Helen H Gardener (1853–1925) was a celebrated reformer in the Gilded Age and Progressive era, and she is a major character in the book I am presently writing on the 1890s. She was a central figure in feminist and suffragist causes, and especially in the defense of women and young girls from male sexual depredations. Her greatest cause, and her greatest victories, involved the raising of the age of consent, which prior to the 1890s had been incredibly low (ten... Read more
I’ve been interested in a sort of apparent paradox over the last few months. You can see the thread in all of the posts dedicated to pentecostal/charismatic Christianity and technological adoption. How is it that a movement so interested in reliving the past was so enmeshed in newer forms of technology and media production? How did that “old-time religion” produce modern media moguls and folks living on the bleeding edge of technological adoption? So far, I’ve focused a lot of... Read more
Diversity and Sanctification A week ago we celebrated Easter, Christ’s victory over death, hell, and the grave. Without debate, Christ’s bodily resurrection is the most central and consequential event — and doctrine — of the Christian faith. The apostle Paul makes this clear in I Corinthians 15:14 when he writes, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” During my Good Friday morning devotions, I compared the crucifixion accounts of Luke and... Read more
Author’s children cleaning their grandfather’s headstone We walked gingerly over the browning grass and the clumps of disturbed desert clay, careful not to disrespect the dead buried below. At our designated plot, we unfurled a blue outdoor blanket onto which two of my children knelt, spray bottle and dust rag in hand. As they cleaned my father’s dusty headstone, my older son guided my mother onto her knees, then held open an umbrella over her to block the sun. I... Read more
Shakespeare has the legendary stage direction “Exit, pursued by a bear.” My own version of that in my scholarly work has been, “Write, pursued by Theosophists.” In my last few books, I have found Theosophy and Theosophists cropping up in so many different topics, and often, unexpectedly central to that subject, and above all in the era from roughly 1875 through 1940. Among other areas, that includes the Western encounter of South Asian religion; the modern rediscovery of alternate scriptures... Read more
“It became a snare to Gideon and to his house” Judges 8:27 I debated for a couple of weeks whether or not to address the startling allegations against UFW labor leader and activist Cesar Chavez, who I have written about multiple times in the last two years at the Anxious Bench and in other essays. In fact, I was recently interviewed about the impact of these allegations. I figured with the interview that I have said what I wanted to... Read more
I’ve not been thinking a lot about teaching this year– while in Norway on a grant, I’ve been immersed in reading, learning, and writing for my third book. But I got an email this week that reminded me that while the fall semester might still feel distant, it will be here before I know it. It is indeed time to choose books for fall classes. One of my classes this fall is a course on Women in the Church. This... Read more
I have a dilemma. I want to share my enthusiasm for a literary work that I regard as a really significant piece of Christian writing, which might even be a key piece of evangelism in its own right, but I can’t do that properly without revealing major spoilers, which concentrate heavily in the last few lines. Bear with me as I try to navigate the problems here. I will also address the mystery of just how this particular story came... Read more
I wrote recently about the importance of letters as a form of evidence for historians. Letters allow for someone to decide reflectively what to say and how to say it their particular audience. There is a time delay that forces a bit more narrative. Of course, letters make assumptions about what the recipient knows and as a scholar I wish more of the people writing these letters would talk about their topics in more detail. Still, they require the... Read more
I recently came across a book that resonated with so many of my interests! This was The Foundations of Re-Enchantment: Freemasonry, Theosophy, and the Occult Revival, by Christopher Coome. Those Masonic and Theosophical themes have been of interest to me for a great many years, but especially right now with my work on America in the 1890s. See my last post here! Important stuff, with an endlessly fascinating roster of characters. Chris kindly agreed to write this guest post for... Read more
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