This week I engaged in some hopeful thinking about the future of the humanities, announced my first online adult ed course, recruited some Anxious Bench colleagues to join me in identifying non-religious turning points in religious history, and recorded podcasts about math and e-sports. Elsewhere: • Another week, another inspector general fired after he tried to … More That Was The Week That Was
This week I curated some advice from fellow historians about how parents can help their home-bound kids learn history, reflected on the 75th anniversary of V-E Day, and recorded podcasts about sports journalism and the psychology of pandemics. Elsewhere: • I haven’t formally announced it until now, but I don’t think it will surprise anyone … More That Was The Week That Was
If nothing else, this is a wonderful time for all of us to catch up on our reading. To that end, let me encourage you to check out the April e-book sale at Eerdmans, which has discounted 300+ titles to prices as low as $1.99. (Most are under $4.) The sale runs through the end … More Time to Load Up on E-Books
I considered whether I was an evangelical, responded to an astonishing editorial by evangelicalism’s flagship publication, and considered how religion factors into two British institutions: the monarchy (kind of) and the Premier League. Elsewhere: • A handful of the many other responses to that Christianity Today editorial calling for Donald Trump to be removed from office: Michael Wear … More That Was The Week That Was
I’ve only half-followed the recent Twitter dust-up between historians Thomas Kidd and John Fea and journalist Jonathan Merritt. You can get caught up to speed with this morning’s Anxious Bench post from John Turner. Throw in editor John Wilson (who rose to the historians’ defense), and you’ve got several of my favorite Johns/Jonathans sparring over what it meant … More I’m a Historian, Not an Expert
Here… • Why I think that women, African Americans, and other Christians can help to “evangelize evangelicalism.” • It’s not much to look at, but my faculty office is actually important to me. …There (Anxious Bench)… • Like millions of others around the world, I watched the royal wedding live. Unlike all of them, I … More That Was The Week That Was
The (early) reviews are in, and I’m encouraged to see that The Pietist Option has been well received by a distinguished roster of endorsers. You can read the current set of endorsements at the InterVarsity Press page for the book and I’ve already mentioned the blurbs by Dave Kersten and Brian McLaren in earlier posts. But here’s a … More “Timely… Practical… Immensely Winsome” (Early Reviews of The Pietist Option)
If you didn’t notice it over the weekend, do yourself a favor and read John Fea’s heartfelt “Confessions of a Lonely Christian Historian.” It begins: I think all of us who pursue a life of the mind are, to some degree, lonely people. We live in the world of ideas. We spend a lot of … More The Loneliness (and Solitude) of a Christian Historian
I’ve been busy this morning packing up for our gradual trip back home, so I’ll have to catch up later and watch video of the 2016 Bethel Colloquium on Pietism. But I did manage to catch the opening remarks by Bethel provost Deb Harless and theology professor Christian Collins Winn, my friend and co-coordinator. Both spoke … More The Promise (and Problems) of “Usable Pasts”
To what extent did evangelical colleges and universities contribute to the election of Donald Trump? That’s the question that Adam Laats, author of a forthcoming book on the history of such schools in the 20th century, raised recently at History News Network. (I’ve recommended his blog before.) Seeking an explanation for the much-cited figure of 81% of … More How Did Evangelical College Students Vote in the Presidential Election?
