How should Christians approach conversations about faith with atheists? At the Urbana Student Missions Conference, Rick Mattson examined common atheist arguments and argued for a holistic Christian response that includes intellect, care-giving, and friendship. 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 co-written … [Read more...] about Loving our Atheist Neighbors with Truth and Love: Rick Mattson at Urbana
Love
The Fruit of the Spirit in Academia, Part 1 (Scholar’s Compass)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. - Galatians 5:22-23 Reflection The academic world can be cut-throat, competitive, and harrowing. The constant pressure to publish, to win grants and to achieve tenure are just a few of the tensions that weigh on academics every day. What does it look like to manifest the fruit of the Spirit in such an environment? Is it even possible? It must be acknowledged … [Read more...] about The Fruit of the Spirit in Academia, Part 1 (Scholar’s Compass)
Vocatio Christ: The Contours of Our Callings Part 2 (Scholar’s Compass)
Quotation Excerpts from Learning in Wartime, by C. S. Lewis, woven throughout post. Reflection In my last post I argued that so long as Christians' talk about “finding one's calling” is held captive by the modern American idea that self-realization only happens by way of unfettered, individual self-expression, our talk of vocation will be far-removed from Christ's call to live lives of self-sacrificial love. This way of thinking about vocation is inherently self-absorbed and will, more often than not, be blind to our … [Read more...] about Vocatio Christ: The Contours of Our Callings Part 2 (Scholar’s Compass)
Teaching with loving authority, Part 2 (Scholar’s Compass)
And they went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the unclean spirit, convulsing him … [Read more...] about Teaching with loving authority, Part 2 (Scholar’s Compass)
Risky Love
Loving anyone is a risky thing. In fact, we could argue that “love is never seized apart from courage.” When we make ourselves vulnerable, we could get hurt. Lewis knew about the pain of loving. He lost his mother when he was about nine years old. He lost a close friend that he fought with in World War I—Paddy Moore. He lost his father and last but by no means least, his beloved wife, Joy, to cancer. Lewis nevertheless says about love: To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly … [Read more...] about Risky Love