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.
I sometimes blog for two other organizations, the Canadian Baptist Historical Society and the Centre for Post-Christendom Studies. The views expressed in these blogs represent the views of the authors, and not necessarily those of any organizations with which they are associated. |
I have been working through my pile of stacked books, trying to beat it down so that it does not tip over (and so that I can pile more books on). Here are my summer reads so far, in no particular order (although the last one is pretty depressing).
1 Comment
There is nothing like going back to the sources when there are questions about how things should be done. That being the case, in good Protestant fashion I let out a rallying cry ad fontes (“back to the sources”) and looked at the historical records of my Baptist denomination.
Theodosius and Saint Ambrose (1615-1616) by Peter Paul Rubens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodosius_and_Saint_Ambrose_(Rubens). The recent events in the United States regarding the Catholic Church’s refusal of communion for pro-abortion politicians reminds me of an ancient tradition expressed in the famous words of Bishop Ambrose: “The emperor is within the church, not above it.”
I have visited Oxford, UK, many times over the past thirty years. However, it is embarrassing to say that as a historian of Christianity I only heard of St. Frideswide this year (thanks to Louis for pointing her out to me!).
This year I was able to go to Oxford University for archival research, and I made sure that I visited places associated with her (in particular the parish church and well in Binsey). The following are some pictures as well as some brief comments. The expression “proxy war” has been bandied about the last few weeks, but not many people really know what it means. And that is a problem for Christians who seek to engage the state on such matters. That being the case, the following is a brief summary of some “rules of a proxy war” to help Christians make informed decisions about issues related to justice and the right use of state-sanctioned violence.
The last few months I have felt like a kid in a candy store. It has been over two years since I have been able to get into an archives and do research - but over the past few months I have been able to go to the United Church Archives in Toronto, Knox College Library in Toronto, the Presbyterian Archives in Toronto, and the Baptist Archives at Regent's Park College, Oxford, UK. And there are few better places on the planet than archives! The following are some of my serendipitous discoveries.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Luther95theses.jpg
“You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.” Leon Trotsky The following are some basic and preliminary convictions to consider and questions to ask when reflecting on a military conflict. These convictions and questions can be explored in detail in Gordon L, Heath, Christians, the State, and War: An Ancient Tradition for the Modern World (Lexington/Fortress, 2022). The following blog series is also a helpful place to begin thinking about wars both now and in the future: https://www.gordonlheath.com/war-now-and-the-future.
Damaging historical documents in libraries and archives is vexing for those of us who value such treasures. Making notations in the margins of print material is also troubling (but sadly it can be common).
Of course, notations in the margins of historical documents can be humorous or insightful. See this article in The Atlantic for some fun and fascinating examples. It should also be noted that there are people who invest a great deal of attention to what is called "marginalia" - the study of notations in the margins (see article here and and here). In fact, there is concern among marginaliaists over the introduction of digital books and the concomitant loss of writing in the margins. All that said, writing in the margins can be a problem. The other day on one of my research trips I came across such a notation, ironically, coming to the defence of historical documents. The comment was "People who cut pages out of Church Minutes burn in hell forever." While having the author of the notation come to the defence of the historical records may have warmed the heart of the librarian, at least one reader found the theology was suspect. And responded with the quip: "Ouch. Vicious. I don't think God cares that much." And that little exchange in the margins was my serendipitous moment for the day. |
Archives
April 2024
|