Happy birthday, Protestants. This week marks 500 years since Martin Luther’s actions sparked the Protestant Reformation. But is anyone really celebrating? Church historian Bill Leonard says yes, some are.
Looking for the origin of decline in the U.S. church? Baptist historian thinks he may know the answer
Bill Leonard became fascinated with the topic of conversion early in his career, often teaching and preaching about the dramatic, and not-so-dramatic, ways Americans have become Christians throughout U.S. history. And by the early 1980s, Leonard said, the number of conversions,…
No Millennials in church? They may be working, expert says
Charging Millennials with rejecting church and being undisciplined givers doesn’t take into account the multitude of economic and social factors that characterize their lives.
Learning from students and their term papers
I began grading term papers in the fall of 1972, for undergraduates taking courses with C. Allyn Russell, Professor of Religion at Boston University. He paid me $2 an hour, or thereabouts, during our three-year run. Each semester thereof, Russell,…
Is Trump a moderate or a maniac? Divinity school professor isn’t sure
Last fall, Wake Forest School of Divinity scholar John Senior celebrated the release of his first book, which examines the moral complexities that shape how politicians govern. The book also proposes that those who govern should view their positions as…
Divinity school deans: Changing theological education easier said than done
By Ken Camp and Jeff Brumley Theological education should help “the whole people of God” move toward maturity as the body of Christ — and that means moving beyond traditional ways of providing that learning, Linda Cannell said during B.H. Carroll…
2 seminaries with Baptist ties join others adding science curricula
By Jeff Brumley As high-profile, science-versus-faith debates rage across the nation, a handful of American seminaries, including two with Baptist ties, are pursuing the notion that reason and religion are compatible and even complementary. Andover Newton Theological School and Wake…
White evangelicals feel heat of religious decline, surveys show
By Jeff Brumley Two new polls show that religious conservatives — mainly white evangelicals — are complaining louder as they lose ground in the so-called culture wars. They also describe a widening gap between the faithful and religiously unaffiliated Americans. What’s it…
After initial skepticism, online theological education growing
By Jeff Brumley Chris Wondree is a full-time seminary student and a student ministry intern at a Virginia church, all of which means he’s busy. Fortunately, Wondree said, the internet helps alleviate the stress of running back and forth between…