Including Evangelical Students in Interfaith Work

A couple times in the past twelve months I’ve praised From Bubble to Bridge: Educating Christians for a Multifaith World, by my Bethel University colleagues Marion Larson and Sara Shady. Before it came out in January, I called it “the first must-read Christian book of 2017,” and quoted the foreword by interfaith activist Eboo Patel: From … More Including Evangelical Students in Interfaith Work

The Assault at Wheaton… and the Importance of Interfaith Engagement

By now, I suspect most of my readers have read about an incident involving students at Wheaton College, perhaps the leading evangelical institution of higher learning. As first reported by the Chicago Tribune, five members of Wheaton’s football team assaulted one of their teammates in March 2016. The victim transferred to another school, while the … More The Assault at Wheaton… and the Importance of Interfaith Engagement

From Bubble to Bridge: Interfaith Engagement as a Civic Imperative

Why is it imperative that Christians move beyond their “bubbles” and engage with their neighbors of other religions? In the first two chapters of From Bubble to Bridge, my Bethel colleagues Marion Larson and Sara Shady argue that interfaith engagement is both a civic and religious imperative. We’ll continue our series with the first. A Civic Imperative (ch. 1) Many … More From Bubble to Bridge: Interfaith Engagement as a Civic Imperative

The Face of Christian Higher Education Is Not Jerry Falwell, Jr.

On Tuesday Jerry Falwell, Jr., the president of Liberty University, told the Chronicle of Higher Education that he’s been asked by the Trump administration to head up a task force recommending higher ed policy changes for the Department of Education. (In late November Falwell had told the Associated Press that he turned down the Secretary of Education position … More The Face of Christian Higher Education Is Not Jerry Falwell, Jr.

The First Must-Read Christian Book of 2017

Coming from IVP Academic on January 16th, it’s the first must-read Christian book of 2017: Marion Larson and Sara Shady’s From Bubble to Bridge: Educating Christians for a Multifaith World! I’ll need to wait until February to read it myself — since I’ll be somewhere in Europe teaching the history of World War I — but trust me, you’re … More The First Must-Read Christian Book of 2017

That Was The Week That Was

Here… • As always, the 2016 meeting of the Conference on Faith and History planted the seeds for lots of posts. A first reflection took on CFH president Jay Green’s question: will historians who themselves feel rather ambivalent about evangelicalism contend for evangelical identity? • Registration opened for the 2016 Bethel Colloquium on Pietism, coming December 13th. • … More That Was The Week That Was

Why Wheaton Matters – and Why I Need to Move On

The Larycia Hawkins story at Wheaton continued to develop over the weekend, as Time published an article by reporter Elizabeth Dias (herself a Wheaton alum) that raised further concerns about how the school’s administration had handled the situation. (See, for example, political scientist Tobin Grant’s analysis, which raised six big questions about the process.) Dias’ report also quoted several Wheaton faculty … More Why Wheaton Matters – and Why I Need to Move On