This week I considered how my writing mirrors my teaching and reflected on a year-long conversation about how Christians follow Jesus. Elsewhere: • I’m not sure the temperature got above 80°F (27°C) when I was in Germany last month. But July has been a different story, with scorching heat waves across Europe. • John Hawthorne concluded his series on polarization with some potential … More That Was The Week That Was
This week I wrote about the religious implications of life on other planets and received the first advance review of my Lindbergh biography. Elsewhere: • Philip Jenkins did me the great honor of writing a sequel to my extraterrestrials post, filling in some important, esoteric context to help explain why an English devotee of Eastern … More That Was The Week That Was
As we turned the page from 2020 to 2021, I reviewed my own blogging year and that of everyone at The Anxious Bench. Here at Pietist Schoolman, my Christmas devotional series continued, taking inspiration from sources as diverse as Jill Biden and It’s a Wonderful Life. Then here’s some of what I’ve been reading elsewhere … More That Was The Week That Was
This week I wrote about the religious history of lumberjacks, nominated the best years in sports history, and suggested seven questions that Christian colleges should ask potential presidents. Elsewhere: • It was an impressively eclectic week at The Anxious Bench. In David Swartz’s post on the faith(s) of a popular game show host and John Turner’s review … More That Was The Week That Was
Here… • One aspect of troubling allegations coming out of Wheaton College reminded me of the importance of interfaith engagement. • Too often, rural ministry is invisible to those of us in the cities and suburbs. (One link I forgot to include: a reflection by a Vineyard church planter in Lancaster, Ohio.) • How you … More That Was The Week That Was
Here… • My favorite Anxious Bench post so far: a historical and personal reflection on Warner Sallman’s painting Head of Christ. (Though, not surprisingly, writing a post questioning a depiction of Jesus as white brought out the worst in Patheos commenters…) • Another fellow Covenanter, my co-author Mark Pattie, shared a sneak peek at his chapter on the Bible … More That Was The Week That Was
I’m happy to announce that, starting next week, I’ll be a regular contributor at The Anxious Bench, a group blog on the Patheos Evangelical channel. I’ll be filling the Tuesday slot occupied by Bench co-founder Thomas Kidd, who will be blogging for The Gospel Coalition when he’s not churning out award-winning books about 18th century American religious history. Even … More Announcing My New Blogging Gig: The Anxious Bench
Offered as a daydream, as by one who trusts rather than knows that the grading will get done and this impossibly busy academic year will reach its end… John Turner, Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet (Harvard UP, 2012) A big part of my summer reading is simply playing catch up, and I’ve already got a head start on that … More Is It Too Early For a Summer Reading List?
Yesterday Thomas Kidd’s interview of Philip Jenkins, his fellow Anxious Bencher, further whetted my appetite for Jenkins’ new book on religion and World War I, The Great and Holy War. But I was mostly struck by the way Jenkins pushed back against Kidd’s statement that “WWI is often remembered for unprecedented, but often pointless carnage, especially in the notorious experiences … More Was WWI “Pointless Carnage”?
While it’s one of the most popular tags at this blog, World War I tends to appear here in spurts. But while I haven’t had much new to say about it since July, plenty of other historians have been busy gearing up for next year’s 100th anniversary of the beginning of what’s arguably the most … More What’s New with World War I?
The Pietist Schoolman 