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Mount Rushmore of Civil Communication (Part 1)

“Who’s on your Mt. Rushmore?” This is one of my favorite questions to ask my students. When it comes to fashion, politics, theology, or potentially volatile social issues, who most informs your thinking?  Specifically, give me four names of people who have your ear.  The Mt. Rushmore idea is based on Michael Michalko’s idea of…
July 21, 2026
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What Is Science For? Cultivating Creation Through Chemistry

Teaching organic chemistry, I have grown accustomed to the moment when students’ eyes begin to glaze over, and their faces seem to ask, “What’s the point of learning all of this?” It is a fair question, and not only for students trying to survive learning countless chemical reactions. In a culture that is suspicious of…
July 20, 2026
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Minding Our Rhetoric: The Church’s Connection to Language (Part 2)

In ancient times, the discipline or field of rhetoric focused on speech, mostly in politics and law courts. Then with the advent of writing, rhetoric was extended to the written word. Today, however, rhetoric cannot include only spoken and written speech. With modern technologies, humans communicate in a variety of ways, not only through sermons…
July 16, 2026
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Minding Our Rhetoric: The Church’s Connection to Language (Part 1)

At first glance, or even third, one might have difficulty seeing the connection between these three books. However, each makes a significant argument for the life of the church in this divisive age. How can Christians with divergent beliefs and markedly different political positions communicate with one another? How can the fractured church communicate to…
July 15, 2026
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Of Prophets, Priests, and Professors -Part 2

In our previous post, we compared the role of Christian professors with that of the Old Testament prophets as “stewards of truth.” Following the model of the prophets of the Old Testament, we are required to maintain the truth of our respective disciplines, deliver it convincingly in the classroom, and continuously refine it to apply…

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The Real Problem with Chatbot Personas: In Response to Derek Schuurman

Derek Schuurman rightly warns against the use of chatbot “personas,” which are created by configuring a program like ChatGPT to respond in the style of a particular person. For Schuurman, the problem is that using these services encourages “ontological confusion” – by interacting with a computer as if it is a human being, “we run…
November 11, 2024
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Cleansing the Temple: Universities as Sacred Institutions

I have heard wise colleagues rightly say that the Christian university is not the church. This is a prudent reminder. Nonetheless, I would like to explore how a comparison between the first-century Jerusalem Temple and modern Christian universities might provide a useful guide for faculty, staff, administrators, and trustees at Christian colleges. Such a comparison…
November 8, 2024
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…