I’m as convinced a theist as you’re going to find. I’m a Christian who teaches at a Christian college and serves as chairperson of his church. I have a book coming out later this year on Christian higher education. This is the 434th post at this blog in the category “Christianity.” And yet I increasingly … More When I’m a “Functional Atheist”
Probably no one has done more to encourage me to think about my vocation to serve those beyond the academy than John Fea of Messiah College. Not just on his blog, but in his frequent speaking engagements and a continuing series of “Virtual Office Hours” posted on YouTube, John models how historians can balance public … More John Fea on Historians as Public Scholars
Is a value of the liberal arts that they produce good citizens? Should Christians also argue that such an education helps keep America powerful? As self-proclaimed defenders of the liberal arts like myself set about their task, they trumpet the many benefits of a well-rounded education that includes a healthy dose of seemingly impractical disciplines … More The Christian Liberal Arts, Citizenship, and Power
If you’ve been wondering “Who is John Fea, and why has his forthcoming book, Why Study History? Reflecting on the Importance of the Past, been spotlighted in Christianity Today as “New and Noteworthy” and his blog, The Way of Improvement Leads Home, been named by one semi-knowledgeable source as one of ten by Christian historians that … More John Fea in The Juvenile Instructor
I’ve complained a couple of times that Christian Piatt’s recent (very popular) exercise in identifying “25 Christian Blogs You Should Be Reading” gave short shrift (both in the readers’ and editor’s versions) to academics — in particular, my fellow historians. To a significant extent, this is the fault of our guild; I’m afraid that Sam … More 10 Blogs by Christian Historians You Should Be Reading
Here… • A tour of memorial sites got me thinking about how to teach a new course on World War II, and prompted two new series: one on the commemoration of WWII started by asking why “living memorials” were so popular among architects, artists, and others in the 1940s; then a second looked chapters in … More That Was The Week That Was
Here… • I enjoyed learning more about one Baptist hero (Will D. Campbell) from one of my Baptist heroes (G.W. Carlson). • Are the humanities actually in crisis? Some historical perspective on how many students major in history, philosophy, literature, and languages — and how many students take basic courses in those fields. • Just … More That Was The Week That Was
Mutual admiration society: (idiomatic) A group of two or more people, in a workplace or other social environment, who routinely express considerable esteem and support for one another, sometimes to the point of exaggeration or pretense. So says Wiktionary, and I fear that a picture of Messiah College history chair John Fea and I … More Must Watch: John Fea’s Virtual Office Hours
The week in question being last week… Back on our regular schedule this Saturday… Here… • More posts in the devotional/inspirational vein than usual for me, thanks to Holy Week: Pietists on resurrection and hope for Maundy Thursday; seeing crosses everywhere on our WWI trip for Good Friday; and why a TV cliffhanger might suggest … More That Was The Week That Was
Our textbook orders for next fall are due this Friday, and I’m absolutely not prepared. But I can take some solace in the fact that I already know exactly what text I’ll be using in Spring 2014 for our department’s capstone Senior Seminar: Why Study History? Reflecting on the Importance of the Past, by friend-of-this-blog … More Why Study History?
The Pietist Schoolman 