This week I reflected again on what I’ve learned about history from eulogizing friends and found some common ground between Anglicanism and Pietism. Elsewhere: • “Greeting everyone with ‘Happy Holidays’ at Christmastime,” warned one Hindu writer, “disrespects and dilutes the meaning of Christmas without making religious minorities feel authentically included.” • The early leader for biggest grinch … More That Was The Week That Was
I’ve written before about my enthusiasm for Current, the online magazine edited by historians John Fea, Jay Green, and Eric Miller. So it was an honor to make my debut there this morning, with an essay that connects the ongoing debate over historical commemoration to themes from my new biography of Charles Lindbergh. Entitled “The … More More on the Challenge of Commemoration
Today I’d like to revive a kind of holiday tradition from the early years of The Pietist Schoolman: going through some “best of” lists to curate a list of histories and biographies that might make for good Christmas presents for my readers. This year I’ll draw on year-end recommendations from the New York Times (NYT), Publishers Weekly … More The Best History Books of 2019?
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?
Greetings from Covenant Pines Bible Camp in beautiful northern Minnesota. Since I’m on retreat with other members of our congregation, I probably shouldn’t even have a laptop and wifi, but since I do… a few links from this blog and others: Here… • The real “crisis in authority” in evangelicalism is that women don’t have authority in evangelicalism. • You … More That Was The Week That Was
It’s not quite the “forgotten war” that the Korean War is, but World War I is certainly overshadowed in American memory by WWII, the Civil War, Vietnam, and the Revolutionary War. Nevertheless, the United States’ relatively short involvement in “the Great War” intersected with some of the most significant social, cultural, political, and economic shifts in American history. And now … More Go See the WW1 America Exhibit!
On Monday I shared a few things that I’m enjoying right now. I left one off the list in order to come back to it today: Yes, among the many other blessings of this sabbatical — time with my wife and kids, time with my parents, time to write and read — I get to visit the … More The Blue Ridge Parkway
Here… • I had to remind myself that there’s more to “Christian higher ed” than one organization wrestling with its membership criteria. • Former Eastern Mennonite and CCCU president Myron Augsburger spoke up. • Another distinguished Christian college figure reviewed our Pietism/higher ed book. • And I shared the surprising story of three Japanese-Americans who came … More That Was The Week That Was
While my job is to teach people about history, my vocation as a parent has made me realize that I know next to nothing about how to teach young children about history. But with our five-year old twins entering kindergarten this fall, I decided to spend this summer trying to understand how children might best learn about the past. Please take the … More 5 Things I’ve Learned about Teaching History to 5-Year Olds
Where did Memorial Day start? What does it mean? If pressed, most of us could probably guess that it emerged from the wake of the Civil War and perhaps explain that it differs from, say, Veterans Day or Armed Forces Day in specifically remembering those who have died in military service to this country. Writing in the midst of the Vietnam War, … More Revising Memorial Day
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