Brick by Brick
academic life
Howard and Giberson on Problems and Prospects for an Evangelical Academic Renaissance
I just read a fantastic piece in Inside Higher Ed by Karl Giberson and Thomas Howard on the possibilities and pitfalls for evangelical institutions attempting to advance Christian learning. The items on the credit side of the ledger should be well known at this point, but less often are the debits stated so baldly: Many … Continue reading
Henri Nouwen: From Loneliness to Solitude
I suppose that loneliness and the spiritual discipline of solitude are certainly apropos subjects for many of us on Valentine’s Day. But that’s not really the point of this post. Over on the Emerging Scholars Blog Michael Hickerson has written a great first post in a series on Henri Nouwen and the vital spiritual practice of solitude. … Continue reading
Vanderbilt Town Hall: What’s your take?
The Vanderbilt town hall meeting was yesterday. Here is an article about the proceedings. I would love to hear from those who are being affected by this new policy. What did you take away from this meeting? Sounds to me like the Vanderbilt administration is not budging even though the CLS president there offered a … Continue reading
Please Pray for Vanderbilt
Here’s what’s happening: InterVarsity Senior Vice President Jim Lundgren is calling on InterVarsity’s staff, students, faculty supporters, alumni, and friends to be in prayer about campus ministry at Vanderbilt University. The leadership of Vanderbilt University has decided that several campus Christian organizations, including InterVarsity’s Graduate Christian Fellowship, should be placed on provisional status until coming … Continue reading
Introducing: Gospel Conversations
I was just introduced to this site today and am very excited to share it with you. Gospel Conversations is a great web-resource coming out of Australia which is aimed at exploring “the richness of the gospel in a conversational forum.” They explain: Essentially we want to take God out of the religious box we … Continue reading
Review of Mark Noll’s Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind on the Emerging Scholars’ Blog
Tom Trevethan just posted a great review of Mark Noll’s latest book, Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011), over on the Emerging Scholars’ Blog. Well worth a read. This is a challenging and important work for any Christian working in academia and I hope that it gains a wide readership. … Continue reading
Alvin Plantinga on the (Alleged) Conflict Between Faith and Science
Alvin Plantinga, professor emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, has just put out a new book on the conflict between faith and science: Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, & Naturalism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011) The New York Times reviewed it this week and it’s looking, as is usual for Plantinga’s work, to … Continue reading
Dance Your PhD
We have two PhD candidates in our Graduate Christian Fellowship are defending their dissertations this week. It is probably too late for them to follow this suggestion, but I would like to urge them to dance their PhDs. You can see the entries to the competition that he mentioned here. Thanks to W. David O. … Continue reading
The Well: Resources for Graduate and Professional Student Women and Women in the Academy
I just wanted to point everyone to The Well, “a virtual gathering place for graduate and professional women to receive wisdom, care, challenge, and inspiration as they seek to follow Christ in the academic world and beyond.” The Well is a fantastic online resource ministry of InterVarsity’s Graduate and Faculty Ministries. And, gentlemen, I think … Continue reading
Brandon Withrow on Cultivating Empathy in the Academic Study of Religions
Brandon Withrow has written a great piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education on his empathetic approach to the academic study of religions within the context of theological seminaries and divinity schools. He writes, Classrooms can be places of real education, but they can also be camps for dogma. And that’s troubling. Many seminary students are … Continue reading
Hi! I'm David, the campus minister for InterVarsity's graduate and faculty ministries at NC State and Meredith College. I hope you'll join me as I learn to "practice resurrection" in the City of Oaks, in her universities, and in the wider world. You can contact me at dmwilliams83@gmail.com
