How would I have thought about my fellow humans had I lived 50, 100, 150 years ago? That question has been nagging me for a while now. As a biologist, my current thoughts on topics like race are influenced by my understanding of the science. I am also aware that various scientists have come to a range of conclusions on those questions over the years. With hindsight, we can see how some of those conclusions were based on flawed studies, biased reasoning, or incomplete or nonexistent data. But would I have been able to identify those issues at the time?
[Read more…] about Science Book Club: When Science & Christianity Meet Ch 7
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How I found Mentors
Kateri Collins has been sharing her experiences preparing for graduate school with ESN this year. Now that she has started her program, she explores her stories of finding mentoring and offers tips. Check out Kateri’s other pieces: the story of her graduate school search and a reflection on inhabiting transitional time well. Image: Painting by Kateri Collins.Â
Book Review: God and Race in American Politics, by Mark A. Noll
God and Race in American Politics: A Short History, Mark A. Noll. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008.
Summary: This text explores the interwoven story of religion, race, and politics in American history, with a concluding theological reflection. [Read more…] about Book Review: God and Race in American Politics, by Mark A. Noll
Make Reconciliation, Not Just Peace: Lessons from Burundi at Urbana
How can Christians seek racial reconciliation in cultures with deep historical and political antagonisms?
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 written by Rebecca Carlson and Nathan Matias
Speaking at Urbana today is Emmanuel Bagumako, general secretary of the Union des Groupes Bibliques du Burundi (UGBB), the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) movement in Burundi. He has also done missions work in the US and several African countries. In a context of a growing crisis in Burundi that the UN high commissioner says is heading towards civil war, Emmanuel shares how he maintains hope. [Read more…] about Make Reconciliation, Not Just Peace: Lessons from Burundi at Urbana
The Best Christian Book of All Time: One Year Later
About a year ago, we announced our call for nominations for the Best Christian Book of All Time, and you — our readers — responded with great enthusiasm. From a nomination pool of over 140 worthies, we first narrowed the bracket to 64 contenders, voted out lesser lights (such as Luther, Calvin, Chesterton, Aquinas — I hope they make something of themselves some day!), and crowned our winner: Augustine’s Confessions, the Best Christian Book of All Time.[1] You may have heard of the runner-up, a short tract by C.S. Lewis called Mere Christianity.
Tom asked me to return to the blog to share my reflections about the tournament. As I read through the bracket and reflected on the process, here are a few things that occurred to me.
Authors Included, Authors Excluded
The bracket was dominated by white European and North American men. This largely reflects the Christian church over its first 1,900 years, as well as (I wager) the reading habits of ESN members. For most of the church’s history, the education and theological opportunities for women were limited, and until 1900 or so, Christianity was centered in Europe and North America. The situation has changed dramatically over the last hundred years, however, as Christianity has exploded in South America, Africa, and Asia. Simply witness the phenomenon that is the Argentine Pope Francis for the most visible sign of this change.[2]
Looking through the bracket from last year, I was also struck by the small number of women writers represented, and they mostly in literature and devotionals. Seven of the eight women in the bracket were in those two brackets. Only Dorothy Sayers appeared in Christian Life & Discipleship, and not a single woman appeared in Theology and Apologetics.The increasing presence of women in leadership of the church, as well as the globalization of Christianity, leads to my next reflection.
How many of these books will still be read a century from now? If we re-ran the bracket this year, I bet it would largely come out the same. But a century ago, a far different group of contenders would have faced off. If we had blogged about this in 1913, I bet that Charles Sheldon’s In His Steps, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and Lew Wallace’s Ben Hur would have put in a strong showing in the literature bracket. Among devotional and theological writers, Charles Spurgeon and D.L. Moody would probably have been nominated. Augustine has been influencing generations of Christians for 1,500 years, so I don’t foresee him being neglected. In the Best Christian Book tournament of 2113, though, will C.S. Lewis still be as popular, or will he be seen as a uniquely 20th (and 21st) century voice? [Read more…] about The Best Christian Book of All Time: One Year Later