Faith – The Pietist Schoolman

A New Book about “The Second Greatest Lutheran Theologian”

January 13, 2022

According to church historian Carter Lindberg, that’s how German Lutherans in the early 18th century thought of Philipp Jakob Spener: second only to Martin Luther himself. Born this day in 1635, Spener is less remembered nowadays, but played a prominent role in renewing early modern Protestantism, as a popular preacher and writer and the founding … More A New Book about “The Second Greatest Lutheran Theologian”

The With-God Life: Lazarus

March 29, 2020

When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, … More The With-God Life: Lazarus

That Was The Week That Was

February 23, 2019

I reported on a Supreme Court case involving a World War I memorial, talked baseball history on The 252, and reflected on the relationship between faith and science for The Anxious Bench. Elsewhere… • The big religion news of the week is that the United Methodist Church is having its final (?) reckoning over sexuality this weekend. … More That Was The Week That Was

Martin Luther King, Jr. on Martin Luther

April 4, 2018

I’ll leave it to actual American historians like my Anxious Bench colleague Kristin Du Mez to explain the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. on this, the 50th anniversary of his assassination. But one topic about which I can perhaps say something meaningful is MLK’s response to the Reformation initiated by his namesake. (As you may know, … More Martin Luther King, Jr. on Martin Luther

Grandpa Peterson

June 6, 2017

A tribute to my grandfather, who died Saturday night at age 94, leaving behind a legacy of faith, hope, and love. … More Grandpa Peterson

A Living Faith (Mark Pattie)

December 28, 2016

Thanks to Mark Pattie for sharing these reflections on the 2016 Bethel Colloquium on Pietism, held earlier this month at Bethel University. Mark is senior pastor at Salem Covenant Church in New Brighton, MN and my co-author on a forthcoming book about Pietism in the 21st century (stay tuned for more details in the New Year). … More A Living Faith (Mark Pattie)

My Open Letter on Faith, Hope, Love, and the Election

November 8, 2016

Prefacing my Anxious Bench post today, I admitted that I wasn’t thrilled that my Tuesday slot in that rotation left “me with the unenviable responsibility of posting on a particularly fractious Election Day. I thought about doing something as apolitical as possible, but ultimately decided I should address the election in some fashion. So after I cast my absentee ballot a … More My Open Letter on Faith, Hope, Love, and the Election

Thursday’s Podcast: Christianity as Life

April 14, 2016

If any one of Philipp Spener’s six “pious wishes” is most central, or does the most to set Pietism apart from other Christian traditions that place a high value on Scripture and a “common priesthood,” it’s probably this one: …the people must have it impressed upon them and must accustom themselves to believing that it is by no … More Thursday’s Podcast: Christianity as Life

Children of the Heavenly Father

November 3, 2015

Growing up, my favorite two pages in any book were Hymns 381-382 in The Covenant Hymnal (1973): “Day by Day and with Each Passing Moment” and “Children of the Heavenly Father,” both originally written in Swedish by the great Lina Sandell. If the stale old joke is actually true and Swedish is the language of heaven, then surely the … More Children of the Heavenly Father

Best of The Pietist Schoolman: A Pietist Model of Christian Scholarship

July 28, 2014

It’s going to be an unusually busy summer week for this college professor, so in place of new posts, enjoy a few of my favorites from the first half of 2014. We’ll start with my attempt to sketch a Pietist alternative to the scholarly model known as “faith-learning integration” — a three-part series that represented … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: A Pietist Model of Christian Scholarship

The Pietist Schoolman

The website and blog of historian Chris Gehrz

Tag: Faith