What should we make of the atrocities committed by American soldiers against Japanese, Italian, and German prisoners during World War II? Chris considers how even "good" wars corrode the human soul. Read more
What should we make of the atrocities committed by American soldiers against Japanese, Italian, and German prisoners during World War II? Chris considers how even "good" wars corrode the human soul. Read more
For multiple reasons, I am not a particular fan of Bill Clinton. But one speech of his always strikes me as a singular landmark in modern US political history, and specifically in matters of religion and the public square. If the rhetoric is not quite up there with Lincoln’s Second Inaugural, it does demand our attention. On April 19, 1995, neo-Nazi terrorists blew up the Murragh federal office building in Oklahoma City, killing 168. Some days later, Clinton delivered a... Read more
ADDENDUM: I must report a ghastly synchronicity. This post concerns a historical theme that is anything but well known to non-specialists, so who thought it might be in the headlines? I wrote this post some weeks back, and it posted a few hours ago. In the hours since that posting, its contents have acquired a horrific relevance from the appalling terrorist attack in New Zealand, where Brenton Tarrant murdered dozens of Muslims. He left a manifesto explaining his actions as... Read more
From the Anxious Bench archives: When I ask students to read and generate questions about the Gospel of Mark, someone always asks about the beheading of John the Baptist? What sort of mother asks her daughter to ask her father for a prophet’s head? (I can also count on a question about the fig tree, for which I never have an adequate answer). According to Mark, John the Baptist criticized Herod Antipas for having married Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. Just to... Read more
How an activist for suffrage converted to conservative Christian faith Read more
What does "render unto Caesar" mean in the Age of Trump? Chris explains why he thinks that Jerry Falwell, Jr. has badly misinterpreted Matthew 22:21. Read more
(Note: I am currently working on a small-grant application for a new course entitled “Christianity and Other Faiths: Historical Perspectives, Contemporary Engagements.” This is a work in progress but the grant narrative is below. I invite feedback.) Title and Description of Course “Christianity and Other Faiths: Historical Perspectives, Contemporary Engagements.” This new course will be introduced in Valparaiso University’s four-year interdisciplinary honors college (cross-listed in theology and history) to coincide with the release of two of my forthcoming books: The... Read more
When I teach my survey of what my university clumsily terms “Religions of the West,” students learn about categories such as revelation, scripture, ritual, and patterns of authority. The course focuses on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Along the way, we discuss several expressions of these traditions over time and place, and at the end of the semester, I typically spend one or two days and introduce a brief unit on Mormonism. I do so for several reasons. For starters, I... Read more
Recently I talked about Charles Babbage as a pioneer of modern computing, and as someone whose brilliant scientific ventures were explicitly designed to support belief in the existence of God, His power, wisdom and goodness. This is only one of many examples we might look at to refute the idea of religion, and specifically Christianity, being anti-science and anti-progress. One excellent book on this theme is Daniel J. Cohen, Equations from God: Pure Mathematics and Victorian Faith (Johns Hopkins University... Read more
In the upper Midwest, Lent is not simply a season for fasting—it’s a season for fish fries. While they’re supposed to be solemn days of self-denial and sacrifice, Lenten Fridays have provided the opportunity for people to gather together for festive events that offer a delicious diversion from the dreariness of the late winter months. In many cities, local newspapers publish the times and places of all the fish fries in the area, and beginning at mid-afternoon, an ambitious (devout?)... Read more
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