The other day, I saw a professor of my acquaintance offer anyone on Facebook a billion dollars to teach a class on citation for him. I couldn’t blame him. Because I teach our department’s gateway course, Intro to History, I have the annual responsibility of ensuring that our new majors and minors understand the intricacies … More In Praise of Citation. Seriously.
Warning #1: today’s post has absolutely nothing to do with the typical themes of this blog, save that it’s about a kind of history. Warning #2: today’s post will reveal me to be far nerdier than already is widely assumed. If you’re still here… I’m excited — and a little bit horrified — to report … More The Greatest Players in Baseball History: A Simulation
Before he became Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska), he was Pres. Ben Sasse — head of a historically Lutheran college that turned around its enrollment crisis under his watch. So I can see why The Atlantic would publish Sasse’s 17 questions that any college searching for a president should ask its finalists. They’re definitely worth asking. For example: … More 7 Questions Every Christian College Should Be Asking Its Next President
I thought I was strong. I thought I could hold out. I thought I could resist one more digital distraction. But no. Earlier this week our department decided that our efforts on Facebook and Twitter were reaching alumni, but not current and prospective students. So we started an Instagram account. And so I crumbled, and … More Now on Instagram!
I’m loath to draw any more attention to a music video that seems destined to reach far more people than my writing or teaching. But hey, the 500th anniversary of the 95 Theses doesn’t happen all that often, and we’re less than 10,000 hits away from the 300,000 mark. So once more, with feeling:
So I stumbled across this T-shirt on Amazon last month and quickly snatched it up: I’ve worn it in public a couple of times. At some level, I think I even convinced myself that it could provide subtle (subtle?!?) publicity: that people would see a word they didn’t recognize, Google it, and be led to … More The Pietist Option Is Not a Quick Fix
To the countless number of ways in which our current president is unlike his immediate predecessor, you can add this: Donald Trump is not filling out a March Madness bracket for ESPN. Of course, that short-lived presidential tradition had been so appealing because, as ESPN analyst Andy Katz explained, “President Obama follows basketball and is passionate about the sport. He … More How Would Donald Trump Fill Out His Bracket?
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 don’t regret participating in our national angsting over the presidential election, but I can’t say it’s been much fun. So before diving back into that mess, I thought I’d toss off something vastly less serious: a few of the things in life — other than my family — that I’m currently enjoying. Or, a few … More A Few of My Favorite Things, or America’s Already Pretty Great
Okay, so it was fun taking part in Monday’s #iftrumpwereevangelical tweeting. But all that negativity isn’t sitting well with me… #iftrumpwereevangelical he would feel a teensy bit guilty for tweeting an #iftrumpwereevangelical joke. — Chris Gehrz (@cgehrz) June 27, 2016 I’m not sure that historians or bloggers can afford to be bound by the “if … More Top 10 Nice Things I Can Say about Donald Trump
The Pietist Schoolman 