Amid star-strewn heavens, a woman groans in labor pains as an enormous devourer endangers her, intent on seizing her miraculous child the moment he’s born. So unfolds the vision of Revelation 12:1–5. So too goes a crucial scene in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s latest film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025). The Revelator retells the…
In their latest installment chronicling the relationship between religion and American higher education, Douglas Jacobsen and Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen turn to the constructive task of offering a novel and hopeful model of faith and learning suited to the present moment. Rather than remain entrenched in the enclosed ghettos of polarizing and identity-constrained thinking, “pilgrim thinking”…
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus admonished his hearers to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:44–45).[1] Perhaps…
When I hear scholars say there is little difference between a secular and a Christian approach to a particular area of the academy, I am often baffled. I recently had that happen this past month with someone at an academic event who mentioned architecture. This person claimed that they thought there would be little difference…
The early Greeks saw the essence of education as Paideia: the process of forming a whole person into an ideal citizen. They emphasized the formation of virtues like prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance in preparation for active citizenship. In Plato’s Republic, we read that “The object of education is to teach us to love what…
In the thirteenth episode of the third season of the “Saturdays at Seven” conversation series, Todd Ream talks with Mark Bosco, S.J., the Vice President for Mission and Ministry at Georgetown University. Bosco begins by discussing his research interests residing at the intersection of theology, literature, and the cultivation of a well-ordered imagination. Those interests led him to explore the life of Graham Greene and Flannery O’Connor. While most of Bosco’s scholarship comes in the form of books and articles, his 2019 documentary, Flannery, received the Library of Congress’s inaugural Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film. Bosco then discusses how those interests emerged, how they contributed to his calling to the Society of Jesus, and how they informed his service at Loyola University Chicago and now at Georgetown University. At Loyola, Bosco taught in the theology department and led a center dedicated to the Catholic intellectual heritage. At Georgetown, he was called to lead the division that helps cultivate the university’s Jesuit mission while also providing pastoral care for all members of the community. Georgetown’s academic programs and location in Washington, DC attract students and faculty members from around the world and from a myriad of religious backgrounds. At Georgetown, Bosco contends those backgrounds become a strength, operating in a culture informed by Jesuit charisms such as cura personalis (or care for the whole person) while also appreciating those backgrounds and the ways they interact with one another. Bosco then concludes by detailing how universities such as Georgetown serve as locales in which the Church can do its thinking while also preparing the next generation of lay and clerical leaders.
Many years ago, my wife, Phyllis, and I were the guests of the University of Notre Dame provost at a football game in South Bend, Indiana, between the Fighting Irish and West Point. At halftime, someone pointed me toward the private box where the leaders of the two schools were watching the game together. I…
Hunter’s overall point is well taken, though: new efforts at undergirding democracy became more focused on reason (internally derived ideas) or on natural law (externally derived absolutes), and less so an amalgamation of the two, feeding eventually into a culture war. For instance, John Dewey had great faith in our capacity to reason our way…
In the present university world, we talk a lot about impact. Our research is measured by its impact on our academic discipline, according to how often it is cited and by whom. Woe to the professor whose research always winds up in journals with a low JIF. The leading accreditor in the field of business,…
The editors, associate editors, and institutional representatives who serve Christian Scholar’s Review are pleased to appoint Josh Reeves as the next Associate Co-Editor for Theology. Reeves currently serves as the Director of Samford University’s Center for Science and Religion and joins Karin Stetina (Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Biola University), who serves as…
Hunter’s overall point is well taken, though: new efforts at undergirding democracy became more focused on reason (internally derived ideas) or on natural law (externally derived absolutes), and less so an amalgamation of the two, feeding eventually into a culture war. For instance, John Dewey had great faith in our capacity to reason our way…
Editor’s note: Images Courtesy of St. Michael’s College School “Why speak of muscular Christianity?” asked an academic to a presenting colleague at a sports history conference I recently attended. The questioner made it clear that, in his opinion, sport historians have no need for religion in their field of study. The statement sounded sensible, as…
In yesterday’s post, I pointed out how Dante’s Paradise helps one see the primacy of love. The arete of love is eternal, while all of the records, championships, trophies and praise in sport will pass away. In this final post, I will address the implications that the eternal love of God, to which Dante points…
In his 1939 sermon Learning in Wartime, CS Lewis considered whether education should continue amid high-stakes global conflict. Is learning something that should be suspended during a war, saved only for times of peace and predictability? Or does the acquisition of knowledge, learning, thinking, and prudential judgment become more important during moments of upheaval? Predictably…
One of the primary things we learn about God in the Bible is that he is holy (Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2; any reference to the Holy Spirit). Moreover, we learn that as image bearers of God, we are to exhibit God’s character by being holy as well (Lev. 11:45; I Peter 1:15-16). Yet, holiness is a…
Hunter’s overall point is well taken, though: new efforts at undergirding democracy became more focused on reason (internally derived ideas) or on natural law (externally derived absolutes), and less so an amalgamation of the two, feeding eventually into a culture war. For instance, John Dewey had great faith in our capacity to reason our way…
Like so many, I have recently enjoyed the benefits of the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Raising teenagers in a technological world has been complicated, but AI has helped my husband and me monitor our teens’ phone and text use by providing red flags for things like bullying, depression, and anxiety, while still allowing them…
Things that Smell Good When we think of good smells, we imagine things like freshly baked bread. Particular good smells can evoke fond memories. Babies heads have a pleasant smell about them. Perhaps you’ve known a child who didn’t want his or her “blankey” washed, because they didn’t want the comforting smell of it to…
In recent years, the social sciences have faced a “replication crisis,” raising questions about how we conduct, report, and interpret research findings. A large-scale replication project in 2015 tried to recreate nearly 100 studies from recent publications and found only about 40% of attempts successfully replicated. This finding sent shock waves through the psychology community….
James Davison Hunter wants us to know things look bad because they are bad and have been so for quite some time: the United States is not only facing stark polarizations in our time, but, he argues, these polarizations are a result of the longstanding fault lines within our foundations for democracy. In this long-awaited…
