That evangelicals are pro-family is one of the ironies of American religious history Read more
That evangelicals are pro-family is one of the ironies of American religious history Read more
Chris reviews a popular children's collection of biographies that largely neglects the role of religion in both restricting and inspiring girls and women. Read more
Why do we need someone else to tell us who we are? And if we do, why would we choose a “lucrative global corporation” to tell us? What extrovert doesn’t know she is one? What introvert doesn’t know he is one, even before the label is heard? Merve Emre’s new book about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) refreshes persistent doubts about the test’s scientific validity. Emre calls the test a “flagship product of a lucrative global corporation, one whose interests... Read more
Some years ago, I wrote a book titled Jesus Wars, about the Christological controversies of the fifth century, focusing on the famous Councils of Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451). My recent travels in Italy have involved many encounters with that world of the fifth century, which is so critical for making later Christian life and thought, and especially art and culture. My next couple of blogposts describe these travels through the fifth century, which have stirred so many thoughts about... Read more
Is evangelicalism a political movement? There’s been a lot of talk about how to define evangelicalism of late, much of it centering around this quesion. I’ve been guilty of contributing more than my share to this seemingly endless (and to me, endlessly fascinating) conversation. (In recent months, I’ve considered evangelicalism’s problem of whiteness, examined the changing linguistic meaning of the term, and posed the idea of thinking of evangelicalism as an imagined religious community.) Today I want to consider “Hobby... Read more
It is difficult to achieve a full-time faculty appointment in History. A 2017 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education ran with the straightforward title: History Jobs Flat: Teaching jobs for historians are down, but data suggest their opportunities outside the professoriate are on the rise. 1145 history doctorates were awarded in 2015-2016 for the 571 full-time job positions sent to the American Historical Association. Sobering. Of course, the article reminds, while chances of getting a university job are poor,... Read more
Since the dawn of aviation, certain pilots have turned to poetry to express the inexpressible aspects of flight. Chris introduces us to two: both the children of pastors, and one a pastor himself. Read more
Through authors like C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, fantasy literature has not only reached a mass audience, but it is widely recognized as a vehicle for addressing critical issues of culture, and of religious debate. But besides those celebrities, plenty of other authors deserve our attention. One long standing favorite of mine is the Scottish author Neil M. Gunn (1891-1973), who is all but unknown in the US although, as we might say, he was world famous... Read more
Over the weekend, Twitter has hosted a debate about the resurrection — a belief that many evangelicals affirm... and then deny by the way they live. Read more
In my teenage years, I used to loathe “Back to School” signs in stores. I know it’s going to happen, like I know we all have to die someday, but do you have to remind us? Anyway, by late August, that fact has become an undeniable reality (back to school, I mean, not death) and we have to cope by turning our minds back to the process of education. In this instance, I am offering something that I believe to... Read more
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