Since much of Welcoming the Stranger, Chapter 1 is reflective, I will take some time to reflect and describe why I am hopeful about discussing this immigration publicly with fellow believers and others.Read more…
Welcoming the Stranger: My Impressions of the First Edition (Part 2 of Welcoming the Stranger Series)
Last week we introduced a new series by Royce Francis, an associate professor at George Washington University and an ESN author. Today Royce shares his thoughts on the IVP book Welcoming the Stranger, and gives a training update as he prepares to run the Baltimore Half Marathon for World Relief. Read more…
Welcoming the Stranger—My Half Marathon Journey In Solidarity With World Relief
The news around migration to the US over the past few months has been engrossing, and I felt I could no longer remain silent. My engagement with this issue this time around started last year at the InterVarsity Northeastern Regional Faculty Conference.Read more…
Winsome Persuasion. A Teaser
The uniqueness of Winsome Persuasion is that it helps readers prepare to engage by laying the theoretical foundation for understanding what constitutes a counterpublic (section 1), discovering the rhetorical and philosophical tools necessary for engagement (section 2), and wrestling with issues specific to Christian counterpublics (section 3).Read more…
The Christian Academic Vocation in “Restoring the Soul of the University”
A taste of the Christian academic vocation and the greenhouse community as described in “Restoring the Soul of the University.”Read more…
Introduction to “A Subversive Gospel” (IVP)
Introduction to “A Subversive Gospel: Flannery O’Connor and the Reimagining of Beauty, Goodness, and Truth” by Michael Mears Bruner (InterVarsity Press, 2017).Read more…
Next Steps for ESN — Scripture
Let us turn to Scripture each day as we take next steps in serving the Lord in higher education.Read more…
The Martian and Speed Mentoring: ESN at ASA 2017 Annual Meeting This Weekend
If you’re headed to the American Scientific Affiliation 2017 Annual Meeting, join ESN for the following events. Even if you’re not able to go, we would deeply appreciate your prayers. Hope to see many of you there!Read more…
Book Review: Christ Crucified: Understanding the Atonement, by Donald Macleod
A thoughtful, contemporary restatement of the classical doctrine of the atonement including different contended terms in reference to the atonement including substitution, expiation, propitiation, satisfaction, and victory.Read more…
Book Review: Paul’s New Perspective
Summary: Argues that both the traditional Protestant perspective and the New Perspective on Paul are each partly right, based on the idea that Paul’s ideas on salvation developed as he wrote over a period of time and addressed different circumstances.Read more…
Open-Handed Communication: The Rhetoric of Christian Persuasion
In Os Guiness’s recent apologetics book Fool’s Talk, what role does rhetoric play? Literary scholar David Parry draws on his knowledge of classical and Christian rhetorical traditions to unpack one strand of Guinness’s ideas about apologetics. Read more…
Book Review: Modern Art and the Life of a Culture
Summary: A response to the classic work Modern Art and the Death of a Culture by H. R. Rookmaaker, arguing that Rookmaaker was unnecessarily pessimistic in his assessment of modern art, overlooking the religious impulses that shaped much of modern art.Read more…
Book Review: Luminous by T. David Beck
Summary: Explores how purpose, presence, power and peace enable us to radiate the light of Christ in our everyday lives.Read more…
Book Review: Embracing the Body
Summary: An invitation to move beyond guilt and shame around our embodied selves to discover the goodness of our bodies and how God made us, meets us, and works through our bodied lives.Read more…
Imago Dei: Witness and Work (Part 5 of 5)
As someone who is involved in ministry vocationally, I have found that I have an interesting perspective on how many in the church understand the significance of work and its intersection with faith. I have encountered something of a double standard relating to the value of work for people who are in ministry positions and for believers involved in “secular professions.”Read more…
Imago Dei: Vision and Value (Part 4 of 5)
Whether we think of the image of God as being related to human beings’ unique rationality, their place as representatives of God’s reign, their potential for relationships, or their ability to make moral choices, the fact remains that the Christian faith claims each human life has great worth that cannot be dismissed and ought not to be forgotten.Read more…
Book Review: Prophetic Lament by Soong-Chan Rah
Summary: A commentary and exposition of the book of Lamentations that advocates for the restoration of the practice of lament as part of the worship of American churches, particularly majority culture evangelical churches.Read more…
Imago Dei: Culture and Creativity (Part 3 of 5)
The Christian church has left a profound impact on the world’s culture, at some times operating from a position of power, at others acting from the margins of society. Read more…
Imago Dei: Canon and Context (Part 2 of 5)
What does it mean to be made in God’s image? Read more…
Imago Dei: An Introduction (New Series)
This is to be the first in a series of five blog posts on the subject of the imago Dei, focusing particularly around a book called The Image of God in an Image Driven Age: Explorations in Theological Anthropology, edited by Beth Felker Jones and Jeffrey W. Barbeau (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2016).Read more…
Book Review: Silence and Beauty, by Makoto Fujimura
A “layered” reflection on Shusako Endo’s Silence by a Japanese-American artist that explores the Christian experience of persecution in Japan, and the connections between silence, suffering, and beauty, that may draw contemporary Japanese to faith.Read more…
An Introduction to Naming
David [Dark] exposes that we assume names or labels can ‘take care’ of others. Names or labels can ‘solve’ mysteries, neutralize critics, and of course get us somewhere we want to go faster, hence the shortcut.Read more…
Book Review: With the Clouds of Heaven by James M. Hamilton
A true study of the biblical theology of Daniel, including its structure, key themes, how the book influences both early Jewish literature and the New Testament, and how it connects to key themes throughout scripture.Read more…
Book Review: Fool’s Talk, by Os Guinness
Summary: Guinness argues for the recovery of the lost art of persuasion that combines good apologetic work with evangelism and is aware of the many people Christians address who are not open to their message.Read more…