John Bernbaum: Why Did Putin Invade Ukraine & Why Should Christians Care? (video recording)

Is it possible to know why Putin decided to attack Ukraine in February 2022 and what he is hoping to achieve? Can Ukraine survive this attack from its much larger northern neighbor? And how should followers of Jesus understand the dynamics of this war and what should our response be? Join us for a talk by Russian history specialist and visiting scholar Dr. John Bernbaum.

Whatever happened to the Calvin School of Christian Historiography?

Doug Howard In a review back in 1997, Douglas A. Sweeney described with some admiration the “unparalleled leadership in the field of Christian historiography” provided by the Calvin College history department. Three books had just been published—Jim Bratt’s Abraham Kuyper: A Centennial Reader, a collection of essays edited by Ron Wells called History and the …

Continue reading Whatever happened to the Calvin School of Christian Historiography?

Recovering Lost Stories

by Frans van Liere The story of the Four Sons of Haymo was widely popular in the late middle ages and Renaissance, especially in France and in the Low Countries, where I grew up. As a boy in school, I learned a song about the “Vier Heemskinderen” (as it is called in Dutch), and their …

Continue reading Recovering Lost Stories

The Dreaded Second Question – Or, In Defense of My Major

by Matt Beukema. You’ve likely heard the question or even asked it yourself. After answering “History” to the question of what I studied in college comes that dreaded second question. The question that comes nearly 90% of the time to history (and English, I’m sure) graduates. “Do you want to teach?” I don’t know why …

Continue reading The Dreaded Second Question – Or, In Defense of My Major

Audio: John Fry on the Faith of Laura Ingalls Wilder

We had so much interest and enthusiasm for our February colloquium talk, that we are pleased to be able to share it here (with kind permission by the speaker): 'This is What Men Call God': The Faith of Laura Ingalls Wilder A lecture by John Fry at Calvin College (February 22, 2017) This year marks …

Continue reading Audio: John Fry on the Faith of Laura Ingalls Wilder

ISIS, Terrorism and Refugees: A Teach In

In the days after the terrible news of attacks in Paris and Beirut, members of the history department looked at each other and asked "What can we do?" As we are inundated with stories of terror, violence, and hatred around the world, we struggle as individuals and as communities with how to respond. As historians, …

Continue reading ISIS, Terrorism and Refugees: A Teach In