Once again "Thank-you!" to Bob Trube, Senior Area Director for InterVarsity's Graduate & Faculty Ministry in the Ohio Valley, for his contribution to the Emerging Scholars Network (ESN) Blog! Consider these thoughts on Christian Smith's The Bible Made Impossible: Why Biblicism Is Not a Truly Evangelical Reading of Scripture to some degree an extension of ESN's interaction with work of Peter Enns, including an earlier review of two of Enns' books by Bob. Before getting to Bob's review, let me point out that I … [Read more...] about Book Review: The Bible Made Impossible (Christian Smith)
Pluralism
A Dialogical Campus Ministry
"I'm still waiting to read a scientific paper that gives a biological explanation of the emergence of biological science among us human beings, also a naturalist account of what motivates people to become evolutionary psychologists and why others are impressed by their explanations." -- A taste of the pointed wit which draws one into Part 3 of Vinoth Ramachandra's Engaging the University (22:04). As you my remember from Part 2, the recording cut off as he began a "defense of the human." Ramachandra focuses on … [Read more...] about A Dialogical Campus Ministry
Does worldview theory lead to relativism?
James W. Sire addresses another excellent question from Micheal Hickerson, ESN Blog Contributor: Is there a danger that acknowledging different worldviews will lead to the position that "all truth is relative"? Yes and No. Yes. If in fact there are different worldviews (and indeed there are), then one way to avoid frustration in dialog between those holding divergent worldviews is to give up the notion that any worldview is more likely to be true than any other worldview. This situation has been realized in our … [Read more...] about Does worldview theory lead to relativism?
Religion, Education, and the Meaning of Life
Over the last couple of weeks, I've been sharing my reflections on Anthony Kronman's 2007 book Education's End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Life. While I believe that his core argument is insightful, it's marred by a few blind spots. Originally, I was going to address Kronman's treatement of religion as one of his blind spots, but I've decided that his handling of religion is so problematic —and so harmful to his case —that it deserves its own post. Here's a brief summary of … [Read more...] about Religion, Education, and the Meaning of Life
How can Christian scholars avoid privatizing their faith?
Last week, I wrote about George Marsden's address to InterVarsity Graduate and Faculty Ministries staff, "The Soul of the American University Revisited." Dr. Marsden suggested that worldview naturalism —also called ideological or metaphysical naturalism —was losing its hold on the academy. In contrast, methodological naturalism remained strong and, indeed, was an appropriate stance for Christians in academia. It's this form of naturalism that I want to focus on today. Here's how J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig … [Read more...] about How can Christian scholars avoid privatizing their faith?