The Christian Historian and Empathy

Part 5 of the Integration of Faith & History in the Classroom series by Dan Miller. Few developments in the history of any group or individual can be reduced to simple matters of good and evil. Taking an empathetic approach to history means trying to understand the circumstances and perceptions that move people to action. None of …

Continue reading The Christian Historian and Empathy

Re-Orienting the Contemporary Narrative of African Americans in Baseball

by Eric M. Washington. It is very late on Wednesday, April 15, 2015. This particular day and year marks the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Many historians and Americans in general consider Lincoln that most significant president in this country’s history. He was the first Republican to win a presidential election, and of course …

Continue reading Re-Orienting the Contemporary Narrative of African Americans in Baseball

Enlightenment and Elections

by Bob Schoone-Jongen. About the time when Spring Break arrives I hit the line in the HIST 152 syllabus calling students to consider the 18th-century Enlightenment and its offspring. Of course this leads to political liberalism and the notion that we should trade kings and queens for politicians who won their place through innate ability rather …

Continue reading Enlightenment and Elections

Ask the Author: Tim Gloege on Guaranteed Pure

by Kristin Du Mez. Several years back, I heard Tim Gloege give a conference paper on Henry Crowell, Quaker Oats, and American Fundamentalism at a meeting of the American Society of Church History. To this day, that talk stands as one of the smartest, most engaging papers I’ve heard presented at an academic conference. I …

Continue reading Ask the Author: Tim Gloege on Guaranteed Pure

Hella Haasse, Threshold of Fire

by Frans van Liere. During spring break I was asked by my church friend Phyllis Van Andel to conduct a book discussion for the Calvin Academy for Lifelong Learning (CALL). It could be on any book I wished to discuss, she said. CALL classes are always fun to teach, because of the great enthusiasm of …

Continue reading Hella Haasse, Threshold of Fire

The Crime is the Fruit of the Theology: Christian Responses to 50 Shades of Grey

by Kristin Du Mez. [This piece originally appeared in the Oxford University Press Blog on March 21, 2015. The first portion is republished here with permission of the author.] The much anticipated Valentine’s Day release 50 Shades of Grey set off a flurry of activity on social media sites, with bloggers lining up to cajole, shame, reason, or plead with …

Continue reading The Crime is the Fruit of the Theology: Christian Responses to 50 Shades of Grey