Here… • I couldn’t completely buy that my employer is suddenly one of the top 100 universities in the country — but I couldn’t disregard that ranking either. • A new digital project helped me revisit an old question: just when did Micah 6:8 become so popular among American Christians? • I finished my Anxious Bench series on historical … More That Was The Week That Was
Here… • In the running centenary commemoration of World War I, yesterday was a particularly important moment to remember. • Maybe especially because it came just over a week after British voters — including nearly 60% of Christians — decided their country should leave a European Union whose leading member is Germany. • I tried … More That Was The Week That Was
Here… • My big blogging announcement: I’ll be taking Tommy Kidd’s place as a weekly contributor to The Anxious Bench, the history blog at the Patheos Evangelical channel. Look for my first AB post in three days… • But that won’t stop me from blogging here… For example, about three of my favorite hymns that run counter to … More That Was The Week That Was
Come back in a couple days for an exciting announcement about a new blogging gig of mine… but first, here’s some of what was blogged about last week. Here… • How should the Church respond to Donald Trump? By “telling it like it is.” • Are historians and other humanists leaning too heavily on “utilitarian” apologetics? Yes (not that I’m going to stop trying … More That Was The Week That Was
Because I work for a member institution of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) and study evangelical models of higher education, I occasionally need to be reminded that the CCCU represents only a fraction of the colleges and universities related to Christian churches. But after consecutive weekends in which I attended the seminary graduation … More The Humanities in Church-Related Higher Ed: A Broader View
[UPDATED, 12:30pm: Baylor announced that, as of May 31, Starr will step down as president but remain as law school professor and most likely chancellor, but Briles “has been suspended indefinitely with intent to terminate.” McCaw has been placed on probation, and unidentified members of the athletic department and administration have been fired.] Baylor University still has … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: Football at Christian Colleges and Universities
One of the pleasures of being (almost) done with grading is that I can start to catch up on reading. A summer book list will come another day, but this week, I want to mention two articles in the Easter issue of The Cresset, starting with a review essay that makes kind mention of our book, The Pietist Vision … More Searching for Jerusalem: A New Review of Our Pietist Vision Book
I didn’t mean to write a fourth Christian higher ed post in four days, but… It’s all too possible that someone newer to the blog could read the first three and come away thinking that I’m thoroughly disillusioned about Christian colleges in general and disgruntled with Bethel in particular. Those feelings are there — as they would be, … More Why I’m Glad I’m at Bethel
I’m pretty sure the world has heard enough from me for now on the subject of the “crisis of the humanities” in Christian colleges. At the risk of overreaching, let me just add a few closing thoughts: First, that I appreciate the enormous response to the first two posts this week. They provoked some truly enlightening … More Final Thoughts on Evangelicalism and the Humanities: Rethinking How Christian Colleges Serve the Church
So what’s causing the decline of humanities disciplines in evangelical colleges? And why is it significant for those institutions’ constituencies? I think the answer to both questions may hinge on one word: fear. Now, I’m sure no single factor can explain why English, history, and philosophy accounted for only 5.5% of bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2014 by members of … More If There’s a Crisis of the Humanities in Christian Colleges, What Does It Tell Us about Evangelicalism?
The Pietist Schoolman 