Nicholas Wolterstorff, Noah Porter Professor of Philosophical Theology Emeritus at Yale University, has been one of the leading voices in Christian philosophy for decades. In October 2009, he spoke at the Veritas Forum at the University of Tennessee, presenting a talk entitled "The Role of God in Social Justice" and in conversation with David Reidy on the question "Good Without God? The Problem of Justice and Human Rights". While he was there, Dr. Wolterstorff spoke to Christian graduate students, and he has graciously … [Read more...] about Nicholas Wolterstorff: Advice to Those Who Would Be Christian Scholars
Evangelicalism
Bielo: Bible Study Shapes Identity and Action
In this final post on James Bielo's Words Upon the Word: An Ethnography of Evangelical Bible Study, I'm writing about both his final chapter —"Negotiating Self and Others" —and his conclusion. Both are relatively short, and in some ways, they work well together. Negotiating Self and Others In this chapter, Bielo uses as his case study a women's Bible study at the same Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) church as the men's group from an earlier chapter. Specifically, Bielo focuses on how the women in this Bible … [Read more...] about Bielo: Bible Study Shapes Identity and Action
Bielo: Bible Study as “Backstage” for Witnessing
This week, the chapter I'm covering from James S. Bielo's Words Upon the Word: An Ethonography of Evangelical Bible Study is all about “witnessing.” More on what that means in a moment. First, however, I'd like to mention an unexpected cameo. In this chapter, Bielo focuses on a United Methodist Bible study led by Bill, a 51-year-old pastor with a degree from Asbury Theological Seminary. The group, made up of older men, has been reading Acts together. They used the Life Guide series published by InterVarsity Press to … [Read more...] about Bielo: Bible Study as “Backstage” for Witnessing
Bielo: Intimacy in Evangelical Bible Studies
Why do evangelical Christians join – and remain in – Bible studies? That's how I would characterize the basic themes of this and next weeks' chapters of James S. Bielo's Words Upon the Word: An Ethnography of Evangelical Group Bible Study, which I have been blogging through as part of my research project on academic perspectives on evangelicals. In chapter 3, “Cultivating Intimacy,” Bielo observes the close relationship between evangelicals' view of God and their desire for relationships with fellow Christians. Next … [Read more...] about Bielo: Intimacy in Evangelical Bible Studies
Bielo: How Do Evangelicals Read the Bible?
This summer, I'm reading —and blogging about —several books that reflect academic understandings of American evangelicals. The first of these is James S. Bielo's Words Upon the Word: An Ethnography of Evangelical Group Bible Study. Previously, I wrote about Bielo's discussion of Bible study as a social institution and how he decided to answer questions of identity about being a Christian and an academic.This week, I'm going to look at the actual act of reading the Bible in a small group Bible study. At the beginning … [Read more...] about Bielo: How Do Evangelicals Read the Bible?