It’s been about three weeks since last I blogged here at The Pietist Schoolman. Anything been happening? If you didn’t know, I spent most of January in Britain, Belgium, France, and Germany, where my friend Sam Mulberry and I were leading a travel course on the history of World War I. I’m sure I’ll have more to share … More Thinking about the American Present via the European Past
‘Tis the season when we curate some of the histories and biographies showing up on Best Books of 2016 lists, just in case you’re struggling to come up with a gift for that history buff in your life. (Key: A – Amazon; G – Guardian; NYT – New York Times; PW – Publishers Weekly) Svetlana Alexievich, Secondhand Time: … More The Top Histories of 2016?
It sounds like the public speaking version of a basket on Chopped: a 7th grade class photo, an Irish poem, a book by Ta-Nehisi Coates, and a visit to Dachau. But somehow they all found their way into “Can Hope and History Rhyme?”, a talk I gave last week at Mounds Park Academy, the private school … More Can Hope and History Rhyme? (My MPA Talk)
It’s December 1st, time to share our annual round-up of historical works that have cracked various “Best Books of 2015” lists, for any reader who might be looking for gifts for the history buff in their life. (Key: G = The Guardian; NYT = New York Times; PW = Publishers Weekly; WP = Washington Post; Philip Ball, Invisible: … More The Top Histories of 2015?
Here… • Who’s an evangelical? Do they really support Syrian refugees? Or are they shockingly Islamophobic? • Oh, and remember to vote for our book — a finalist for the InterVarsity Press Readers’ Choice Awards. Congrats to our Academic Readers' Choice Award finalists! Vote now! https://t.co/HjxngGgfOE @mike_reeves @cgehrz pic.twitter.com/lDo4ZtS54s — IVP Academic (@ivpacademic) November 18, 2015 …There and Everywhere … More That Was The Week That Was
In recent decades, public consciousness of the Holocaust has increased exponentially. One unfortunate by-product of this otherwise salutary development has been the increased temptation for politicians to exploit references to Hitler, Nazism, and the Holocaust to stigmatize their opponents. So writes historian Christopher Browning, in an essay for Foreign Policy that argues that the “Political exploitation of the … More The Political Misuses of Holocaust History
Yesterday’s morning’s announcement of an important honor for our Pietism/higher ed book, and then getting prepped for this morning’s start of a new adult Sunday School class combined to bump this week’s links wrap to Sunday afternoon… Here… • The most popular post of the week prize goes to Jared Burkholder, for his insights into how an ethic … More That Was The Week That Was
One of the cultural residues of Britain being a post-Christian society is that companies try to outdo each other in celebrating the Incarnation by creating memorable “Christmas adverts.” The 2014 versions are coming out, and one has already garnered enormous attention — positive and negative: Yes, the supermarket chain Sainsbury’s not only produced a three-minute … More On Advertising, Chocolate, and the First World War
Here… • Tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of the still-remarkable fall of the Berlin Wall. • Further thoughts on Christian colleges and racial-ethnic diversity: do CCCU schools mirror the populations of the metro areas they inhabit? • A funeral inspired me to rethink how history provides a kind of Christian testimony to those who study it. • … More That Was The Week That Was
“We live in a time of exile,” writes Carl Trueman in the August 2014 issue of First Things. “At least those of us do who hold to traditional Christian beliefs. The strident rhetoric of scientism has made belief in the supernatural look ridiculous. The Pill, no-fault divorce, and now gay marriage have made traditional sexual ethics look outmoded at … More Some Advice for Christians Who Think They’re Living in a “Time of Exile”
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