“Every child will have an AI tutor that is infinitely patient, infinitely compassionate, infinitely knowledgeable, infinitely helpful.” These are the words of the web pioneer Marc Andreessen, writing about “Why AI Will Save the World.” Such optimistic claims are not new. The rise of the world wide web came with predictions that it would be…
At a recent lunch with some of my colleagues, our discussion turned to the topic of the inflation that has developed in the US economy over the past year. I am sixty-one years old while my lunch companions were in their 40’s and 30’s. I was surprised to see their lack of knowledge and concern…
In this cultural moment in higher education, when everything appears to be up for grabs, perhaps it’s time to think more deeply about how grades might hamper holistic student development. Although education scholars have been sounding concerns about the value of grades for almost 100 years, I personally never gave the need for them much…
Mimetic theory has received very little attention from economists. This essay by an ap-plied microeconomist may be the first article written on mimetic theory directed primarily at an audience of mainstream Anglo-American economists. It outlines the potential con-tributions of mimetic theory to economics, discussing Rene Girard’s core ideas in terms of economics terminology and concepts….
I am the elephant in the room. Everywhere I go, people are unintentionally drawn to me. Or rather, people are drawn to a part of me. You see, I was born without my right forearm and hand due to Amniotic Band Syndrome (ABS). I used to wear a prosthetic arm, but due to some physical…
Many Christian sociologists have experienced the juxtaposition of those two identities as casting them into a socially prophetic role. Sociology often places the Christian sociologist as one who speaks to the established Christian community rather than for it. Dennis W. Hiebert traces the development of the classic distinction between the sociological concepts of priest and…
Editor’s Note: Due to an editorial mistake, two blog posts were released yesterday. In order to make sure the second post received proper attention, we are resending it today. This post is from “Advice to…” series in the most recent issue of Christian Scholars Review. Thanks, PLG When Perry Glanzer asked me to write for…
Robert Priest is Professor of Intercultural Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Esther Cordill practices clinical psychology. James Evinger and Richard Darr misunderstand and misconstrue two brief references in our article. They wrongly imply that these references were central. They fail to address the topic that was central. They instead launch a discussion of…
It seems that not a month goes by without a well-known Christian announcing on social media that they have left the faith. More troubling, but less sensational is that for each celebrity deconversion there are hundreds of unknown believers who deconvert that don’t get the headlines. Deconversion from Christianity is a growing and troubling trend….
In this essay Teri Merrick argues that Christian philosophers are uniquely called to cultivate a disposition of wonder in their students, despite its strong family resemblance to the medieval vice of curiosity (curiositas). The argument hinges on showing that wonder is essential tothe practice of authentic Christian hospitality. Wonder is claimed to be the emotional…
Discussions of faith integration often lament the fragmentation of academic disciplines and express the desire for a theologically centered, unified synthesis of academic knowledge. Steven Jensen argues that every academic discourse is defined not only by a complex formative history and set of rules and practices, but also by a root metaphor that serves as…
Nicholas Wolterstorff’s Paul Henry Lecture offers a succinct overview of neo-Calvinist political thought. That body of thought is rooted in the work of the late 19th- and early 20th-century thinker and politician Abraham Kuyper. It is therefore roughly coeval with the body of social teaching promulgated by the magisterium of the Catholic Church and is,…
I teach literature today in no small part thanks to Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, Stephen Crane’s realistic novella depicting the impoverished conditions of life in the Bowery at the turn of the twentieth century. When I first encountered the story, I was immediately captivated by Crane’s ability to use mere words to bring…
The contemporary concept of strategy is problematic when viewed from ethical and theological perspectives. This concept arose historically from the political-military context of conflicting interests and maneuvers to gain power. When transferred to the realm of business, the concept retained the assumption of conflicting interests expressed in moves and countermoves attempting to achieve advantages over…
Keith D. Wyma argues that a coherent, well-grounded Christian perspective on civil dis- obedience is possible, and can be found in the work of Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas gives crisp guidelines regarding when civil disobedience could be morally allowable—or even obligatory—and supplies a “test” to determine whether a given method of disobedience is morally appropriate. The…
Introduction In September of 2016, a 20-year-old student from Russia entered an online auction site to fund university education abroad. What was for sale? Her virginity. The student, who identifies herself as “Ariana,” posted a starting bid of 150,000 euros—enough money for housing, food, and medical school tuition. Moreover, prospective buyers were given the opportunity…
I became aware of The Shack by William Young (Windblown Media, 2007) the way I learn about many new books that I would probably never hear about otherwise: the father of one of my students sent me the novel via his daughter along with a request for an evaluation of its contents. It had not…
With today’s blog, I am pleased to introduce the Winter issue of Christian Scholar’s Review. As I write this, there’s not much winter left in the Pacific Northwest with the crocuses in bloom and hummingbirds fliting across my study’s window. But as has been the case with so much of our cattywampus pandemic lives, the…
Editor’s Note: The William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company releases an updated edition of Mark A. Noll’s The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind today. Reflecting upon that book’s longstanding influence, Indiana Wesleyan University’s President David Wright offers this morning’s post, focusing on the impact Noll’s book had since its original release in 1994, his hopes for…
Based on the review of Oppenheimer biographies we offered in the last two posts, a set of common themes begins to come to the surface. These themes bring into greater relief how Oppenheimer developed a fragmented understanding of the academic vocation, and what we can do to cultivate a healthier version of it. First, all…
