Not the Book I Expected: A Review of We Confess! for SpeakEasy Bloggers
We Confess!: The Civil War, the South, and the Church by Deborah Brunt WestBow Press. 266 pp. I’ve now lived in the South longer than I lived in the Midwest,…
Telos and Teaching: A Review of What the Best College Teachers Do by Ken Bain
What the Best College Teachers Do by Ken Bain Harvard University Press. 190 pp. Among Alasdair MacIntyre’s more famous claims is that every ethics presumes a sociology. Philosophies of human…
What Do You See?: A Reflection on the Lectionary Readings for 13 April 2014
Revised Common Lectionary Page for 13 April 2014 (Palm Sunday, Year A) Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 • Matthew 21:1-11 When they were merely a story, a rumor of a movement up north, I…
Deconstruction on the Way to the Kingdom: A Review of The Gospel and the Mind
The Gospel and the Mind: Recovering and Shaping the Intellectual Life by Bradley G. Green Crossway. 181 pp. 16.99 Sometimes folks who have recently learned about the synoptic gospels’ emphasis…
Out of the Graves: A Reflection on the Lectionary Readings for 6 April 2014
Revised Common Lectionary Page for 6 April 2014 (Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year A) Ezekiel 37:1-14 • Psalm 130 • Romans 8:6-11 • John 11:1-45 Ezekiel 37 is a text that I could preach more different…
Freshman Composition, Service Learning, and Required Chapel
Some time ago (too long, really), our friend Todd Pedlar sent along a link to an interesting article about recent trends in Freshman Composition, “Look What Freshman Composition Has Become.” …
Sin-Questions: A Reflection on the Lectionary Readings for 9 March 2014
Revised Common Lectionary Page for 9 March 2014 (First Sunday of Lent, Year A) Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 • Psalm 32 • Romans 5:12-19 • Matthew 4:1-11 In N.T. Wright’s The New Testament and…
Heroes, Villains, and [Meta-]Narratives
Have I mentioned lately that I really enjoy my job? As James K.A. Smith has recently noted on Twitter, his job (mine is very similar) is such that he receives…
Memory, Theory, English Departments, and Christian Education
Professing Literature: An Institutional History by Gerald Graff Theologia: The Fragmentation and Unity of Theological Education by Edward Farley I’m not sure how other folks entered into self-awareness of their…
Metamorphosis: A Reflection on the Lectionary Readings for 2 March 2014
Revised Common Lectionary Page for 2 March 2014 (Transfiguration Sunday, Year A) Exodus 24:12-18 • Psalm 2 or Psalm 99 • 2 Peter 1:16-21 • Matthew 17:1-9 Obviously we should celebrate the Resurrection every year with a Sunday…
House of Cards: A Tragedy for Our Moment
Opining about House of Cards is a cottage industry of sorts these days, so I must endeavor here to say something you good folks couldn’t read elsewhere. So I advance this hunch:…
Temple of God: A Reflection on the Lectionary Readings for 23 February 2014
Revised Common Lectionary Page for 23 February 2014 (7th Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A) Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 • Psalm 119:33-40 • 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23 • Matthew 5:38-48 This will be another Sunday where I…
That You May Dwell: A Reflection on the Lectionary Readings for 16 February 2014
Revised Common Lectionary Page for 16 February 2014 (Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A) Deuteronomy 30:15-20 or Sirach 15:15-20 • Psalm 119:1-8 • 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 • Matthew 5:21-37 I enjoy preaching the Old Testament. I’ve certainly…
Revisiting the Postmodern: Some Thoughts on Lyotard’s The Postmodern Condition
Jean-Francois Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge I honestly don’t know how often I had heard the term “postmodern” before 1996, but it was on a visit back…
“Everything Is Propaganda”?: Some Ongoing Conversation
If you don’t listen to the Theology Nerd Throwdown from Homebrewed Christianity, you’re missing out on a fun podcast. The main Homebrewed Christianity podcast, an interview program, remains the flagship…