“’I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God’for God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power, love and self-control.” II Timothy 1:6-7 (ESV) Many of us are returning to campus for the first time after two tumultuous years of worry due to Covid-19. Yet even apart from the pandemic, our academic environment can generate anxiety. Some may be anxious about working in a department where colleagues are hostile to the Christian faith. Others may be feeling the pressure of completing their dissertations … [Read more...] about Faithful Presence Without Fear
Life in the Academy
Faithful Presence: A Medical Student’s Perspective
What does faithful presence mean for Christians in the context of medical education? This question arises from the main theme of James Davison Hunter's book To Change the World. He articulates an approach to culture that reflects Christ's incarnation, an approach characterized by faithfulness in contrast to accommodation and witness to the culture in contrast to domination. How is this approach applied in different cultural and professional contexts? As a medical student who is early on in his path to becoming a … [Read more...] about Faithful Presence: A Medical Student’s Perspective
Faithful Presence: On Teaching…
Throughout my first year of grad school, I have seen first-hand the value of research and ideas. However, this may come at the cost of losing sight of people's inherent value and worth. People are often valued solely by their ability to create new research and new ideas. Looking back at myself, I find that I took part in favoritism toward high output individuals (see James 2 for some tough words on this). That's where teaching comes in. Teaching is an opportunity to treat all people as valuable regardless of their … [Read more...] about Faithful Presence: On Teaching…
Faithful Presence: The Justice of Story
Although Othello is accused of using witchcraft to woo Desdemona, it is actually a story that causes her to fall in love with him. At the invitation of Desdemona's father, Othello recounts his life “from year to year, the battles, sieges, fortunes” of his days: his enslavement among his enemies, his travels through foreign lands, his daring escapes. The story leaves Desdemona in tears. As Othello sums up: “She loved me for the dangers I had passed. / And I loved her that she did pity them. / This is the only witchcraft … [Read more...] about Faithful Presence: The Justice of Story
Faithful Presence and the Road to Emmaus
One of my favorite passages in the Bible is the familiar story of the road to Emmaus from Luke 24:13-33. The passage shows our resurrected Lord coming alongside the disciples who were on their way back to their home after the devastating events of the crucifixion that had just taken place near Jerusalem. Jesus patiently listens as they pour out their anguish and grief. He was visibly present, but there was something more. The disciples could not quite put their finger on it, but there was something authentic and … [Read more...] about Faithful Presence and the Road to Emmaus