Yesterday, Colleges and Evangelicals Collide on Bias Policy ran on the front page of the NY Times. For 40 years, evangelicals at Bowdoin College have gathered periodically to study the Bible together, to pray and to worship. They are a tiny minority on the liberal arts college campus, but they have been a part of the school's community, gathering in the chapel, the dining center, the dorms. After this summer, the Bowdoin Christian Fellowship will no longer be recognized by the college. Already, the college has … [Read more...] about NY Times: Colleges and Evangelicals Collide on Bias Policy
Uncommon Decency
“Uncommon Decency” in the context of Pluralism
Christian hearts must be open to other people. God wants that of us. That is what I have just been arguing. But just how open are we supposed to be? We live today in the midst of many lifestyles, many systems of thought--don't we run the risk of having our hearts pulled in so many different directions that we finally have no center of our own?" -- Richard J. Mouw, Uncommon Decency: Christian Civility in an Uncivil World (Revised and Expanded, InterVarsity Press, 2010), 80. It's not surprising that Richard J. Mouw … [Read more...] about “Uncommon Decency” in the context of Pluralism
Cultivating empathic sensitivies vital to “Uncommon Decency”
Civility requires that we reduce the psychological distance between ourselves and others. We need to develop a sense of commonality with people who initially strike us as very different from ourselves. One important means of doing this is by cultivating empathy. "Empathy" literally means "in-feeling" -- it is to project myself into another person's feelings so that I begin to understand what it is like to have his experiences. If I want to gain empathy for a neighbor who is consistently defensive and insulting, I can … [Read more...] about Cultivating empathic sensitivies vital to “Uncommon Decency”
The Day for “Uncommon Decency” has come. Let’s embrace it!
As Martin Marty has observed, one of the real problems in modern life is that the people who are good at being civil often lack strong convictions and people who have strong convictions often lack civility. I like that way of stating the issue. We need to find a way of combining a civil outlook with a “passionate intensity” about our convictions. The real challenge is to come up with a convicted civility. Civility is public politeness. It means that we display tact, moderation, refinement and good manners toward … [Read more...] about The Day for “Uncommon Decency” has come. Let’s embrace it!
Three Concerns about Anti-Christian Rhetoric
Last week, I asked how you handle anti-Christian rhetoric. This week, let me share my three concerns about verbal attacks on Christianity —specifically, those that come from academic scientists like Richard Dawkins and PZ Myers. Spiritual/Theological: I'm currently reading Richard Mouw's Uncommon Decency: Christian Civility in an Uncivil World (InterVarsity Press, Revised and Expanded, 2010), in which Mouw calls for Christians to exhibit a "convicted civility" that honors justice, truth, and the divine image in … [Read more...] about Three Concerns about Anti-Christian Rhetoric