Following Jesus: The Latter-day Saints Tradition

For the penultimate installment in our year-long conversation about how different Christians follow Jesus, we heard from the distinguished Latter-day Saints scholar Robert Millet, an ideal conversation partner by any standard. Retired now after over three decades as a professor, department chair, and dean at Brigham Young University, Millet has facilitated numerous conversations between Mormons … More Following Jesus: The Latter-day Saints Tradition

Following Jesus: The Lutheran Tradition

As a Pietist who now worships within a Lutheran congregation, I’ve been eagerly awaiting this month’s installment of our year-long, ecumenical conversation about Following Jesus. Church historian Mark Ellingsen didn’t disappoint, offering a reflection on what he called Lutheranism’s “Evangelical Catholic” way of following Jesus. At least, that’s how he saw his more “confessional” branch … More Following Jesus: The Lutheran Tradition

Following Jesus: Traditional Catholicism

This month’s round in the Following Jesus conversation is a bit unusual. First, while it’s broadly about “The Roman Catholic Tradition,” the author of our lead essay, Christina Wassell, is a former Protestant who now identifies as a “traditional” Catholic and devoted almost all of her original essay to the importance of the Traditional Latin … More Following Jesus: Traditional Catholicism

That Was The Week That Was

This week I remembered the educational — and political — legacy of GW Carlson, who died five years ago this month, and reviewed the first presidential memoir from Barack Obama. Elsewhere: • As always, the Super Bowl prompts some interesting religion reporting: Bob Smietana’s profile of Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid explained how the … More That Was The Week That Was

That Was The Week That Was

This week I introduced Anxious Bench readers to 1918’s version of pandemic Christmas. I failed to write anything at this blog, but in my defense, I did need some time to come up with this: And elsewhere… • Baseball doesn’t often make national news in December, but this decision certainly warranted attention. • Thomas Kidd considered the … More That Was The Week That Was

That Was The Week That Was

I wrote about Ethiopian Pentecostals like the new Nobel Peace Prize winner and debates in this country over religious liberty for Christian colleges. Elsewhere: • For a more serious case of a religious group being persecuted by the state, read this firsthand account of life for Uyghur Muslims imprisoned in Chinese “reeducation” camps. • According … More That Was The Week That Was

Looking for Some Historic Sites to Visit This Summer?

As you might have noticed yesterday, I enjoy fusing my interests in history and travel. Besides writing about Moravian Bethlehem, I’ve used this blog to share images and thoughts from trips to the Blue Ridge Mountains, the former Western Front, and a few of the many historic sites I’ve taken our kids over the years. (And to … More Looking for Some Historic Sites to Visit This Summer?

That Was The Week That Was

All I did here was to promote some upcoming speaking engagements and to invite people to sign up to receive a free e-copy of our forthcoming Lenten devotional. (At The Anxious Bench, I considered Ulysses Grant’s position as America’s first Methodist president.) I’ll try to get back to Pietist Schoolman blogging next week; until then, here’s some of what … More That Was The Week That Was