“The Majesty of the Law” ft. Emory University’s John Witte, Jr. I Saturdays at Seven Ep. 45 (The Legal Vocation: Part Two of a Six Part Series) Post

In the forty-fifth episode of the “Saturdays at Seven” conversation series, Todd Ream talks with John Witte, Jr., the Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Law, McDonald Distinguished Professor, and Faculty Director of Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University. Witte begins by discussing how the 3 Fs – faith, freedom, and family or the things for which people would die – serve as the connective threads between his otherwise diverse expressions of the academic vocation. He then unpacks how those threads are woven into a sample of his books including From Sacrament to Contract, Law and Protestantism, and The Reformation of Rights. Ream and Witte talk about Witte’s education at Calvin College and Harvard University along with texts and mentors who left a great impact upon him. Those influences then found another form of confirmation in the invitation Witte recently received to serve as a bicentenary Gifford lecturer, delivering “A New Calvinist Reformation of Rights.” Ream and Witte then close their conversation by discussing Witte’s appreciation for the academic vocation, the virtues which make the expression of such a vocation possible, and the vices against which legal scholars must guard.

“On Par With, But Distinct From” ft. the University of Notre Dame’s John T. McGreevy I Saturdays at Seven Ep. 11 Post

In the eleventh episode of the “Saturdays at Seven” podcast, Todd Ream interviews John T. McGreevy, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost and the Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame. John talks about his calling as an historian and as an academic administrator. Then, they talk about Notre Dame’s unique contribution to higher education and the Catholic Church. Part of how they close their conversation focuses on how “Notre Dame 2033: A Strategic Framework,” seeks to position the university well to respond to the challenges and opportunities that face a university on par with, but distinct from the world’s greatest universities.

“Firm Center, Soft Edges” ft. Biola University’s Barry H. Corey I Saturdays at Seven Ep. 27 Post

In the twenty-seventh episode of the “Saturdays at Seven” conversation series, Todd Ream talks with Barry H. Corey, the President of Biola University. Corey opens by discussing his transition from being a senior administrator at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts to the presidency of Biola University in Southern California. Now in his seventeenth year at Biola, Barry reflects upon the opportunities and challenges both of those institutions face in their respective regions when it comes to cultivating Christian discipleship. Ream and Corey then talk through how Biola as a multi-denominational institution identifies the theological commitments that animate it and, in turn, shape the curricular and co-curricular educational experiences it affords its students. Of greatest focus is Biola’s ongoing commitment to revisiting the “Workers’ Register and Articles of Faith” or “The Red Book.” Ream and Corey close their conversation by talking about the relationship Biola shares with the myriad of churches that populate Southern California and how Biola’s health and the health of those churches relate another.  

J. Robert Oppenheimer: An Autopsy of the American Academic Vocation, Part 3 Post

The vocational fragmentation we noted in yesterday’s post summarizing some prominent Oppenheimer biographies likely had deeper roots going back to Oppenheimer’s childhood. David C. Cassidy’s J. Robert Oppenheimer and the American Century offers important details concerning the impact of Oppenheimer’s upbringing on his sense of vocation. Cassidy contends that Oppenheimer’s parents considered it to be…

“The Love of God Moves the Universe” ft. the Lilly Network’s Joseph Creech I Saturdays at Seven Ep. 22 Post

In the twenty-second episode of the “Saturdays at Seven” conversation series, Todd Ream talks with Joseph Creech, the Executive Director of the Lilly Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities. Creech begins by talking about the history of the Lilly Network, its service as the first ecumenical organization of Church-related colleges and universities, and its focus on providing professional development opportunities for faculty as well as senior leaders. Ream then asks Creech about his own calling to the Christian academic vocation and how such a calling informs the efforts Creech leads with the Lilly Network. They then close their conversation by talking about the important role the Church plays in shaping Church-related higher education and examples of how to improve the relationship shared by the churches and colleges and universities.

“Outtalk the Nonsense” ft. Pepperdine University’s Jessica Hooten Wilson I Saturdays at Seven Ep. 26 Post

In the twenty-sixth episode of the “Saturdays at Seven” conversation series, Todd Ream talks with Jessica Hooten Wilson, the Fletcher Jones Professor of Great Books at Pepperdine University. Wilson begins by detailing what qualities define a great book and what a great book asks of the readers who encounter it.  While some books may yield useful information, Wilson contends a great book demands that readers find themselves within an unfolding story and, in turn, ask how they understand themselves and the world differently because of such an experience. Ream and Wilson then discuss the state of English departments, how such departments define themselves, and how those definitions translate into offerings that fail to form students well beyond the narrow strictures of a discipline. With an enhanced understanding of the value of language and literature in place, Wilson reflects upon the lessons she has learned as a public intellectual, especially lessons related to the usage of various social media platforms. Ream and Wilson then close their conversation by discussing how the engagement with the great books serves as a bridge between the Church and the Church-related university.

“Empowering People to Dream” ft. Gordon College’s Michael D. Hammond I Saturdays at Seven Ep. 28 Post

In the twenty-eighth episode of the “Saturdays at Seven” conversation series, Todd Ream talks with Michael D. Hammond, the President of Gordon College. Hammond opens by discussing his loyalties as an avid baseball fan and his experience of throwing out the first pitch at a Boston Red Sox game. He then discusses the discernment process he undertook and the critical role mentors played as he made the transition from a department chair to a dean, to a provost, and now to a president. Ream and Hammond discuss Hammond’s leadership style and how that style has contributed to the considerable rise in engagement and morale at Gordon even though morale and engagement have declined across higher education in recent years. They also talk about how that leadership style pays dividends during the season of political, social, and even religious fragmentation presently plaguing the United States. Ream and Hammond then close their conversation by exploring how the Christian academic vocation is understood and exercised at Gordon and the unique opportunities that come with its exercise in New England.

“Intentional Christian Community” ft. the Consortium of Christian Study Centers’ Karl E. Johnson I Saturdays at Seven Ep. 37 Post

In the thirty-seventh episode of the “Saturdays at Seven” conversation series, Todd Ream talks with Karl E. Johnson, Executive Director of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers. Johnson begins by offering details concerning his experiences with outdoor education and the way those experiences serve as formative means to ends that include the cultivation of intellectual, moral, and theological virtues. Those details also include how Johnson’s disillusionment with the nature of the co-curricular offerings he encountered during his undergraduate years led him to outdoor education—experiences that then occurred in locales as close as the ropes course on campus and as far as peaks in Ecuador exceeding 20,000 feet. Ream and Johnson then discuss Johnson’s establishment of Chesterton House, the Christian study center at Cornell University, and offerings that include Bible study, community meals, lectures, discussions, sequences of reading, and a residential community. They explore where Chesterton House fits within the growing range of study centers established to serve students and scholars at various research universities. Ream and Johnson then close their discussion by discussing ways to foster the relationships that Christian study centers share with the Church as well as Church-related colleges and universities.

“To What Those Tongues Might Bear Witness” ft. Fuller Theological Seminary’s Amos Yong I Saturdays at Seven Ep. 31 Post

In the thirty-first episode of the “Saturdays at Seven” conversation series, Todd Ream talks with Amos Yong, Professor of Theology and Mission at Fuller Theological Seminary. Yong begins by addressing the contributions theologians from various Asian American backgrounds have made in recent years. As someone from Malaysia and China, Yong adds details concerning his own growth in understanding the critical role of place in theology. Ream and Yong then discuss how Yong’s Pentecostal background contributed to his theological habit of inquiring about the role of the Holy Spirit in a myriad of areas including the relationship shared by theology and science, theology of disability, and theology of higher education. Yong noted that when he completed his Ph.D. in the 1990s, few theologians sought to discern the role of the Holy Spirit in such areas. Such questions, however, are now frequently asked along with a host of others. Ream and Yong then conclude their conversation by expanding upon Yong’s understanding of the relationship the university and the Church share as detailed in Yong’s recent book (with Dale M. Coulter), The Holy Spirit and Higher Education: Renewing the Christian University.

“To Live a Common Life” ft. Boston College’s Cathleen Kaveny I Saturdays at Seven Ep. 48 (The Legal Vocation: Part Five of a Six Part Series) Post

In the forty-eighth episode of the “Saturdays at Seven” conversation series, Todd Ream talks with Cathleen Kaveny, the Darald and Juliet Libby Millenium Professor of Theology and Law at Boston College. Ream opens by asking Kaveny about her efforts concerning interdisciplinary scholarship, how such efforts break down siloes often defining academe, and how the challenges plaguing society often transcend those siloes. One critical component of interdisciplinary scholarship that Kaveny stresses is the full appropriation of questions that arise from any set of relevant disciplines. Doing so, however, demands the exercise of various virtues including humility and the recognition that one may need to seek the assistance of colleagues. Ream and Kaveny discuss Kaveny’s education and the freedom she found to transcend those siloes as an undergraduate at Princeton as well as a joint J.D./Ph.D. student at Yale. Kaveny then explains the debt of gratitude she owes to several teachers as well as Judge John T. Noonan for whom she clerked for how they shaped her sense of vocation.

Identity Excellence: A Theory of Moral Expertise for Higher Education Post

Perry Glanzer’s Identity Excellence: A Theory of Moral Expertise for Higher Education is a sequel to his earlier 2022 book, The Dismantling of Moral Education: How Higher Education Reduced the Human Identity. Dismantling offered an extended account, largely historical but occasionally theoretical, of how American academia, especially during the period from 1860–2020, steadily diminished human…

Identity Excellence: A Theory of Moral Expertise for Higher Education (Book Review) Post

Perry Glanzer’s Identity Excellence: A Theory of Moral Expertise for Higher Education is a sequel to his earlier 2022 book, The Dismantling of Moral Education: How Higher Education Reduced the Human Identity. Dismantling offered an extended account, largely historical but occasionally theoretical, of how American academia, especially during the period from 1860–2020, steadily diminished human…

The New Perspective on Paul: Revised Edition Post

When James D. G. Dunn delivered his Manson Memorial Lecture in 1982, he set out to sketch an emerging paradigm in current Pauline studies. Though it was not his intent to label that paradigm or coin a phrase, nevertheless his description of “the new perspective on Paul” struck a chord and became the catchphrase for…

Ripe with Opportunity: Spiritual Formation in Collegiate Athletic Departments Post

Intercollegiate athletics are often assumed to be a vehicle for character formation without thoughtful consideration of empirical research or underlying pedagogies. In college athletic departments, resources surrounding spiritual formation in sports are similarly sparse. Although Christianity offers a specific telos and a set of practices that guide believers, Christians in sport are quick to realize…

U2 and Igor Stravinsky: Textures, Timbres, and the Devil Post

In this essay, Dan Pinkston argues that the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky and the Irish rock band U2 occupy a similar place of importance within their musical worlds, and have a parallel record of artistic achievement and influence. The parallels in their musical and spiritual development are fascinating and, as this paper will show, give…

Vocation: An Idea Whose Time Has Come (Again) Post

When I was in high school, the most common use of the word vocation was in reference to the kids who left school right after lunch and headed out to a large, warehouse-like building near the airport. For those of us who stayed at school the rest of the day, this was known as the…

Editor’s Preface Post

Being the editor of Christian Scholar’s Review is a great gig. I consider it a deep privilege to work with senior scholars who have published with us. Their wisdom and humility come through in pieces that are jargon-free and thought-provoking for other scholars and students alike. But I really love coming alongside junior faculty to…

Converting the Gaze: From Gazing to Seeing in Richard Wilbur’s “The Eye” Post

This paper draws on aspects of Jean-Luc Marion’s account of “saturated phenomena” to explain Richard Wilbur’s poem “The Eye.” In Being Given and elsewhere, Marion contrasts “seeing,” a mode of perception hospitable to the alterity of the human other, with “gazing,” a mode of perception that presumes to control the other. The paper argues that…

The Song of the Law — Lessons from John Witte, Jr’s Table Talk Post

“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…

How Important Is Humility? Post

There are several different terms that use the concept of humility that are somewhat popular in many circles: intellectual humility and cultural humility, just to name a couple. The fact that these two ideas have some applications outside of religious contexts suggests many people see humility as an important component of numerous facets of life….