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How Coaching Youth Sports Helped My Thinking about Christian Character

The most important activity that helped refine my view of character education was not taking classes on epistemology and ethics from Dallas Willard. Nor was it taking all my other Ph.D. classes that addressed virtue or moral development. It was coaching youth league sports. Granted, readings in philosophy, ethics, and theology led me to recognize…
June 25, 2025
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AI and the Grammar of Descent

Recently, there’s been even more press than usual about AI proliferation and its associated risks. The hype has been driven, in part, by the now infamous Ross Douthat interview with Daniel Kokotajlo, executive director of the A.I. Futures Project, in which Kokotajlo suggests that AI could take over civilization—and “then kill all the humans”—by 2027.…
June 24, 2025
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God Made All Nations from One Blood: The Origins of a Biblical Argument against Slavery

In 1526, William Tyndale’s ground-breaking translation of the English New Testament appeared. In this translation, Tyndale used a unique phrase that was not in John Wycliffe’s original English translation. Instead of translating a key passage from Paul’s sermon to the Athenians in Wycliffe’s original way, “ made of one all the kind of men” (Acts…

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BlogBook Review

A Review of Deep Reading: Practices to Subvert the Vices of Our Distracted, Hostile, and Consumeristic Age.

Given its title, Deep Reading: Practices to Subvert the Vices of Our Distracted, Hostile, and Consumeristic Age is unexpectedly narrow in its target audience and goals. Yet even more surprising is the power, richness, and far-­reaching value of the vision at its heart. This book is a guide for “Christian practices for teaching reading”Julie Ooms,…
November 7, 2024
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Introducing Christian Scholar’s Review’s Fall Themed Issue -To What We Aspire: Explorations of the Christian Academic Vocation

This blog introduces our fall special-themed issue exploring the Christian academic vocation through the lens of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay on the scholarly vocation. The articles are currently available on our website, while the paper copies of the issue will be delivered to our sponsor institutions later this month. On August 31, 1837, Emerson greeted…
November 6, 2024
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The Problem with Chatbot Personas

The other day, I chatted with C.S. Lewis. The conversation went something like this: Derek: “Hi, Jack. What do you think of Christian Scholars Review?” C.S. Lewis: “Ah, you address me as ‘Jack,’ a name I hold dear, given to me by my family and friends. As for the Christian Scholars Review, while it is…
November 4, 2024
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“Hope, But It’s a Complex Kind”: Reflections Following the War and Women’s Human Rights Museum Visit, Part 2

Editor’s Note: This is Part 2 of a dual reflection on The War and Women’s Human Rights Museum (aka “Comfort Women Memorial”) by Eimi Ichimura, a Ph.D. student, and Paul Kim, a professor of psychology at Seattle Pacific University.  Emi identifies as Japanese American and Paul identifies as Korean American. They disclose this information upfront so…
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“Hope, But It’s a Complex Kind”: Reflections Following the War and Women’s Human Rights Museum Visit. Part 1

The War and Women’s Human Rights Museum (aka “Comfort Women Memorial”) in South Korea is a powerful place of remembrance. Specifically, in a small building (it’s literally the size of a large American house) located near the tourist hotspot of the Hongdae neighborhood, the museum is filled with painful stories of women who were forced…
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Hard To Look At (The Brazen Serpent)

The sun beats down and the head swims. Lips are parched. Eyes see spots. Legs list and stagger, barely able to hold up the body’s weight. Everything seems both too bright and too dark at the same time. The heart cries out with a silent scream, “I hate you, I hate you, God of my…
October 28, 2024
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From Fear into Faith: How Respectful Conversations Promote Civic Engagement and Hope

Differences of opinion have always been part of life. Spouses, family members, co-workers, neighbors, and church members have had spirited conversations about politics, theology, social issues, and even sports. This is especially true of students in our classes. In one study, college students were asked to keep a journal of how many disagreements with friends…
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The Problem of Aesthetics: Can We Trust Ourselves to Recognize Beauty?

Last year, I hosted a chocolate-tasting lab for a large group of honors students. I provided them with several types of chocolate, and together we went through a slow process of reaction, evaluation, and comparison. Their specimens for consideration included: Hershey’s milk chocolate, a very fine 72% dark chocolate, an increasingly bitter 80% dark chocolate,…
October 24, 2024