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
Here… • Fortunately, blog readership plummets during Easter weekend, but in case you want to revisit them, I did post reflections on the vigil of Holy Saturday and the “resurrection sunset” of Easter evening. • Lesson learned: any supposed list of “indispensable Christian academic Twitter users” is itself quite dispensable. (Though you could do worse than to follow these seven.) … More That Was The Week That Was
A week ago I asked, and many of you answered: “What are some indispensable Christian academic Twitter accounts?” Not just Christian scholars — like me — who mostly use Twitter to point to other platforms but those “who are using Twitter to engage each other and the public, or to curate ideas for their followers. Regular, thoughtful retweeters are as … More 7 Indispensable Christian Academic Twitter Accounts
Here… • Two big, related announcements: not only has InterVarsity Press agreed to publish my next book on Pietism, but my co-author and I will be thinking aloud about each chapter when the second season of The Pietist Schoolman Podcast debuts next month. • Can a historian be both truthful and hopeful? • I wasn’t quite buying the notion that … More That Was The Week That Was
Here… • The Azusa Street Revival, World War I, Vatican II… What were some of the other turning points in the history of Christianity in the 20th century? • Speaking of WWI… Americans shouldn’t wait until 2017 to start thinking about its centenary. • Check out Adam Laats’ blog for interesting insights on Christian higher education … More That Was The Week That Was
Sharp-eyed readers might have noticed a new name popping up in the right-hand column of this blog, on my rotating list of “A Few of the Blogs, Publications, and Writers I Follow.” Adam Laats is historian of education at SUNY-Binghamton, currently writing a book tentatively titled Fundamentalist U: Keeping the Faith in American Higher Education. (John Fea got … More I Love You, But…
The Pietist Schoolman 