Here… • Joy, expectation, and Easter Monday. • The plan to take over all media is working out nicely: catch up with our department webisodes as we visit Europe and talk faith and history; and get a sneak preview of the new Pietist Schoolman Podcast. • Forget would-be “Protestant Notre Dames”… Just what makes Notre Dame … More That Was The Week That Was
I suspect that I’ve blogged long enough that I’m running out of mildly embarrassing self-revelations, but here’s one oddity I might not have shared: I like to relax by reading about the American Civil War. How European/international historians relax on their spring breaks. pic.twitter.com/JIIUFen4J7 — Chris Gehrz (@cgehrz) March 16, 2015 Yes, while others spend spring break on … More Comment Drive: Why’s the Civil War So Fascinating?
For spring break I’m reading Allen Guelzo’s Civil War history Fateful Lightning, so for today’s visit to the blog archives, I thought I’d dredge up a “This Day in History” post from November 2012 about Abraham Lincoln’s most famous speech. Seven score and nine years ago today, President Abraham Lincoln ascended the dais at the dedication of … More The Best of The Pietist Schoolman: The Gettysburg Address
Like many American colleges and universities founded in the nineteenth century, the place I work came into being thanks largely to the efforts of a pioneering figure who is as venerated within the school as he is unknown outside of it. For Bethel, that figure is John Alexis Edgren, whose 176th birthday our campus celebrates today. Born in Sweden … More Happy Birthday, John Alexis Edgren!
Just a few of the more interesting history-related posts and articles that appeared during my month off from blogging: • Christopher Columbus, Captain Cook, and nine other explorers to know. • The Charlie Hebdo shootings have rocketed Voltaire’s Treatise on Tolerance — published in 1763 — to the top of French bestseller lists. (Lots of important … More That Was The Month That Was: History
Here… • Were these the best history books of 2014? • Which Bible passages most shaped your understanding of God? • Want to help publicize our book on Pietism and Christian higher ed? (Thanks to John Fea, among others, for already helping the cause!) …There and Everywhere • As someone who was creating podcasts back in the … More That Was The Week That Was
Here… • Beware the fearmongering of higher ed pundits… • …and find some hope in the opportunity of educating a “spiritual, but not religious” generation. • We probably came up with about fifteen C’s of institutional history at our Conference on Faith and History panel on the subject, but I narrowed it down to six. …There and Everywhere … More That Was The Week That Was
Here… After my month-long break, I eased back into blogging with a couple of posts: • First, I shared my talk, delivered Tuesday at the Christian College Consortium (CCC) at Wheaton College, on how a Pietist would advise colleges and universities seeking to remain “Christ-centered.” • Then I previewed my plans for the Conference on Faith and History (CFH) … More That Was The Week That Was
Where did Memorial Day start? What does it mean? If pressed, most of us could probably guess that it emerged from the wake of the Civil War and perhaps explain that it differs from, say, Veterans Day or Armed Forces Day in specifically remembering those who have died in military service to this country. Writing in the midst of the Vietnam War, … More Revising Memorial Day
Here… • Are Christian colleges facing financial crises because doctrinal “drift” has cost them the support of churches? (And if it has, is that the cost of doing business?) • I’m not sure I could stand listening to me say anything more about a crisis in Christian higher ed… But if you feel differently, head … More That Was The Week That Was
The Pietist Schoolman 