Roger Williams and The Creation of the American Soul, John M. Barry. New York, NY: Viking, 2012. [Publisher link is to paperback edition] Summary: A study of the life of Roger Williams focusing on the intellectual influences upon Williams, his journey to Massachusetts, banishment and founding of Rhode Island, and his signal ideas of freedom of conscience and government by consent of the governed. … [Read more...] about Book Review: Roger Williams and The Creation of the American Soul
church and state
After the Election Part 2: Diversity and Unity this Thanksgiving Holiday
The election is over. Now what? In this series, I will use Romans 12 to frame reflections of this presidential campaign and hopefully encourage us to live faithfully as we return to the “ordinary time” of the American political calendar. See Part 1 here. Editor's note: For previous statistical analysis and nonpartisan political reflection from Josh's expertise, see this link. … [Read more...] about After the Election Part 2: Diversity and Unity this Thanksgiving Holiday
Why Might Christians Be Involved in Nonviolent or Violent Protests? Lessons from Ukraine’s Euromaidan Protests at Urbana
How can Christians decide when to be involved in conflict, and how can they know when to stop? In the past two years, Christians in Ukraine have faced all of these. How have they responded? From Dec 27 - Jan 1, volunteers with our network of early career Christian academics are liveblogging seminars at the Urbana conference, a mission-focused student gathering of 16,000 Christians from across North America and the world. This post was written by Nathan Matias and Galina Pylypiv … [Read more...] about Why Might Christians Be Involved in Nonviolent or Violent Protests? Lessons from Ukraine’s Euromaidan Protests at Urbana
Book Review: The Good of Politics
In our current toxic political climate one might ask the question, “can anything good come of politics?” James W. Skillen would answer that affirmatively. In The Good of Politics (Baker, 2014), Skillen's main contention is that to be created in the image of God means, among other things, that we are political creatures and that political life, along with things like work and family, is part of God's creation intention for us. It is not a consequence of the fall. Like other aspects of the human condition, political … [Read more...] about Book Review: The Good of Politics
Outrageous Idea 2: Arguments for Silence
In chapter 2 of The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship, George Marsden examines three "arguments for silence" common in the university for why Christians should keep their faith out of their academic work: The argument of "science vs. religion" The argument of multiculturalism and diversity The separation of church and state In case, Marsden summarizes the basic argument, then provides counter-arguments in favor of Christian scholars being open about their faith. I'll summarize chapter 2 below, but … [Read more...] about Outrageous Idea 2: Arguments for Silence