|
My blog posts revolve around my interests and vocation as a historian: the intersection of history and contemporary church life, the intersection of history and contemporary politics, serendipitous discoveries in archives or on research trips, publications and research projects, upcoming conferences, and speaking engagements.
The views expressed in these blogs represent the views of the authors, and not necessarily those of any organizations with which they are associated. |
 “Why stop doing what I am doing just to spend a waste of time in a classroom?”
I have heard that refrain from many who are pondering taking time to go off to seminary, and I have even heard it from reticent students “forced” to go to seminary by their denomination. The question at hand is whether to stop what one is doing in order to go off and get training to be better prepared for leadership in the church, or to simply keep working and not supposedly waste time with classrooms, lectures, and book learning. After all, the clock is ticking and there is much work to be done in a short time.
1 Comment
 Like most people today I have concerns over where AI is taking us. The options proposed range from a bright, prosperous, and leisurely AI generated future to a dark world of a humans hiding from genocidal robots on the prowl to eliminate their creators.
Looking for hope and insight during such prognostications – especially in the social media foolishness and frenzy – is not easy. Making it worse are religious leaders making wild and highly speculative “prophecies” about AI and the book of Revelation. Fortunately, in the midst of all the cacophony and clickbait, Pope Leo XIV recently published an encyclical entitled Magnifica Humanitas [Magnificent Humanity]: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence. It is one of the most responsible and helpful documents that I have read on the subject. It is biblically and theologically well-informed and does not seek to go beyond the role of the church by prognosticating on state policy. It is also not anti-science.  I admit that writing book reviews has not been a big part of my life as a professor – I probably average only one review every second year or so. My lack of focus on reviews has been and continues to be rooted in time management. Stated simply, pressing research and publishing projects trump book reviews every time.
That said, I do enjoy reviewing books in my field, I enjoy reading a good review, and I encourage my students (especially those pursuing an academic career) to get into the habit of reviewing books. In fact, I think it is wise for doctoral students to review at least one book a year in the first decade of their career. With that in mind, what follows is a collection of thoughts on reviewing academic books. Most of the comments relate especially to those students and new scholars seeking to make their mark in the academic world.  By late 1942, Germany faced virtually non-stop bombing. By 1945, the situation in Japan was similar. The allied bombing efforts over Germany and Japan were punishing campaigns developed not only to destroy military personnel and infrastructure but also to break the will of citizens by subjecting them to dislocation, desolation, and death.
The raw numbers provide a striking summary of the cost of the campaigns. The allies lost roughly 81,000 airmen, whereas by the end of the war the cities of Germany and Japan were wastelands marked by piles of massive rubble, including two eradiated cities. The immediate civilian deaths in cities were German approximately 410,000 and Japan 340,000. Those figures do not account for injury and dislocation.  In my recent trip to the Baptist archives at Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, I came across an interesting weather report in the Maritime Baptist. As soon as I saw it, I knew I should post it as a reminder the next time we have a batch of forest fires.
Well, it did not take long for that opportunity to arise.  Recently I was going through Baptist periodicals in the archives. My focus was not on the plight of pastors in ministry, but as I perused the Canadian Baptist I stumbled across a witty but poignant article on some steps to help “fire your pastor.”
That 1990s version of clickbait kept me reading. And the content compelled me to post it here.  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Columbus_Taking_Possession.jpg The western world is locked in a death spiral of angst and uncertainty over its colonial past. In the process of working through its history, statues tumble, churches burn, streets get renamed, heroes are abandoned, histories get rewritten, and people are hurt.
In seems rare to find an example of a civil, responsible, and clear-thinking debate over issues surrounding the past. Of course, that is not new. The writing of any nation’s history is always fraught with dangers, especially since there is much to gain from winning the struggle to write the “official” narrative about the past – revenge, power, rehabilitation of reputation, and money to name some of the most common prizes available to the victor. With those dynamics in mind, I came across an impressive debate in the 1990s over the impact of the arrival of Christopher Columbus to America. The context was the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ landing, and two academics were invited to give their opinion on whether Columbus’ arrival was a net good, or a net evil.  At the present time there is considerable discussion about Baptists and women preachers. The debates are heated and fractious, for all sides believe that they are being faithful to (and defending) the teaching of scripture.
The various sides sometimes also point to the past (or “tradition”) to defend their cause. What is interesting for me is stumbling across unexpected glimpses into a past that is more surprising than all sides expect it to be.  I was surprised the other day to find an editorial in the 1953 Canadian Baptist calling for more “militant preaching” in central Canadian Baptist churches. The editorial was a reprint from an American paper, but the Canadian editor thought it relevant enough to post for his central-Canadian readers. (The denomination was the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec, better known as the BCOQ.) On the one hand, it is not that surprising to see such an exhortation in a Baptist paper. Historically Baptists have emphasized the importance of preaching, and Baptist history is filled with powerful and prophetic pastors pounding the pulpit to make a point. Even in the average Baptist church those in the pews expected a good sermon every week. With that in mind, the following words are not that exceptional: "Thrones have toppled in years gone by under militant preaching Kings and rulers have fled to the hills as God's prophets have thundered out at the iniquity about them....But God calls His preachers to belligerency. He wants them at war with sin in high places and low. He wants them to expose the rot without fear of disfavor...America needs militant preaching. The destiny of our nation, of the world, hangs in the balance. The pulpit, on fire for God, can sway the future. Sure, some heads may roll, figuratively. But the world will be rocked to its senses. This isn't any time for safety first preaching, nor for safety first Christians. "I like to see militant preachers," said the President. So do we. So does your church. God demands it.” click on image to enlarge
On the other hand, only a few decades earlier BCOQ Baptists had a disastrous split marked by militant preaching. The most (in)famous Baptist preacher was T.T. Shields, a masterful orator but one whose militant rhetoric could be belligerent and mean-spirited. And his preaching played a key role in splitting the denomination.
Most people reading this editorial in 1953 would be reminded of T.T. Shields and the dark days surrounding the split of 1927. So why would the editor advocate for militant preaching when it may have had negative connotations? Perhaps this editorial indicates a zealous evangelical wing had remained within the BCOQ… Perhaps this editorial suggests a desperate desire to achieve the growth seen in other denominations (unlike the CBOQ, other denominations were growing leaps and bounds)… Perhaps this editorial points to a fear of rapid social changes and reflects the conviction that what Canada needs is a thundering prophet in the pulpit to set the nation back on its course… Whatever the reason(s) for posting this call for militant preaching, it is an intriguing piece of evidence of a desire to fix what was deemed to be a “weak spot” in Baptist life – a practice that at one time was considered a Baptist strength.  In my recent research in the Canadian Baptist I was surprised to come across a fairly detailed article on movie reviews. This was one of those times where my interest was piqued and I strayed away from my research focus. Take note, the article was written in 1991, so what you are getting is a view of a past generation's take on what was considered edifying to watch (and some commentary on what to avoid). What follows below are images of the article (sorry for the poor reproduction). The list of ten movies is a summary of what the author thought were entertaining, healthy, and insightful movies. Some of the movies are well know, such as The Mission, whereas others are long forgotten, such as Babette's Feast (in fact, this is a movie I had never heard of before). Here are the ten movies:
What is noteworthy is the section on page 14 that urges Baptists to be less reactive, more discerning, and somewhat circumspect about critiquing movies that are deemed to be hostile to the faith. After all, it is argued, shallow, shrill, and mean-spirited criticisms do nothing except make Baptists look stupid - and end up inadvertently promoting the movie. Another noteworthy item is the section on page 11 that urges Baptists to watch some of the movies that do not make such polished lists, but rather are very popular movies watched by millions. The reason for going to the big screen and watch Blockbuster movies is that it provides a window into culture that will allow Baptists to have a better sense of what their neighbours are watching (and thinking). Truth be told, I have only seen four of the above ten. I have some work to do to catch up to a 1991 list. Click on images to enlarge.
|
Archives
July 2026
|
RSS Feed
