Billy Graham was a Christian college student, president, trustee, and benefactor. What's his legacy for Christian higher ed, and evangelical intellectual life more generally? Read more
Billy Graham was a Christian college student, president, trustee, and benefactor. What's his legacy for Christian higher ed, and evangelical intellectual life more generally? Read more
The recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida reminds us once again about the dispiriting frequency of these tragedies. So many have happened that it is often hard to remember them individually. With this in mind, I re-post a reflection I wrote after the December, 14, 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut that killed 20 children and six adults. I wrote it in January 2013 near the Feast of Holy Innocents. Herewith: The senseless tragedy in Newtown,... Read more
So much has been written over the past few days about Billy Graham, who really does fit the description of a world-historical figure. I want here to address one sidelight on his work that I came across in research I did some years back on the Cold War era in the US. Although it certainly does not diminish his achievement, I want to stress how absolutely his ministry in the 1950s was rooted in the apocalyptic mindset of the peak... Read more
I remember the day a couple years back when my Facebook feed was suddenly overtaken with grief. Kate Bowler, the preeminent historian of the prosperity gospel, but more importantly beloved friend to so many in my circle of religious historians, had been diagnosed with stage IV cancer. As she broke the news to all her “dears,” with characteristic grace and wit, the sorrow was palpable. At that time I hadn’t yet met Kate, but for at least a couple of... Read more
I got back from lunch just now and found about four times the normal number of links on my Feedly reader. Which is what happens when you’re interested in evangelicalism and Billy Graham dies, at the age of 99. So, knowing that there’s no shortage of commentary on this particular passing — and that at least one or two of us will write more in the days to come — let me share just a few of the many Anxious Bench posts... Read more
On August 4, 2009, John Piper, chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary, former pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, and the well-known author of more than 50 books including his co-authored Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, answered this question on his podcast Desiring God: “Why don’t women ever read or pray in Bethlehem’s church services?” John Piper’s answer was very short. Reading scripture and offering congregational prayers is part of pastoral responsibility. Because the female sex, according to Piper, is disqualified... Read more
While they inherited the Reformers' concern about mandatory fasting and other disciplines, evangelical interest in the benefits of Lent goes back several decades. Read more
I have been writing about the early Christian church around 200 AD, and how surprisingly “Catholic” it already looked in terms of its attitudes towards clergy and priesthood. Even the idea of clerical celibacy appears in rudimentary form, considerably earlier than we might commonly think. Whatever he intended, already by 200 the great Church father Tertullian was offering manifestos for a celibate priesthood. In recent historical writing, we often hear that the celibacy requirement emerged only in the Middle Ages,... Read more
I have posted several times on issues of translation, specifically about the New Testament. Today I want to address the Curse of Quotations. Recently, my church read 1 Corinthians 8, which in the NIV begins with the verse Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up (8.1) Please note the quotes around “We all possess knowledge.” The chapter then included several other phrases likewise in quotes. We... Read more
Nicholas Pruitt teaches in the Department of History at Eastern Nazarene College. He’s also a newly minted Ph.D. from Baylor University. Last month, I heard Nick give a talk at the American Society of Church History. At the time, I was feeling rather depressed about the fact that throughout the course of American history, native-born Protestants frequently have embraced anti-immigrant positions. Nick’s talk raised my spirits, because he discussed the fact that many mainline Protestants in the first half of... Read more
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