Part Two – Being a Graduate Student When I entered grad school, I entered with a sense of purpose that was in my mind akin to the idea that the Puritans had of vocation or calling. Attending a Catholic university, I realize that many use the word vocation in strictly religious ways, but the Puritans viewed all of life as religious, and so all of life should be understood as vocation. I had been involved in the vocation of teaching, but not at the place where I felt I was fulfilling my true calling. I was going to … [Read more...] about Returning to Graduate School – Thoughts by Michael Stell (2)
mark noll
Time to discuss faith, psychology and neuroscience?
Preface Robert Boyle, illustrious scientist and Fellow of the Royal Society, described how, while in Geneva on a continental holiday, he underwent a conversion from nominal, unthinking Christianity to committed Christianity. As a result of his experiences, he stressed the need for Christians to have what he called an "examined faith." [1] John Stott, discussing Paul's letter to the Christians in Philippi, drew attention to the importance for all Christians to heed the apostle's exhortation to "contend for the faith … [Read more...] about Time to discuss faith, psychology and neuroscience?
What Books Should We Suggest at Urbana 12?
In only 15 days, ESN will be joining 18,000 of our closest friends at Urbana 12, InterVarsity's triennial missions conference. As in years past, we'll have an exhibitor table, and I'll be hosting a seminar on "Serving Christ as a Professor." One of my favorite things about conferences is learning about new books —or, even better, old books that I somehow hadn't known about. Most of the attendees at Urbana are undergraduates, so the conference is a great opportunity to send them away with a fresh reading list for … [Read more...] about What Books Should We Suggest at Urbana 12?
Highlights from this month’s Lamp Post
The Faculty Ministry Lamp Post —our sister ministry's monthly email chronicle —was published earlier today, and I'd like to draw your attention to a few highlights that might interest you. David Thomas, history professor at Union University, reviews the recent collection Teaching and Christian Practices, edited by James K. A. Smith and David I. Smith. I am looking forward to reading David's review, since I reviewed the book earlier this month for Comment, and I look forward to seeing what an honest-to-goodness … [Read more...] about Highlights from this month’s Lamp Post
Evangelical Scholarship and the Pursuit of Excellence
A Review of Andreas Köstenberger's Excellence When posted, guest contributor and ESN member David Leonard had recently completed a Ph.D. in philosophy and was teaching a wide range of courses at several universities in the Twin Cities. His project at the time involved developing a taxonomy of the intellectual virtues to be used in college-level philosophy courses. David's scholarship on virtue gave him particular insight to review the book under consideration, Excellence: The Character of God and the … [Read more...] about Evangelical Scholarship and the Pursuit of Excellence