by Ronald A. Wells. Russel Botman, a friend who was a Reformed theologian and university president, died on June 28 in Stellenbosch, South Africa. A sixty-year old dying in his sleep is not typically a matter for international attention. But, in later press investigation and commentary a more complex story emerged. The context of his …
Continue reading The Cost of Faithful Witness in South Africa: Russel Botman, 1953 – 2014
by Kate van Liere. A few weeks ago a bumper sticker caught my eye on a pickup truck in a Best Buy parking lot. It read, "A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take away everything that you have. –Thomas Jefferson.” I am no Jefferson scholar. …
Continue reading The Trouble with Quotes on the Internet
by Bob Schoone-Jongen. The great 18th century New England preacher and theologian passed on March 22, 1758. Today he is most remembered for his fire and brimstone sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” The high school history books link him to the Great Awakening, the revival that swept the Thirteen Colonies during …
Continue reading Did you know that Jonathan Edwards died from a small pox inoculation?
by Coryn Mulder. This entry comes from Coryn Mulder, a senior nursing student in Professor Karin Maag’s spring online History 151 class, responding to a final exam question about the value of taking a core history class. Her response is featured here with her permission. History 151 covers human history from the Paleolithic era up …
Continue reading Student voices: Why take a history survey class?
Part 2 of the Integration of Faith & History in the Classroom series by Dan Miller. The discipline of history that is placed at the service of my Christian heart and mind is an attempt to situate ourselves in time and place and community. Who do I mean when I use the word “we”? Who are …
Continue reading The Christian Historian and the Use of Evidence
by Will Katerberg. Take nothing for granted, I sometimes tell my students. Don’t assume that what a primary source tells you is accurate and true. The author might be a liar or a dupe, have an agenda, or be misinformed. Put the document in context. Check it against other sources. Be skeptical, even suspicious, before …
Continue reading Trust and Critical Thinking
Historical Horizons 