When Matt Lunsford decided to write on what it means to be a Christian in Mathematics, he modeled his extended essay, A Christian Mathematician's Apology, after an earlier essay, A Mathematician's Apology, by G. H. Hardy. The first described finding his vocation, the second on the integrated life, and the third on redeeming the discipline. In this final part of his essay, he addresses what it means to "think Christianly" about both his scholarship and his pedagogy. We appreciate Matt sharing this essay with us. Let … [Read more...] about A Christian Mathematician’s Apology: Thinking Christianly
scholarship
Scholarship of the Bible and the Church
Recently, I read Peter Enns' book The Evolution of Adam. I found it to be a rather interesting read, and a helpful addition to the field. One idea that Enns uses in understanding the Bible is the calibration of various parts of the Bible so that we can know what to expect from that particular text. For example, Enns calibrates Genesis 1-11 with Ancient Near Eastern mythologies. He shows similarities and differences and uses these other texts to help us understand what we can rightfully expect from Genesis 1-11. I think … [Read more...] about Scholarship of the Bible and the Church
Scholars, Teachers, and the Church [Updated with correction]
Correction (5/18/11): In the post below, I attributed a blog post to V. Philips Long of Regent College, when the post was actually written by Phillip J. Long of Grace Bible College. The text of the post has been corrected. ~ Mike Last week, my response to Donald Miller resonated with many, many people, resulting in (by far) the highest number of comments, page views, Facebook shares, etc. of anything we've posted here. I think philosophy professor Mike Austin expressed a common reaction among Christians with an … [Read more...] about Scholars, Teachers, and the Church [Updated with correction]
Jesus Didn’t Choose Scholars…
A few weeks ago, writer Donald Miller wrote a blog post —since republished in Relevant Magazine —about the kinds of people Jesus chose as leaders. They were not, he insisted, the kinds of people who lead today's church. The church in America is led by scholars. Essentially, the Church is a robust school system created around a framework of lectures and discussions and study. We assume this is the way its supposed to be, because this is all we have ever known. I think the scholars have done a good job—but … [Read more...] about Jesus Didn’t Choose Scholars…
Is Naturalism Losing Steam?
Last week, Tom and I attended the national staff meetings for InterVarsity Graduate and Faculty Ministries, which continued the theme of Campuses Renewed from our national staff conference in January. Our speakers could not have been better: historian George Marsden, the Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, who wrote the seminal book The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship (see our online book discussion for more details), and University of Cincinnati Provost Santa Ono, who … [Read more...] about Is Naturalism Losing Steam?