John Fea, in what has become a must-read age-of-Trump blog about American religion, quotes from C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters in a recent post: Let him begin by treating the Patriotism or the Pacifism as a part of his religion. Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part. Then quietly and gradually nurse him on to the stage at which the religion becomes merely part of the “cause”, in which Christianity... Read more
Franklin Graham, Eric Metaxas, and other court evangelicals remind us of the apocalyptic side of Billy Graham. Read more
What does the past smell like? Chris shares a couple of historically evocative aromas from his research and teaching experiences. Read more
I am currently preparing an edited book manuscript for publication with the working title of The Idea of Tradition in the Late Modern World: An Ecumenical and Interreligious Conversation. It was based on a conference that I helped host at Valparaiso University to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Christ College, the University’s humanities-based honors college. Conference speakers (and book contributors) include David Bentley Hart (Eastern Orhodox), James L. Heft (Roman Catholic), Ebrahim Moosa (Muslim), David Novak (Jewish), and Sarah Hinlicky... Read more
You may not spend time worrying about the state of golf and the shrinking membership of your local country club, but you should, if you care anything about the fate of your churches or religious congregations. I’ll explain that cryptic remark. Kelsey Lawrence has a thoughtful piece on CityLab on the question of Why Won’t Millennials Join Country Clubs? (CityLab is by the way a regular source for good writing). Among other things, she remarks on the really steep decline... Read more
In Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians trilogy, a wealthy family in Singapore considers a real estate deal that is so financially lucrative, it almost seems divinely ordained. A developer is offering to purchase the family’s property for $3.3 billion in order to build “Zion Estates,” described as “A LUXURY CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY.” A brochure offers details about the vision for the project: Imagine an exclusive gated community for high-net-worth families who share in the blessings of the Holy Spirit. Ninety-nine splendid... Read more
I am afraid of heights. I first realized it when I was 16. I had hiked with my sister and father to the top of Lone Mountain near Big Sky, Montana. It was a 9 mile hike from the base, and the last 2.8 miles climb over 2000 feet to its full elevation of 11, 166 feet. I wasn’t too far from the spectacular summit when the narrow ridge suddenly dropped off steeply on both sides. I remember kicking a... Read more
What Chris learned about student learning from his six-year old daughter... Read more
Many years ago, somewhere in the early Jurassic era, I taught in a criminal justice department. This was a very valuable experience, in giving me the opportunity to learn skills and insights that can very usefully be applied to understanding history, and especially in its religious forms. Some of these approaches have been on my mind recently as I look at debates over immigration and nativism, particularly in Europe. Issues of drugs and drug policy have long been of prime... Read more
Not long ago, I commented on what a poor job Hollywood normally does of treating religion, or comprehending regular religious practice – especially Christianity. This post concerns the dilemma of just how acute those difficulties need to be before the film or TV program becomes completely unacceptable. How wrong do they have to get it? Imagine you are watching a hypothetical film with a Jewish theme, which is beautifully filmed and superbly acted. Let’s imagine that it concerns a young... Read more
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