This is about how we write religious history, and also about a dimension of that history that we need to think through. When we study the history of religions, we usually focus on significant moments of change – great revivals, conflicts, persecutions, awakenings, and reformations. In my next few columns, I am going to suggest why such events need to be placed firmly in a wider context, and seen in a comparative dimension. Often, when we look at (say) a... Read more
“My heart is in Cairo,” declared Malik El-Shabazz (more commonly known as Malcolm X, formerly Malcolm Little) in July 1964. “And I believe the more progressive relations [and] forces in the Muslim world are in Cairo.” If one teaches American religious history, it does not take long to recognize that undergraduate students love to discuss Malcolm X and do so with strong opinions. They are, however, very unlikely to have encountered any material on Malcolm X beyond his Autobiography or... Read more
I’m pleased to present a guest post from Fletcher Warren, a recent graduate of Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Read this fine essay, but more importantly, check out the impressive digital history project, created by Warren and Chris Gehrz on which it is based. –David *** Bethel at War is a locally-rooted history of a single institution. Written by a current professor and an alumnus, the project is an extended analysis of how the lives of people associated with... Read more
There are so many discussions swirling around evangelicals’ best choice for president that it makes your head spin. To make sense of it all, I offer five qualities of the perfect religious president. –The perfect religious president should have an active faith that is detached (or as detached as it ever can be) from their role as a candidate and politician. In other words, don’t fall for someone who feigns newfound religiosity in time for the primaries. Jimmy Carter (not... Read more
The season has arrived when many graduating high-school seniors and their parents begin to make decisions about college for next fall. Certainly, many considerations go into a decision of this magnitude, and no simple formula applies to all. Even so, as someone in the academic world, permit me suggest ten questions that thoughtful Christian (or religiously-inclined) families might ponder as they prepare for this step. Herewith: -Does the college have a track-record of providing mentoring relationships with students and follow-up... Read more
This post concerns a wonderful and too-little known resource for Christian history. If you are a specialist in these specific areas, you will be baffled that anyone could make such an obvious point As such specialists are quite rare, I hope that others might find the information of use. In the first millennium (and more) of Christianity, many of the most important trends and developments in church life happened in the Near East, and indeed regions still further east, in... Read more
On Tuesday, Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. endorsed Donald Trump. A NBC news poll released that same day found that Trump was the preferred choice of a plurality of evangelical voters nationwide. At first glance, Trump should be doing poorly among evangelical voters. He has no obvious track record of churchgoing, piety, or evangelical beliefs. He has no track record of supporting causes near and dear to many evangelicals, such as the sanctity of life, opposition to same-sex marriage,... Read more
In 1891, the British whaling ship Star of the East was slammed by the tale of a harpooned sperm whale somewhere near the Falkland Islands. Two of the sailors, including a man named James Bartley, fell over board. The whale soon died from the harpoons and the sailors, unable to find their capsized crewmates, began harvesting the enormous carcass. This was a long, messy process. It wasn’t until the next day that the whalers dragged the stomach onto the deck.... Read more
A reader and friend asked me recently about a key issue in the writing process: I feel like I need to read everything, then write, and even then, I’m unsure of when to have outlined and when to have allowed my new research to impact whatever working outline I may have going. I would love to know what your preparation and execution looks like on a longer project such as a book or journal article. Writers often get paralyzed by... Read more
I have been posting about Islamic apocalyptic mythologies that borrowed heavily from Christian precedents. That religious overlap is a lengthy and complex story. When Islam emerged in the seventh century, it did so in an Arabian world with a strong presence of both Christianity and Judaism. The politics of the region have made it difficult to explore those earlier faiths, but fortunately, we can see enough traces of those older realities to realize just how significant they once were. My... Read more
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