Pietism lives! In German stereotypes as reported on by The Economist… H/T John Lawyer for pointing me to an article on the cultural origins of the “Swabian housewife.” Invoked by German chancellor Angela Merkel and described by the premier of the state of Baden-Württemberg as “the starting point” for the German approach to fiscal management, the … More Pietism and German Stereotypes
I don’t pretend that historical coincidences like this mean anything. But perhaps because I’ve just finished teaching a course on the history of World War II for the first time, I couldn’t help but notice a convergence of WWII-related anniversaries on my Twitter feed this morning: I’m sure there’s something profound to note about this … More This Day in History: A WWII Convergence
A few days into this centenary year of its beginning, the First World War is already prompting controversy: Yesterday New York Times Europe correspondent Alan Cowell checked in with an update on what remains an open question among historians: Was the outbreak of war primarily due to the reckless, cynical ambitions of German military and … More WWI at 100: Commemoration and “Political Correctness”
Here… • Is New Year’s Day a “Christian holiday“? Ecclesiastes, Christian Piatt, and others helped me on this one… • I know I’m living in the past, but hey, I’m a historian: the blogging year in review for 2013. • Looking to the rapidly nearing future: a preview of some themes from the new World … More That Was The Week That Was
A few weeks ago, when Chris crafted some questions for me to answer, he asked me to talk a bit about the Moravians – a Pietist movement that that I happen to study quite a lot. “What might a churchly Pietist like myself learn from the Moravians?” he asked. I thought this was especially interesting … More On Moravians and Other Radical Voices
Here… • I’ve never experienced anything remotely like the response generated by my open letter about Christian higher education. Thank you to the thousands who read it, and to the many who commented on the blog, at Facebook and Twitter, and via e-mail. I’ll have a follow-up post on Monday. • And thanks again to … More That Was The Week That Was
Too much about higher education of late… Let’s cleanse the palate with a dose of military history! It was during my first year of college, when I had decided to forego my planned career in international law and instead devote myself to the study of European history, that I first realized how little of the … More The Second World War Before Pearl Harbor: France, 1940
I’m not sure that anyone has made a good movie about the stretch of WWII that lies between the fall of Poland in early October 1939 and the German invasion of western Europe in early April 1940. But if they did, it wouldn’t fit the conventions of war movies. Given that this half-year was sometimes … More The Second World War Before Pearl Harbor: The Phoney War, 1939-1940
I started this series — introducing American readers to the Second World War as it was fought years before the United States joined the conflict — with Japan’s 1937 offensive against China. Let’s continue with an invasion that’s probably more familiar to most Americans and Europeans: Having already remilitarized the Rhineland (March 1936), absorbed Austria … More The Second World War Before Pearl Harbor: Poland, 1939
Because this country’s Independence Day falls on a Thursday this year, I’m sure there will be churches that celebrate it on the Sunday before July 4 and the Sunday after it. Past the celebration of Communion, I’m not sure what we have in mind for the 7th at Salem Covenant, but aside from the American … More Christians, Patriotism, and Nationalism
The Pietist Schoolman 