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…
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…
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 [Asian American Pacific Islander] Hate. His efforts in tracking anti-Asian incidents during the COVID-19 pandemic has received widespread attention in both academic and public spheres,…
Reviewed by David A. Hoekema, Philosophy, Calvin College “In spite of the indispensable use of images in our yearning to make sense of reality, there has not been sufficient attention to the aesthetic in the debate between theism and naturalism” (3). This opening comment conveys the motivation for a wide-ranging and provocative book by a…
Modern discussion of the liberal arts has emphasized the development of the individual critical thinker and not the art of thinking socially. Rick Kennedy summarizes the four-step craft of social thinking that was long taught in the pre-modern tradition of liberal arts. This intellectual craft was not specifically named by the ancients but is evident…
During the last volume year the total number of submissions was fifty-nine—slightly below normal; the only significant anomaly was that because our theme issue for summer 2012 was moved back to summer 2013 (see below), we technically had no submissions for a theme issue in this year. Our current acceptance-to-publication timeframe is about twelve months….
Reviewed by Dave Klanderman, Mathematics and Statistics, Calvin University “For such as time as this.” This phrase serves as part of a final justification offered by Mordecai in his plea to Esther to use her role as Queen to help to save the Hebrews from Haman’s plot to destroy them (Esther 4:12-14ff). In a similar…
Creative individuals in every era have produced works that inspire and provoke their fellow citizens, challenging them to both confront distorted realities and reimagine better lives. Artifacts that have stood the test of time and critical reception usually elicit multiple interpretations among contemporaries and are reinterpreted by future generations. Ulti-mately, said works were eventually embraced…
Story 1: Several years ago, my wife and I were one of the first people at a site of a horrific accident where a young child had died. Without going into the gruesome details, this accident involved a pad-mounted transformer located in a residential area. Story 2: When my youngest daughter was a toddler, she…
Reviewed by David A. Hoekema, Philosophy, Calvin College “In spite of the indispensable use of images in our yearning to make sense of reality, there has not been sufficient attention to the aesthetic in the debate between theism and naturalism” (3). This opening comment conveys the motivation for a wide-ranging and provocative book by a…
The “integration of faith and learning” has become a touchstone of many Evangelical Protestant higher education institutions in recent decades. Martin Spence argues that modern Evangelical scholars and teachers have intellectual forbears who long ago raised similar questions about the relationship between faith and learning. The author introduces one such individual, the nineteenth-century British Baptist…
Last year I wrote about the possibility that Christians face religious discrimination in the United States. We are moving into a post-Christian society and this is reflected in increased expressions of anti-Christian bigotry. My research has confirmed that those with this bigotry are more likely to be white, male, wealthy, and well-educated. So, it is very well connected and…
About a decade ago, a first-generation freshman came into my office for her first academic advising meeting. As we talked through her set of classes, I asked her in what she thought she would like to major. With downcast eyes and quiet voice, she told me that she had no idea. In that instant, I…
And there is a second commandment, which seems to me even more incomprehensible and arouses even stronger opposition in me. It is: “Love thine enemies.” Sigmund Freud “…while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son…” Romans 5:10b, NIV James Martin tells the story of a priest who asked his…
In 1505, the Renaissance artist Raphael Sanzio lavished his skill on a subject rather out-of-date: the legendary dragon slayer St. George, an early Christian saint generally associated with the martial and chivalric spirit of the Crusades. In his large painting of the subject at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., the holy warrior…
The publisher and editors of the Christian Scholar’s Review are pleased to announce the recipient of its annual award for best article. The winner of the Charles J. Miller Christian Scholar’s Award for volume 41 is Jim Halverson, professor and chair of History and Intercultural Studies at Judson University. His article, “Restored Through Learning: Hugh…
In my early academic career, I assumed being a pastor was a liability to my teaching. Perhaps it was my own perception of the academy or the true prevailing ethos, but my pastoral background seemed like a hindrance. I was too practical—not intellectual enough. I was too biased—not objective enough. However, after a few years…
Dear friends, I have decided to stop using the online test monitoring system. I had felt conflicted about it throughout the semester last fall, because I was not convinced that it would prevent cheating and suspected it could worsen equity issues. Now I am finally abandoning it because it is bad for my soul and erodes…
Although I am a college professor, I must confess that my most important education during college did not come from professors. As an undergraduate majoring in history, political science, and religion at Rice University, I had some great classes with outstanding professors—one even won a Professor of the Year award among faculty for the entire…
A mere four years – something of a lifetime – ago, the Berkley Center asked many scholars and activists to offer advice for the new administration of President Trump. At the time, I argued that the new administration needed to leverage its multilateral assets: that freedom of religion or belief needed American leadership, but that…
