A quiet week for me as I moved on from preaching at one church last weekend to preparing to teach a class on evangelicalism tomorrow at another — and worked ahead on a Chapel talk I’ll give at Bethel next Friday. Elsewhere: • Secularization theory seems to be on the comeback, but Ross Douthat isn’t … More That Was The Week That Was
It was an eclectic week for me: from podcasting about IndyCar to reflecting on the Notre Dame fire. Of course, Holy Week also found me meditating a lot on Jesus: his entry into Jerusalem, how his death inspired poets and artists during the world wars, and how his followers and killers spent the first Holy … More That Was The Week That Was
Sam and I wrap up our third season by considering some of the legacies of the Protestant Reformation: from democracy and free inquiry to religious pluralism and secularization to the notion that Protestants are “reformed and always reforming” (and why that means you should all buy The Pietist Option). Featured Book Alec Ryrie, Protestants: The Faith That Made the Modern World … More Thursday’s Podcast: Legacies of the Protestant Reformation
Here… • My article on Christians and National Socialism can be found in the newest issue of Christian History Magazine. • Nothing Rhymes with Gehrz, my newest podcast collaboration with Sam Mulberry, debuted. • Why interfaith engagement is a civic imperative in a religiously diverse society. • Two posts on World War I: one on the challenges involved in … More That Was The Week That Was
Why is it imperative that Christians move beyond their “bubbles” and engage with their neighbors of other religions? In the first two chapters of From Bubble to Bridge, my Bethel colleagues Marion Larson and Sara Shady argue that interfaith engagement is both a civic and religious imperative. We’ll continue our series with the first. A Civic Imperative (ch. 1) Many … More From Bubble to Bridge: Interfaith Engagement as a Civic Imperative
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
If you had asked high school or college Chris to name his favorite TV show, Star Trek would have been near the top of the list. I watched Star Trek: The Next Generation right from its 1986 beginning, and in the process worked my way back to “The Original Series,” which debuted on NBC fifty years ago tonight. I’ve enjoyed … More Religion in Star Trek
Earlier this month I posted a response to the president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University. Today we move north a couple states to hear from someone affiliated with Nebraska Wesleyan University: guest-blogger Aaron Morrison reflects on the broad spectrum of Methodist and Wesleyan higher education. As an undergraduate student visiting with friends and family over semester breaks, I would occasionally be … More Church-Affiliated Higher Ed in the Methodist Tradition (Aaron Morrison)
On the eve of the decision of Goshen College and Eastern Mennonite University to withdraw from the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), historian William Ringenberg told WORLD Magazine that the debate over those schools’ decision to hire LGBT faculty was “traumatic” for Christian higher ed. In his judgment, only one other crisis had been more significant: … More The Secularization(s) of Christian Higher Education
If you’ve been reading this blog in recent months, you probably are familiar with the debate within evangelical higher education over the decision of Goshen College and Eastern Mennonite to hire LGBT faculty — and then those schools’ late September decision to withdraw from the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) rather than cause more of … More “Crisis Averted”: Christianity Today on the CCCU Debate over Sexuality
The Pietist Schoolman 