Why Christian Persecution Keeps Rising: This 30 min audio interview discusses drug cartel persecution in Mexico, what keeps North Korea on the top of the list, and American Christian apathy. The majority of the countries are in the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South and Southeast Asia.
Nailed it: How Martin Luther has shaped Germany for half a millennium — At home, Luther’s significance is no longer primarily theological. Germans are no longer particularly religious. But the Reformation was not just about God. It shaped the German language, mentality and way of life, and after German unification in the 19th century, Lutheranism won the […]
Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers by Daniel Dreisbach (Oxford University Press, 2016): “For several years Dreisbach has been publishing researched articles on specific aspects of the Bible’s presence in Revolutionary America. Now he has expanded that research, added to the subjects considered, and provided a rich interpretive context. Although the resulting book does not […]
Reading the Reformation in 2017: No longer can one take for granted that students, clergy, laity, or the wider public understand the significance of the Reformation—how it convulsed the 16th century, and how it decisively shapes contemporary Christianity and the modern world. Check these recent titles on Luther, Erasmus, social media during the Reformation, and Protestant […]
From the GetReligion posts on religion and news stories: In Story 1, the AP reports on a state legislator’s bill to remove gov’t interest from marriage. In Story 2, Cosmo has a piece on the marry yourself movement. For a third account of peculiar social trends related to marriage–but in the time of the Reformation–see […]
Radio Lab on Blood: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life” (Lev. 17:11). This 1 hr. program offers a variety of vignettes on blood with […]
Arthur Leff’s God-Haunted World: Without God, meaningful law becomes impossible. One powerful argument for this view comes from a surprising source—an atheistic law professor writing in the Duke Law Journal. Yale Law School professor, Arthur Leff, argued that unless God is taken to be the moral authority behind human law, the law collapses into various arbitrary arrangements, […]
Stone and Spirit: The Christ at the Core Curriculum — re-posted by request — This 15 min. Youtube video from Matt Milliner at Wheaton College is a thoughtful address to students on the college’s core curriculum. His presentation can help the viewer reflect on the nature and purpose a liberal arts curriculum in Christian higher […]
When the Wise Men Refused to Collaborate With Empire: This brief essay revisits the interesting story of the Three Wise Men and their decision not to comply with Herod, his commands, and his aims. Students can explore the two-kingdoms issues, related Biblical content such as Daniel, and how Christians can respond. See also “Freeing Freedom […]
Government’s ‘Honest Shanghai’ App Raises Privacy Concerns: This 4 min. audio clip describes a new system in Shanghai by which the government grades the behavior of its citizens. Students can asses this program in terms of the two kingdoms, source and norm for righteousness, matters of sovereignty, standards for ethics, morals, and judgment, and possible […]
