One of my favorite projects in recent years reached fruition last December, when Baylor University Press published Faith and History, a devotional featuring reflections by 40-some members of the Conference on Faith and History (CFH). I know that many of you picked up a copy, and I’ve heard enough positive feedback to feel like we … More Our Free Lenten Devotional Series on Faith and History
I was busy this week organizing a kind of sequel to our Faith and History devotional (look for an announcement on that front in a few days), but I did have time to look into the history of the expression “Jesus is not a Republican or a Democrat.” Elsewhere: • The investigation of Ravi Zacharias International … More That Was The Week That Was
A couple days before Bethel announced its new president, I wrote about the risk of Christian colleges like ours closing. Elsewhere: Important piece from @cgehrz @anxious_bench. Hoping that institutions like Bethel thrive in the years ahead. Religious colleges and universities are a key piece of America's intellectual diversity and vibrancy. https://t.co/h7yODegP8b — John Turner (@JohnGTurner2020) … More That Was The Week That Was
This week I interviewed the host of a new podcast on animal rights, and recorded a new episode of our podcast on sports history. Elsewhere: • Every revelation about church sexual abuse is disturbing. But this morning’s was especially hard to read, as it involved the founder of L’Arche, Jean Vanier. • The executive committee … More That Was The Week That Was
“Dust you are and to dust you shall return. Repent and believe the Gospel” I said those familiar words over and over this morning, as I rubbed ashen crosses on the foreheads and hands of dozens of Bethel students and employees. It’s Ash Wednesday, and I was one of the professors asked to participate in the morning’s chapel … More Repent, Relent: A Brief Meditation for Ash Wednesday
Here… • The most interesting sailor, Civil War veteran, painter, linguist, pastor, theologian, and university founder you’ve never heard of had a birthday. • Can Christians rehabilitate the word “piety“? • Our WWI trip: twenty-one days in Europe in just eleven photos. • Video footage from that trip featured in the latest webisode from our department. … More That Was The Week That Was
I’m convinced that one of the main reasons that those of us who appreciate Pietism face an uphill struggle in reclaiming its contemporary value is that Pietism is often equated with piety. For some, piety connotes an intensely private kind of religiosity that detaches the Christian from concern for this world, leaving them “too heavenly minded to be earthly good.” But probably … More Reclaiming Piety
I wrote this last year after our church’s Ash Wednesday service, which concludes with the “imposition” of ashes. My daughter is three now, otherwise I think most everything here applies in 2013 as much as it did in 2012… It’s amazing sometimes that anyone can learn English. Look up the word “imposition” in Webster’s, for … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: An Imposition
It’s amazing sometimes that anyone can learn English. Look up the word “imposition” in Webster’s, for example, and you’ll find four listings: something imposed: as (a) a levy, tax, or (b) an excessive or uncalled-for requirement or burden the act of imposing deception the order or arrangement of imposed pages What then to make of … More An Imposition
The Pietist Schoolman 