Can Christian faith sustain the life of the mind? This beautifully written essay by Richard Hughes counters the widespread perception of Christians as steeped in narrowness and dogmatism and provides a powerful argument that faith, properly pursued, in fact nourishes the openness and curiosity that make a life of the mind possible.
Throughout its entire history, the discipline of anthropology has been perceived as undermining, or even discrediting, Christian faith. Many of its most prominent theorists have been agnostics who assumed that ethnographic findings and theories had exposed religious beliefs to be untenable. E. B. Tylor, the founder of the discipline in Britain, lost his faith through studying anthropology. James Frazer saw the material that he presented in his highly influential work, The Golden Bough, as demonstrating that Christian thought was based on the erroneous thought patterns of 'savages.' On the other hand, some of the most eminent anthropologists have been Christians, including E. E. Evans-Pritchard, Mary Douglas, Victor Turner, and Edith Turner. Moreover, they openly presented articulate reasons for how their religious convictions cohered with their professional work. Despite being a major site of friction between faith and modern thought, the relationship between anthropology and Christianity has never before been the subject of a book-length study. In this groundbreaking work, Timothy Larsen examines the point where doubt and faith collide with anthropological theory and evidence.
The Soul of the American University is a classic and much discussed account of the changing roles of Christianity in shaping American higher education, presented here in a newly revised edition to offer insights for a modern era. As late as the World War II era, it was not unusual even for state schools to offer chapel services or for leading universities to refer to themselves as “Christian” institutions. From the 1630s through the 1950s, when Protestantism provided an informal religious establishment, colleges were expected to offer religious and moral guidance. Following reactions in the 1960s against the WASP establishment and concerns for diversity, this specifically religious heritage quickly disappeared and various secular viewpoints predominated. In this updated edition of a landmark volume, George Marsden explores the history of the changing roles of Protestantism in relation to other cultural and intellectual factors shaping American higher education. Far from a lament for a lost golden age, Marsden offers a penetrating analysis of the changing ways in which Protestantism intersected with collegiate life, intellectual inquiry, and broader cultural developments. He tells the stories of many of the nation's pace-setting universities at defining moments in their histories. By the late nineteenth-century when modern universities emerged, debates over Darwinism and higher criticism of the Bible were reshaping conceptions of Protestantism; in the twentieth century important concerns regarding diversity and inclusion were leading toward ever-broader conceptions of Christianity; then followed attacks on the traditional WASP establishment which brought dramatic disestablishment of earlier religious privilege. By the late twentieth century, exclusive secular viewpoints had become the gold standard in higher education, while our current era is arguably “post-secular”. The Soul of the American University Revisited deftly examines American higher education as it exists in the twenty-first century.
I (Still) Believe explores the all-important question of whether serious academic study of the Bible is threatening to one’s faith. Far from it—faith enhances study of the Bible and, reciprocally, such study enriches a person’s faith. With this in mind, this book asks prominent Bible teachers and scholars to tell their story reflecting on their own experiences at the intersection of faith and serious academic study of the Bible. While the essays of this book will provide some apology for academic study of the Bible as an important discipline, the essays engage with this question in ways that are uncontrived. They present real stories, with all the complexities and struggles they may hold. To this end, the contributors do two things: (a) reflect on their lives as someone who teaches and researches the Bible, providing something of a story outlining their journey of life and faith, and their self-understanding as a biblical theologian; and (b) provide focused reflections on how faith has made a difference, how it has changed, and what challenges have arisen, remained, and are unresolved, all with a view toward the future and engaging the book’s main question. engaging the book’s main question.
Christianity's demographics, vitality, and influence have tipped markedly toward the global South and East. Addressing this seismic shift, a noted Christian literary scholar recounts how her focus has shifted from American to African literature. Susan VanZanten began her career working on nineteenth-century American literature. A combination of personal circumstances, curricular demands, world events, and unfolding scholarship have led her to teach, research, and write about African literature and to advocate for a global approach to education and scholarship. This is the second book in the Turning South series, which offers reflections by eminent Christian scholars who have turned their attention and commitments beyond North America.
"Colleges today are filled with talk about identity and identity politics. But Glanzer shifts the conversation in Identity in Action by focusing on something one rarely hears anyone mention--the idea of identity excellence. In various professions, identity excellence means becoming an excellent accountant, biologist, historian, social worker, or teacher. But professors rarely go farther to talk the identities that really matter to students. What does it mean to be: an excellent friend? a good neighbor? a steward of one's body, possessions, or the environment? And what about social identities? How does Christianity impact: how I think about race? or gender? or citizenship? Students are often unaware of how to resolve conflicts between these identities on their own. Identity in Action, empowers readers to be excellent--and think deeply about the "why" questions of life in a practical, theologically informed manner. With personal stories and expert research, Glanzer explains how students can untangle the confusion and integrate their core identities with excellence."--
Richard T. Hughes's highly praised book on the relationship between Christian faith and secular learning -- originally titled "How Christian Faith Can Sustain the Life of the Mind" -- is now available in this revised and expanded edition, which speaks more directly to the subject of vocation. In a substantial new preface Hughes recounts his own vocational journey, telling how he drew on Christian theology to discover his talents and how best to use them. Another new chapter explores the vocation of Christian colleges and universities, including the purposes and goals of church-related education. Drawing from the Catholic, Reformed, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, Hughes shows how the Christian scholar can embrace paradox rather than dogmatism. His reflections provide a compelling argument that faith, properly pursued, nourishes the openness and curiosity that make a life of the mind possible. Praise for the original edition: "In this beautifully written, sermonic essay Richard Hughes defines the virtues needed for sound scholarship and good teaching. . . . As Hughes powerfully and persuasively argues, the Christian scholar has ample Christian warrant to be humble in the face of diversity, open to the challenge of competing perspectives, and fully engaged in the cooperative, rigorous, and imaginative search for truth." -- The Christian Century "Following the examples of George Marsden and Mark Noll, Hughes encourages Christians not to forsake their calling as scholars nor to be discouraged by the enormity of their task, but to keep on integrating faith and contemporary culture." -- Reformed Review "In this book Richard Hughes mentors all of us who want to beboth Christians and scholars. But even for those who do not teach and would not wear the name 'scholar, ' this book is a valuable model of what it means to serve God humbly in one's chosen vocation." -- New Wineskins "Everybody who is concerned with Christian education should read this little book." -- Journal of Education and Christian Belief
Christian scholars and teachers everywhere are exploring ever more fully the relationship between Christian faith and the various academic disciplines. In this book, leading voices in the Christian academy provide a solid theological foundation for understanding the aims and practice of faith-and-learning integration, especially within church-related institutions, and also discuss some major challenges and opportunities facing Christian higher education in the twenty-first century. --From publisher's description.
