Tag: Christian Colleges

Swartz, Moral Minority

White Evangelicalism Has Been Politically Conservative… But Must It Remain So?

December 21, 2016

I’d love to disagree with the thesis of historian Neil Young’s piece in Religion Dispatches, but he’s probably right that …the bulk of white evangelicals’ political efforts have always veered to the right, often to the extreme. From Civil Rights to Vietnam to abortion to gay rights, from national defense to tax policy to climate change … More White Evangelicalism Has Been Politically Conservative… But Must It Remain So?

Cropped version of the cover to The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education

The Promise (and Problems) of “Usable Pasts”

December 13, 2016

I’ve been busy this morning packing up for our gradual trip back home, so I’ll have to catch up later and watch video of the 2016 Bethel Colloquium on Pietism. But I did manage to catch the opening remarks by Bethel provost Deb Harless and theology professor Christian Collins Winn, my friend and co-coordinator. Both spoke … More The Promise (and Problems) of “Usable Pasts”

Hostetter Chapel

How Did Evangelical College Students Vote in the Presidential Election?

December 7, 2016

To what extent did evangelical colleges and universities contribute to the election of Donald Trump? That’s the question that Adam Laats, author of a forthcoming book on the history of such schools in the 20th century, raised recently at History News Network. (I’ve recommended his blog before.) Seeking an explanation for the much-cited figure of 81% of … More How Did Evangelical College Students Vote in the Presidential Election?

Bethel freshmen in the fall of 1943

When a Christian College Sheltered Japanese Americans During WWII

December 7, 2016

Seventy-five years ago today, Japanese forces attacked the American military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, leading to U.S. involvement in World War II. That evening Pres. Franklin Roosevelt issued an emergency proclamation authorizing the arrest of “Alien enemies deemed dangerous to the public peace or safety of the United States.” Within three months, FDR had authorized the War Department … More When a Christian College Sheltered Japanese Americans During WWII

Amy Poppinga teaching

Mapping Your Academic Career: Finding Your Voice as a Teacher

December 6, 2016

I miss teaching. I enjoy being on sabbatical, but I miss teaching so much that when I erased a chalkboard at my parents’ church the other day, I actually felt a wave of emotion. Feeling that eraser rub against that slate instantly evoked the anticipation, exhilaration, and (yes) fear that accompany the start of every class I … More Mapping Your Academic Career: Finding Your Voice as a Teacher

Nyvall Hall at North Park University

Covenant Visions of Christian Higher Education

December 1, 2016

Even as I await the publication of my new book on Pietism, it’s gratifying to see people continuing to engage with its 2015 predecessor, The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education. At the end of a generous review in The Covenant Quarterly, Mark Safstrom puts that book in the context of work that Christian Collins Winn and I have been doing … More Covenant Visions of Christian Higher Education

Williams Stadium at Liberty

Following Up: Liberty University as the “Protestant Notre Dame”

November 29, 2016

Having been one of the earliest, most vocal evangelical supporters of Donald Trump, Liberty University president Jerry Falwell, Jr. was widely rumored to be in the running for a cabinet spot in the new administration. But Falwell told Religion News Service that he turned down an appointment as Secretary of Education, in part because his family members … More Following Up: Liberty University as the “Protestant Notre Dame”

Blanchard Hall at Wheaton College

Mapping Your Academic Career: Academic Freedom and Institutional Dissonance

November 14, 2016

Early in professors’ careers, writes Wheaton College biblical scholar Gary Burge, they “must learn the culture in which they work and decide how they are going to fit into the corporate life of the community?” Not only do they need to hone their skills as teachers, continue the research that will earn them tenure, and form important … More Mapping Your Academic Career: Academic Freedom and Institutional Dissonance

The Golden Gate Bridge

A Two-Way Bridge: Sexuality, Evangelicals, and Christian Higher Ed

November 2, 2016

Because it was written by a Jesuit in a Jesuit magazine, I suspect that most evangelicals haven’t read James Martin’s “A Two-Way Bridge,” a lecture given to a Catholic LGBT group that was published over the weekend at the website for America. That’s a shame, since his first paragraph could be addressed to evangelicals with some simple … More A Two-Way Bridge: Sexuality, Evangelicals, and Christian Higher Ed

Hall of Graduate Studies, Yale University

What David Barton Doesn’t Understand about Graduate School and Christian Scholarship

September 12, 2016

Like Jared, I think it’s evident that David Barton struggles to understand what historians do and how we do it. That’s especially true whenever he gets to the intersection between faith and learning. Consider his recent mini-tirade against John Fea: He [Fea] said the founding fathers didn’t want ministers–the founding fathers were ministers in office [sic].  So they’re doing this … More What David Barton Doesn’t Understand about Graduate School and Christian Scholarship