This week I learned about a pagan, white supremacist movement that is rededicating a church in Minnesota and looked at how Bethel and its peers scored on a financial stress test. Elsewhere: • Bethel caught flak on social media for establishing a scholarship named after George Floyd, but to his great credit, our new president … More That Was The Week That Was
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
Another busy week as the semester starts to wind down… I talked with the director of the Minnesota Historical Society about public history, and with two of my students about hockey. I shared a talk I gave on sacramental similes for the liberal arts, and the Minnesota Prayer Breakfast got me thinking about death and … More That Was The Week That Was
A wonderful new World War I documentary from Peter Jackson got me thinking about the magical qualities of history, and a Twitter spat over the history of evangelicalism made me realize that I’m not much of an expert in anything. Elsewhere… • Not everyone liked Jackson’s documentary. (H/T Karl Nelson and Tim Johnson) To that … More That Was The Week That Was
This week at The Pietist Schoolman I looked at recent trends in the history major at religious colleges and universities, and Sam Mulberry and I concluded our podcast travelogue with a visit to Munich. Elsewhere… • It’s been a while since I’ve shared something from Kate Bowler… it seems timely to reconnect via her reflection on the … More That Was The Week That Was
Here… • Election Day had me wondering how Christians can best “honor the emperor” in contemporary American politics. • We said farewell to a farm that’s been in my mom’s side of the family for over a century. • It’s awards season: here’s how you can nominate our book for one. • Just how many … More That Was The Week That Was
Further evidence of polarization in America: a recent Pew survey finding sharp partisan splits in how Americans view institutions’ impact on the country. It’s worth digging into the full report, but here’s a summary: Type of Institution Overall % with Positive View Republicans and Lean GOP % Democrats and Lean Dem. % Churches and religious organizations … More Quick Thoughts on Republican Dislike for Higher Education
Here… • I announced that I’d be taking some time off from blogging in order to focus on revising the manuscript for our forthcoming book on Pietism… • …then went right ahead and wrote a reflection on why I (eventually) signed the Confessing Faculty statement… • …and paid tribute to one of my favorite Pietists, Glen Wiberg (1925-2017). … More That Was The Week That Was
Ah, 2012: when I lamented how civil discourse was being replaced by “ideological segregation,” as the Left and Right engaged in “epistemic closure.” That phrase came from Julian Sanchez, who had observed that, among many conservatives, “Reality is defined by a multimedia array of interconnected and cross promoting conservative blogs, radio programs, magazines, and of course, Fox News. Whatever conflicts with … More Conservatives for Progressives to Read (revisited)
Here… • This is normally not a blog about politics. But there was nothing normal about Donald Trump becoming the presumptive nominee of a major political party. • Trump famously promises to “Make America Great Again.” Which got me wondering if “Make the Church Great Again” is a valid aspiration for Christians — and if so, when was the Church … More That Was The Week That Was
