This week I reflected on the state of American democracy under Donald Trump and considered the importance of history and memory to Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Elsewhere: • I don’t think it’s appropriate for the GOP to rush through Ginsburg’s successor mere weeks before Election Day, four years after refusing to vote on Barack Obama’s nominee … More That Was The Week That Was
Before classes start at the end of the month, I hope to finish revisions to the manuscript for my spiritual biography of Charles Lindbergh. It’s not going to be drastically different from what I submitted in July, but I do think it will be improved, thanks to some insightful suggestions from my editor, Heath Carter. … More African American Responses to Lindbergh’s Flight
Of all the supporting cast in my Charles Lindbergh biography, only a couple of non-relatives are mentioned as often — and known to so few today — as Grace Lee Nute. In fact, until I read an article about her last week in the [Minneapolis] Star Tribune, I knew little about Nute beyond what I gleaned from … More Meet a Previous Lindbergh Biographer: Grace Lee Nute
This week I started turning my attention to a fall semester unlike any other, researching reopening plans for schools like Bethel and thinking through how I’ll teach two of my courses in a “modified face-to-face” format. Then over at The Anxious Bench, the story of Bethel’s first student of color provided bookends for a review … More That Was The Week That Was
As I wrote here after I turned in my Charles Lindbergh manuscript earlier this month, it’s an odd feeling to finish a book. It feels great to follow through on a project that big, but I’ve also felt somewhat adrift, now that I’m not spending hours a day researching, thinking, and writing about one person. … More Charles Lindbergh on the Importance of Parks
It’s been almost four years since I first considered the idea of writing a spiritual biography of Charles A. Lindbergh, and three years since I signed the contract for that book with Eerdmans. And the calendar will have turned to 2021 before anyone can actually pick up a copy of that book. But yesterday I … More My Lindbergh Biography Is One Step Closer to Publication…
I took a weekend off from sharing my usual That Was The Week That Was collection of links, but I had a good reason: I wrote seventeen pages of my Lindbergh project! That chapter wrapped up this afternoon, so now feels like a good time to share an update on my progress. If you’re new to the … More How’s Lindbergh Doing?
After a quiet first three months of 2020, it was a busy week at The Pietist Schoolman: • With Christian colleges like mine moving online, I shared my plans for teaching my courses remotely. • Realizing the need to spend more time with God, I started a series of daily lectionary reflections with a beloved psalm, … More That Was The Week That Was
Tonight HBO premieres the first episode of a six-part adaptation of Philip Roth’s 2004 novel, The Plot Against America. Since its alternate history premise centers on the subject of my current writing project, I thought some of my readers might be interested in my response to Roth’s book — originally published at The Anxious Bench after … More Charles Lindbergh and The Plot Against America
There’s a lot to like about the Netflix series The Crown, but I’m particularly struck that it’s that rarest of TV shows: one that takes religion seriously. In season 1, that theme showed up as the family of Queen Elizabeth II educate her about her role. Her dying grandmother insists that “Monarchy is God’s sacred mission … More Religion in Season 3 of The Crown
