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Rest and Sabbath (part 3)

Editor's Note: The following is the final part of Amy Davis Abdallah's review essay of G. P. Wagenfuhr and Amy Erickson’s Sabbath Gospel: A New Narrative of Time, Rest, and the Work of the Church; Euntaek David Shin’s Rest: A Theological Account; and Travis West’s The Sabbath Way: Making Room in Your Life for Rest, Connection,…
September 18, 2026
Blog

Rest and Sabbath (part 2)

Editor's Note: The following is the second part of Amy Davis Abdallah's review essay of G. P. Wagenfuhr and Amy Erickson’s Sabbath Gospel: A New Narrative of Time, Rest, and the Work of the Church; Euntaek David Shin’s Rest: A Theological Account; and Travis West’s The Sabbath Way: Making Room in Your Life for Rest, Connection,…
September 17, 2026
Blog

Rest and Sabbath (part 1)

It is no secret that the western world’s relationship with time, work, and community is complicated, generally unhealthy, and does not lead to restful, delighted lives. We tend to continually desire more and perfection, and so tend not to stop, cease, rest, or enjoy community. Three recent books seek to reconstruct our theology and habits…
September 16, 2026
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A Higher Education Toward the True Purpose of the University

On July 4, 2026, Dr. Robert B. Sloan, Jr., President of Houston Christian University, was called home to be with the Lord Christ after nearly two decades leading HCU. His leadership was marked by faithfulness to Christian higher education and a vision for a university rigorous in pursuit yet no less faithful in commitment. My…
September 15, 2026
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Teens, TikTok, and America 250: A Meditation on Elite Culture

“Elite culture” is a dubious thing. It can often feel like a harmful construct designed to keep control of those who already have it. If this view is correct, then there’s nothing excellent, or even especially better, about elite culture - it’s only a code deployed by those “in the know” to exclude others. Not…
September 14, 2026
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Envy and Crime and Punishment

Recently, especially after Elon Musk passed the trillionaire mark, many people posted online about the ways Musk’s money could help the poor. Others, including famous politicians, then chimed in about what could be done with lots of billionaires' money. Unsurprisingly, no one posted about what they were currently doing with their money or other possessions…
September 11, 2026

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Humble Worldviewing

One of my courses in seminary—a half-century ago!—had a lasting impact on my thinking. It was about world religions, and especially helpful for me was an assigned text, Christian Faith and Other Faiths, by Stephen Neill,Stephen Neill, Christian Faith and Other Faiths: The Christian Dialogue with Other Religions (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1961). then a…
August 7, 2024
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Where the Beauty Came From

“The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing—to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from.” —C. S. Lewis At age eleven classical music started it all for me. My parents, wanting to divert me from what they viewed as the corrupting rock ‘n’ roll of the…
August 6, 2024
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Sorry Not Sorry*: The Apologetics of an Olympic Non-Apology

I love the Olympics. I have been transfixed by them for over fifty years, starting with the 1972 Munich games, where Olga Korbut catapulted women’s gymnastics to a demanding athletic sport, and a very photogenic Mark Spitz shattered seven world records to go along with the seven gold medals he won in his seven swimming events. My…
August 5, 2024
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A Biblical Precedent for Dissent

Late in the spring 2024 semester, several college campuses were rocked by student (and faculty) protests over the conflict in Gaza. More recently, the Chronicle of Higher Education broke a story about an instructor whose contract was not renewed after he had publicly opposed an increase in parking fees. On the surface, these events could…
August 2, 2024
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The Song of the Law — Lessons from John Witte, Jr’s Table Talk

“For we live not only under the rule of law. We live also under the rhythm of law—the ebb and flow, the different paces and places for legal practice” (John Witte, Jr.) Introduction On June 18, 2024, a group of 100 deans of American law schools issued a simple and succinct letter outlining the responsibilities…
July 16, 2024
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Fully Seen, Fully Known

Recently I walked with students among the self-portrait collection at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. Most of these portraits were glamorous and proud, but a few were melancholy, desperate, even brutal. Some were fanciful, others despairing. Almost all faced outward as if to catch the eyes of passers-by and elicit recognition, acknowledgment, and sympathy.…
July 15, 2024
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Review of Teaching for Spiritual Formation: A Patristic Approach to Christian Education in a Convulsed Age

Many valuable resources exist for Christian professors eager to integrate faith and learning in the classroom; however, I have found some of the best theological insight and practical guidance in a recent book directed toward classical Christian high school teachers. The book bears the intriguing title Teaching for Spiritual Formation: A Patristic Approach to Christian…
July 12, 2024
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The University and Community Engagement: Recent Approaches

If we’re going to do this,” DeAmon Harges told me, “we’re going to have to become friends.” The condition set me back on my heels. Of course, I wasn’t opposed to getting to know this Indianapolis-based nonprofit leader, rapidly becoming a national figure in community development conversations. But though I was far from reluctant to…
July 11, 2024
BlogBook Review

All the Kingdoms of the World: On Radical Religious Alternatives to Liberalism

Kevin Vallier has written a valuable exposition and critique of what he describes as radical religious alternatives to liberalism. Vallier is an Eastern Orthodox political philosopher at Bowling Green State University and a strong defender of the liberal tradition in politics. Liberalism in this sense refers broadly to such things as constitutional government, respect for…
July 10, 2024