What place, if any, do Pietists give to doctrine? Do they place any boundaries on what constitutes right belief (orthodoxy)? Those questions come to my mind at least two or three times a year, generally whenever I’m getting too excited about the prospects for a “Pietist impulse” to again revive Christianity (as it’s done at … More Pietism, Doctrine, and the Boundaries of Belief
If you don’t normally read Roger Olson’s blog, check it out: he’s on a roll. I’ve probably got three or four posts to write that have been inspired by something Roger’s written, but let me start with the most recent topic: denominations. I know this will shock many people, but my attitude toward denominations is … More Roger Olson on Denominations and Christian Unity
For once, it was easy this week to know where to start my post-vacation ritual of sifting through stacks of new publications requiring some reading attention: with Roger Olson’s article in the Summer 2012 issue of Christian Scholar’s Review, “Pietism and Postmodernism: Points of Congeniality.” A refined version of the second of two lectures he … More Roger Olson on Pietism and Postmodernism
2/24/12 – From Roger Olson, back from giving a talk at Regent University’s Center for Renewal Studies, a reflection on “Renewalism.” Of particular interest for readers of this blog: What Renewalism means for Pietism. Roger proposes that Pietism is a cousin of Pentecostalism, that at least some Pietists fit the “Renewalist” category (even if they … More Is Pietism “Renewalism”?
Earlier this week I got a nice comment from Jeff Hochstetler, a student at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, who asked a great question: Do you think that for a Pietistic vision to be successful, it must be rooted in institutional expressions, as the Anabaptist vision was/is? Jeff had been reading my summer 2011 series on … More Where Would a Pietist Vision Come From?
12/29/11 – For our readers who happen to live in the great Commonwealth of Virginia or are looking for an excuse to travel there… One of my favorite scholar-author-bloggers, historical theologian Roger Olson (also one of the contributors to our Pietist Impulse book) will be speaking on “Pietism and Pentecostalism: Spiritual Cousins or Competitors?” at … More Pietism and Pentecostalism
11/15/11 – Last March historical theologian Roger Olson (formerly of Bethel, now of Baylor’s Truett Seminary, and one of the contributors to our Pietist Impulse book) delivered two talks on Pietism at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN: “The World We Have Lost” and “A World We Need to Find Again.” Luther Sem has now … More Roger Olson on Pietism
The other day Roger Olson asked (rhetorically) whether Christian organizations should adopt a business model. (Hint: the answer isn’t yes.) He was chiefly concerned with the two types of Christian organizations with which he (and I) mostly interact: colleges and churches. I’ll leave alone his comments about churches, not because I disagree with him that … More Christian Colleges as Businesses
Today I’m going to wrap up a series of posts on the notion of Christian colleges looking to a “usable past” for guidance as they consider their missions and identities. Thus far, we’ve mostly found that schools founded by denominations originating (at least in part) in Pietism have not found such utility in that tradition. … More The Usable Past: Pietism and Bethel University
This week I’m launching a new series previewing the chapters in our newly released book, The Pietist Impulse in Christianity. Where better to start than with the deceptively simple question, “What is Pietism?” As we point out rather obviously in our editors’ introduction, that question “is not easily answered” (xxi). Some scholars prefer a “strict … More The Pietist Impulse: Definitions
The Pietist Schoolman 