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The Matter of Mathematics

Portions of this blog were part of a longer essay with the same title that appeared in Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith (click here for the full article). Permission has been obtained for the duplications. Does faith matter in mathematics? Not according to the Swiss theologian Emil Brunner. In 1937 he suggested a way to view the…
June 3, 2021
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A Future Full of Living in the Past Progressive(ly)

I recently opened my daily New York Times morning e-mail to these sentences from David Leonhardt: “Good morning. The pandemic may now be in permanent retreat in the U.S.” A good morning indeed. With the changes in the CDC guidelines suggesting easing restrictions on mask wearing outside, and then inside, for those who are fully…
June 2, 2021
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Asking God the Overwhelming Questions about Pain, Suffering and Justice

The overwhelming questions. Earlier in the academic year, I noted that these have been “unsettling, chaotic, and disorienting times.”  It has been a year of endurance, tenacity and “completion” for our academic communities.  That the year was completed is a mark of success.   There has also tremendous sadness, lament, and tragedy laced throughout our campuses. …
May 31, 2021
Blog

Kind or Degree

The 2021 winner of the Templeton prize is Dr. Jane Goodall. Dr. Goodall is, of course, one of the most famous scientists in the world renowned for her 60-year-long work studying chimpanzees in Tanzania. Her warmth and humility have endeared her legions of fans and the results of her work have redefined our understanding of…
May 28, 2021
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God and Morality

When people in Christian circles find out I am a moral philosopher, they are often eager to talk about how God’s existence is crucial to morality in some way. I hear a lot of, “Well if God doesn’t exist then there can’t be any such thing as right and wrong” and, “If Christianity weren’t true,…
May 27, 2021
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Guest Post – Disasters: Natural or Unnatural?

The world seems to be full of disasters, appearing on our TV screens and newspapers on a weekly basis. Some are clearly caused by humans: bridges fall down; buildings catch fire and incinerate many people; dams collapse and drown folk; terrorism and war inflict terrible suffering and atrocities. Others seem to be arbitrary, just “acts…
May 26, 2021
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Guest Post: Towards a More Useful Understanding of Competition

A pioneer in the academic field of sport and spirituality, Shirl Hoffman has long sought to return sport to its roots in play.See for example, Shirl Hoffman, ed., Sport and Religion (Champaign, Ill.: Human Kinetics Books, 1992). In 2010, he published his magnum opus, Good Game: Christianity and the Culture of Sport. While the product of a lifetime of thoughtful,…
May 25, 2021
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Fiscal Justice for the Generations

Our God is a God of justice; of this, there can be no doubt. As Christians, we know the familiar refrain of Amos 5:24: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” There is much dialogue today about how to pursue and achieve justice on various issues, and that is a good thing…
May 24, 2021
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Stop AAPI Hate: An Interview with Russell M. Jeung, Part II

Read part I of the interview here Sometimes, Asian and Asian American churches have remained silent on the issue of racism. Possible reasons for this reluctance to engage might be due to Asian cultural values (e.g., maintaining social harmony, restraining of emotions), an internalized model minority stereotype, and a lack of racial socialization efforts. What…
May 21, 2021
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Stop AAPI Hate: An Interview with Russell M. Jeung, Part 1

Professor Russell M. Jeung, Professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University and a co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate. I am appreciative of the opportunity to interview Dr. Russell M. Jeung, who is a Professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate. His efforts in…
May 20, 2021
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Fallen Scholarship in the Ivory Tower: Resisting Simple Dichotomies

Last month I wrote about the Fall and what it means for Christian scholars, institutions, and the Church. Of course, the Fall also requires that we deal with bad arguments and replace them with better arguments and understandings. In a January Chronicle of Higher Education article about “Bad Religion in the Ivory Tower,” the secularist…
May 17, 2021
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Academic Freedom: From Ram-skit to Bull-dung

My first lesson in academic freedom came not long after completing my Ph.D., at which time I was invited to teach a course in Medieval Drama at a Research-I university. In addition to allegorical morality plays, wherein Everyman must negotiate attacks from the World, the Flesh, and the Devil, medieval playwrights dramatized Bible stories and…
May 14, 2021
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Belated Happy Earth Day (and many more)

I have never missed an Earth Day. That’s only because I was fourteen on April 22, 1970 when the whole thing started. I generally don’t make a big deal out of the annual observance, any more than Presidents Day or College Department Chairs Day (there must be one, right?). It’s not that I don’t care…
May 13, 2021
BlogFeatured

Searching For the Soul of the University: An Interview with George M. Marsden

Risking understatement, George M. Marsden’s The Soul of the American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief sparked intense reactions in academe when released by Oxford University Press in 1994.For example, please see John Patrick Diggins’ “God, Man and the Curriculum,” The New York Times  (April 17, 1994, Section 7, Page 25).  Administrators of church-related…
May 12, 2021
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The Flourishing Teacher: An Interview with Christina Bieber Lake

I once heard a seasoned professor talk about curating his summer reading, intentionally including at least one book about teaching. If you’re similarly inclined, add Christina Bieber Lake’s The Flourishing Teacher: Vocational Renewal for a Sacred Profession to your list.Christian Bieber Lake, The Flourishing Teacher: Vocational Renewal for a Sacred Profession (Downers Grove, IL: IVP…
May 11, 2021
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Psalm 8 includes Computers

The moon and stars, flocks and herds, wild animals, birds and fish. Psalm 8 lists each of these as part of God’s creation. But how do computers fit into creation? To begin, Psalm 8 is a song of praise to God, the “creator of heaven and earth.” The psalm then goes on to list aspects…
May 10, 2021
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The Tragic Academic Neglect of Mothers’ Impact: And a Christian Remembrance and Call for Change

We cannot count on academics to study the most important realities in our lives (versus the latest academic fad). Motherhood is one of those important realities. Noble Laureate and University of Chicago economist James J. Heckman recently made this astounding observation, “hat we don’t have—and to me, it’s an amazing deficiency—we don’t any good economic…
May 7, 2021