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. […]
The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship
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 […]
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 […]
Outrageous Idea 6: Building Academic Communities
The final chapter in George Marsden’s The Outrageous Idea of Academic Communities Christian Scholarship [Oops! – Ed.] proposes that even the most impressive work of individual Christian scholars is not enough; Christian scholarship needs “a strong institutional base.” Scholars, like everyone else, depend on communities. If like-minded academics do not form their own sub-communities, then […]
Outrageous Idea 5: The Positive Contributions of Theological Context
Are there positive contributions to be offered by a theological context? George Marsden responds with a hearty yes. Why? Because he believes (or should I say thinks, understands, or perceives): Scholars do not operate in a vacuum, but rather within the frameworks of their communities, traditions, commitments, and beliefs. Their scholarship, even when specialized, develops […]