Expats

A series of posts taking you day-by-day through a proposed travel version of my course HIS230L World War I. Read the introduction to the series here, or the previous post here. Saturday, January 19, 2013 – Paris Both the political capital of the first modern nation-state and the cultural capital, in several writers’ judgment, of … More Expats

The Anabaptist Revision

This afternoon we’ll pick up our series examining the critique of Pietism bound up in the “Anabaptist vision” promoted by Harold Bender and like-minded Mennonite scholars in the mid-20th century. Last time I noted that Bender’s critique (as substantially developed by Robert Friedmann) continued to influence neo-Anabaptist scholars like the young Mennonite Brethren professors who … More The Anabaptist Revision

What If?

A series of posts taking you day-by-day through a proposed travel version of my course HIS230L World War I. Read the introduction to the series here, or the previous post here. Friday, January 18, 2013 – Paris If it feels like I haven’t had a lot to say recently about the titular topic of this … More What If?

Luther!

My favorite story making the blog rounds today concerns a new release from Concordia Publishing House: This is the story, from birth to death, of Martin Luther who headed a revolution that changed the world. From a small town in medieval Germany, the Reformation resulted in dramatic, sweeping change that still echoes today. Here is … More Luther!

Bennie and Mabel

A series of posts taking you day-by-day through a proposed travel version of my course HIS230L World War I. Read the introduction to the series here, or the previous post here. Tuesday, January 15, 2013 – to Paris Between 1840 and 1914, as many as one million Swedes crossed the Atlantic Ocean to seek economic … More Bennie and Mabel

Taking Stock: Anabaptist Critiques of Pietism

For the third part of my series on (neo)Anabaptist critiques of Pietism, I’d like to pause, sum up the points of criticism, and invite readers’ responses before moving on. In the first entry in the series, we reviewed Harold Bender’s “Anabaptist Vision” speech, then continued in part 2 with the “Friedmann thesis” promulgated by Robert … More Taking Stock: Anabaptist Critiques of Pietism

The War Elsewhere

A series of posts taking you day-by-day through a proposed travel version of my course HIS230L World War I. Read the introduction to the series here, or the previous post here. Monday, January 14, 2013 – The Somme Back on the bus for a brief ride across the Belgium-France border, then we’ll tour sites from … More The War Elsewhere

Beach Reads

Now that weather in Minnesota actually resembles July and not March or November, I think I’m finally in the proper mood to ask that overasked question: What to read on one’s summer vacation? The English novelist Andrew Miller — author of the well-received Pure, set in pre-revolutionary Paris — recently shared his list of top … More Beach Reads