This post concerns an academic issue that might seem, well, academic, but it does get to much larger issues about the nature of teaching and conveying knowledge. Briefly there are lots of possible ways of examining and assessing people’s knowledge of a topic, and there is much to be said for making those questions as wide-ranging and, sometimes, as bizarre as possible. Through the years, I have been heavily involved in US graduate education, and have often set Comprehensive exams... Read more
This essay was originally published at Current. This month at the Anxious Bench, a number of columnists are participating in a joint collaboration with the AACC (Asian American Christian Collaborative) to draw attention to the mournful history of gun violence in the United States. This post is part of this effort. It is simple, they say. You pick up a kit and fingerprint your child in the comfort of your own home. Roll each little finger carefully on the card—with... Read more
During the month of April at the Anxious Bench, a number of our columnists are participating in a joint collaboration with the AACC (Asian American Christian Collaborative) to draw attention to the history of gun violence in the United States. Since the shootings in Buffalo, Laguna Woods, and Uvalde, the AACC has been a crucial Christian organization that is actively pursuing advocacy and policy efforts to address gun violence in the United States, and the Anxious Bench is proud to partner with... Read more
[This essay draws from a recent speaking engagement in Kathmandu, Nepal] “Islam” isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Kathmandu. Seated in a predominantly Hindu and Buddhist country, the fabled city is ablaze with gods and piety, just not those of the Muslim or even Abrahamic sort. And yet late July of last year I found myself in Nagorkot, a village outside Kathmandu in the Himalayan foothills, to participate in a multi-day conference on “The... Read more
This week my husband and I watched the last episode of Derry Girls. I had watched most of the series when it first came out, but somehow, I had missed this fictionalization of one Northern Ireland family’s participation in the ratification of the Good Friday Agreement. Because it is also serendipitously 25 years this week since the Agreement was signed, I began to think about the way in which the Good Friday Agreement reflected the general mood of the 1990s.... Read more
Over the next few Sundays, churchgoers are going to hear a lot about the journey to Emmaus, one of the most moving and evocative stories in the gospels. But dare I say that it is often preached with a basic misunderstanding? I am absolutely not the first person to point this out, but the myth I am describing is very resilient. The story, from Luke 24.13-35, is well known. Two disciples are walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Jesus approaches and... Read more
At a conference a few weeks ago, in a keynote on medieval cosmologies, the keynote speaker referenced a letter from Bernard of Clairvaux. This letter from the well-known medieval theologian and monk was written to the bishop of a wayward canon, Philip. Philip had been sent by Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. However, he never made it (to the Jerusalem his bishop sent him to, at least!) Bernard’s letter explained why: “Your Philip, wishing to go... Read more
During the month of April at the Anxious Bench, a number of our columnists are participating in a joint collaboration with the AACC (Asian American Christian Collaborative) to draw attention to the history of gun violence in the United States. Since the shootings in Buffalo, Laguna Woods, and Uvalde, the AACC has been a crucial Christian organization that is actively pursuing advocacy and policy efforts to address gun violence in the United States, and the Anxious Bench is proud to partner with... Read more
Deerfield was attacked on February 29, 1704 during Queen Anne’s War. Four dozen French soldiers and seven score Mohawk Indians assailed the town. Over 140 Deerfield inhabitants were taken captive and put upon a forced march to Fort Chambly in Canada. One cause for the attack included an attempt to take captive into the wilderness the minister of Deerfield, John Williams, who might be exchanged for coveted captives the French wished released from the English during Queen Anne’s War. A... Read more
It’s fair to say that most Christians are respectfully aware of the Talmud as something that exists somewhere out there, and they know that it has a sacred quality for Jews, but is not something that they themselves are likely to approach – nor do they have any great idea what it might contain. The same is true of the larger body of rabbinic writing and scholarship – the Mishnah, Midrashic interpretations, legal Halakhah, mystical Qabala, This post is not... Read more
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