Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. (3 John 11) I’m not sure that imitate is an especially inspiring verb in this culture. It suggests a lack of originality and creativity. In evangelical Christianity, it may suggest … More The With-God Life: Imitation
Apart from sharing the news of our history devotional that’s coming out in December, it was a quiet blogging week for me, as I moved into the last stages of writing my Lindbergh manuscript. Elsewhere: • #EverythingHasAHistory, including protests at historic sites. • On the same day, Princeton announces that it’s dropping Woodrow Wilson’s name … More That Was The Week That Was
It’s counterfactual week on The Pietist Schoolman Podcast, as Sam and I conjure up thought experiments in which the Reformation either happens before Martin Luther comes on the scene, or proceeds in a timeline from which he’s been somehow removed. Featured Book Carlos Eire, Reformations: The Early Modern World, 1450-1650 Other Readings It doesn’t touch on the Reformation, but … More Thursday’s Podcast: Could the Reformation Have Happened Without Luther?
Here… • Coming ca. November 2014 from InterVarsity Press… Whole and Holy Persons: A Pietist Approach to Christian Higher Education, edited by The Pietist Schoolman. • As part of my historical sketch of bans on alcohol and other “lifestyle” policies at evangelical colleges like Bethel University, I quoted one-time campus pastor Jim Spickelmier, whose life … More That Was The Week That Was
3/20/13 – Lately there’s been much talk here about the medieval monastic Francis of Assisi because of the election of a pope who took that name… If you’d like to learn more about the saint himself and you happen to live in the Twin Cities (or are willing to relocate for a time), Salem Covenant … More Adult Sunday School Class on Francis of Assisi
As I wrote in my second post inspired by the election of a new pope, there’s been much parsing of the choice of the name Francis. In a meeting with global media Saturday at which he called for a “poor church for the poor,” the pontiff himself confirmed the widespread assumption that he took the … More Francis and Augustine
It scarcely seems possible to keep up with all the reporting and analysis on the election of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, as the newest pope — the “pope of firsts,” say many commentators. And in this second post passing along a couple more themes I’ve noticed in what I have managed to … More First Impressions of a “Pope of Firsts” (part 2)
Here • The first in a series of brief reflections inspired by Lauren Winner’s Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis focused on her skill as a writer (skill not often found among those of us trained to write academic history). • Why it’s so hard to do institutional histories when you’re part of the institution … More That Was The Week That Was
Heard ’round these parts and others last week: At The Pietist Schoolman The thrilling conclusion to my series ranking the best national anthems, as we counted down #5, #4, #3, #2, and — wait for it — #1. To whom did we compare the people we hate before we had Hitler? Never expected to write … More That Was the Week That Was
The Pietist Schoolman 