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November 2022

November 30, 2022

Can Pluralism Work in Christian Higher Education?

Last month I asked whether pluralism can work in American higher education. What are the...

June 2022

June 14, 2022

The Half-Year in Review

I usually wait until the end of June to post a mid-year report on what’s...

April 2022

April 05, 2022

College for Christians

Why go to college? How do you find a good fit? Is the cost worth...

December 2021

December 09, 2021

My Favorite “Fundamentalist”

Chris pays tribute to his friend and mentor, Kevin Cragg (1945-2021), who taught ancient history...

September 2021

September 07, 2021

Persevere: A Christian College Turns 150

As the Christian university where he teaches turns 150 years old, Chris reflects that "if...

March 2021

March 27, 2021

“Praise the Lord and Pass the Ball”: Basketball and the Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Oral Roberts University

Before the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles play their Sweet Sixteen game against Arkansas, learn...

October 2020

October 14, 2020

College Chapel and COVID-19

Today's guest post is by Benjamin Leavitt. Ben is a History PhD student at Baylor...

October 06, 2020

What’s College Like under COVID?

What's it like teaching in the middle of a pandemic? Four of our contributors report...

August 2020

August 11, 2020

4 Things I Want My Students to Know about This Fall

With the start of an academic year unlike any other just weeks away, Chris shares...

May 2020

May 27, 2020

Your Lipstick Was Distracting: Course Reviews, Gender, and the Christian College

Today's guest post is by my friend and colleague Dr. Adina Kelley. Dr. Kelley earned...

February 2020

February 25, 2020

Will Your (Christian) College Close?

College closures have long been part of the story of American higher education. But recent...

January 2020

January 07, 2020

A Letter to Christian Parents about Christian Colleges

If you're considering sending your children to a Christian college, Chris has some advice.

June 2019

June 04, 2019

Yes, Evangelicalism Can Be Irenic

Can evangelicalism be "kinder and gentler"? Chris profiles a prototypical figure of irenic evangelicalism: Carl...

June 26, 2018

The Half-Year in Review

Counting down your favorite Anxious Bench posts from the first half of 2018

April 2018

April 03, 2018

4 Questions to Answer Before You Decide on a College

Are you (or your child) trying to decide where to go for college? Chris suggests...

March 2018

March 16, 2018

On Gratitude and the Christian Liberal Arts

Chris shares his gratitude for the students, parents, and colleagues who make possible his work.

March 13, 2018

The Stevens Point Pathway: How the Liberal Arts Will Die at Christian Colleges

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is planning to eliminate its arts, humanities, and social science...

February 2018

February 27, 2018

The Legacy of Billy Graham for Evangelical Intellectual Life

Billy Graham was a Christian college student, president, trustee, and benefactor. What's his legacy for...

February 06, 2018

Church History Is the Future of Christian Colleges

A leading historian of evangelicalism thinks that "the study of Church history has ‘a huge...

January 2018

January 23, 2018

An Open Letter to Anyone with $75 Million to Give to Christian Colleges

In the wake of Johns Hopkins University announcing a major gift for its philosophy department,...

December 2017

December 05, 2017

Can Christian Scholarship Thrive in Christian Colleges?

I've often said that I try to approach blogging as "thinking in public." But this...

November 2017

November 16, 2017

Christian Scholarship, For Such a Time as This

I’ve got to be honest. There was a time, not long ago, when I had...

October 2017

October 19, 2017

Me Too. And Why This is a Christian Problem.

Female “purity” was highly prized in Victorian Christianity, but a sexual double standard let men...

August 2017

August 01, 2017

Christian Colleges, Sexuality, and “Cultural Waterloo”

I don’t know Carl Trueman or Rod Dreher, but I do know many people who...

June 2017

June 30, 2017

The Anxious Bench Half-Year in Review

Presenting our most popular posts halfway into a turbulent 2017. (Plus a few you might...

May 2017

May 04, 2017

Fairness for All: A Call for Culture Peacemakers?

For nearly half a century, American Christians have, to greater and lesser degrees, embraced the...

March 2017

March 28, 2017

Confessing Faculty: A Statement of Confession and Commitment from Christian Professors

Hundreds of "Confessing Faculty" at Christian colleges have signed a "Statement of Confession and Commitment."...

March 23, 2017

A Golden Age for Christian Colleges?

Are Christian colleges uniquely positioned to revitalize our nation’s intellectual life and contribute to cultural...

March 13, 2017

Christian Colleges Meet Trump’s America

I received much feedback from a piece I wrote for Inside Higher Ed. So, permit...

February 2016

February 01, 2016

Deciding about College

The season has arrived when many graduating high-school seniors and their parents begin to make...