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Flourishing 3.0: The Empirical Turn

What if the attributes of flourishing could be identified, defined, and studied as a social phenomenon, allowing those insights to inform interventions designed to improve well-­being and happiness? What if science itself could be harnessed to advance human flourishing? Many social scientists pursued enthusiastic answers to these questions. The chief architect of what would become…
July 9, 2026
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Flourishing 2.0: The Justice of Shalom

In the immediate post-­war period, the writers representing Flourishing 1.0 primarily examined the crises of flourishing within the interior life—questions of meaning, selfhood, and the courage required to live amid despair. Yet they were also attentive to the broader cultural forces that produced such crises. Tillich, for example, warned that political systems such as Communism…
July 8, 2026
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Four Cultural Movements in the Search for Meaning, Justice, Happiness, and Well-­being: Flourishing 1.0–Staying Human in the Absence of Meaning

What does it mean to flourish? The Israelites in Babylon likely did not imagine that they would prosper in exile. Yet through the prophet Jeremiah, they were instructed to build houses, plant gardens, and seek the good of the city in which they lived, even knowing that the exile would outlast most of them. Flourishing,…
July 7, 2026
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Beholding the Birds of the Air: A Reflection

I am a teacher at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and have been a student of God’s creation all my life. My family and I attend Geneva Campus Church, where several years ago, Rev. Bill Vander Hoven came for three months to fill a pastoral vacancy. I saw him often during my student coffee…
July 6, 2026
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God, Christian Virtue, and Government

“For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” Romans 13:4 When taking Russian lessons in Moscow, my Russian language teacher and I…
June 26, 2026
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Book Review of Mere Christian Hermeneutics: Transforming What It Means to Read the Bible Theologically

In Mere Christian Hermeneutics, Kevin J. Vanhoozer offers what may be his most pastorally ambitious and ecclesially conscious work to date. While firmly rooted in the technical world of theological interpretation, the book’s animating concern is not merely how Christians read Scripture, but who Christians are becoming as readers, and how that reading shapes faithful action…
June 25, 2026

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Christian Scholar’s Review Blog: Mission Vision and Strategy 2020

Mission Christian Scholar’s Review Blog seeks to serve as an interdisciplinary forum for discussing how Christ animates learning.  Audience Due to the easy global reach of the digital medium, our audience will be Christian academics, graduate students, and students worldwide. In particular, we envision becoming a resource and conversation platform for young and developing Christian…
August 5, 2020
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The Resurgence of Christian Scholarship

Things that grow big start small. The January Series at Calvin College fits the pattern. More than 30 years ago it began as a lunch-break lecture series for first-year students enrolled in a three-week exploration of “Christian Perspectives on Learning,” with a mix of local faculty and guest speakers. As its founder June Hamersma was…
April 13, 2018
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On the Possibility of a Distinctly Christian Theology

Editorial note: This reflection from Alvin Plantinga is part of a curated discussion on “Christian Perspectives in Higher Learning.” See David Hoekema’s introduction to that discussion here. First of all let me say it’s a very great pleasure to take part in this panel. Some people, as I have discovered, impolitely referred to us as…
Alvin Plantinga
April 13, 2018
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The Renaissance of Christian Philosophy

Editorial note: This reflection from Nicholas Wolterstorff is part of a curated discussion on “Christian Perspectives in Higher Learning.” See David Hoekema’s introduction to that discussion here. Our topic is the remarkable renaissance of Christian thought that has taken place over the past 50 years or so and the role of Calvin College in that…
Nicholas Wolterstorff
April 13, 2018
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A Gospel That Speaks to All of Life

Editorial note: This reflection from Richard Mouw is part of a curated discussion on “Christian Perspectives in Higher Learning.” See David Hoekema’s introduction to that discussion here. I need to begin by saying how pleased I am to be on the platform with these fellow panelists, who are also cherished friends. The other three presenters…
Richard Mouw
April 13, 2018