmy Carter and my recently-retired (down to a mere three classes, from seven) Bethel colleague G.W. Carlson, who provided us with an introduction to Jordan back in August. Fall grades now … More Reflections on the Clarence Jordan Symposium (G.W. Carlson)
Yesterday’s picture of a plum pudding is easily the best image that’s ever been on the cover of this blog, so I’ll just leave it up while I offer a second straight Christmas-y post… Fun seasonal facts about myself: I’m horrible at coming up with creative Christmas gift ideas But if I do have an … More Some E-Stocking Stuffers for My Readers
I haven’t yet reached the point in the blogging life where I feel comfortable enough in my own narcissism to assume that anyone wants to read about my love of cooking or my desire to grow up and be Christopher Kimball, but until that day arrives… Here’s a sort of foodie post that I wrote … More How to Serve a Dickensian Christmas Dinner
Perhaps the only benefit of having spent this past weekend laid up sick in bed was that I had plenty of time in which to finally finish David Swartz’s outstanding Moral Minority, the definitive history of the vast array of individual, communities, organizations, and publications that constituted the “evangelical left” in the late 1960s and … More Prayer and Social Concern: Paul Rees and the Chicago Declaration
Nothing says Christmas in this society like rerunning something you’ve already seen before, so enjoy this repeat from December 2011! Ah, Christmas memories from childhood… Playing elf to my pediatrician father’s Santa at the Children’s Hospital party. Honoring my Swedish heritage by choking down one bite of lutefisk every Christmas Eve. Getting a pile of … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: A Very Nazi Christmas!
I’m recycling most of this from last November 11. Lazy? Sure, but keep in mind that I won’t get a chance to pull this again unless one of two equally unlikely things happens: (a) we adopt a calendar with more than twelve months; or (b) I’m still blogging on New Year’s Day in the year … More 12/12/12
In less than a month now, fourteen of us from Bethel University will leave for London to start a three-week travel course on the history of World War I. After eight days in England, we’ll cross the Channel to tour battlefield and memorial sites in Belgium and northern France, then wrap up with five days … More Text in Context: Readings for Our World War I Travel Course
I’m happy to pass along this announcement about “A Celebration of the Covenant Pilgrimage,” a four-week adult Sunday School class that will be presented at Salem Covenant Church next month (January 6, 13, 20, 27), kicking off a year-long celebration of our congregation’s 125th anniversary. Alas, I’ll be in Europe for most of the course, … More A Celebration of the Covenant Pilgrimage
Looking for ideas for the history buff and/or book lover on your Santa list? To my earlier collection of history books making the cut for some early “Best of 2012” lists, let’s add the following, selected by the editors of the New York Times Book Review for their 10 Best and 100 Notable lists: Pat … More Some More “Best of 2012” History Books
The Pietist Schoolman 