I’m in two reading groups this fall. One has just begun reading Unprotected Texts by Jennifer Wright Knust, an attempt to push Hebrew and Christian scholarship on desire, human sexuality, and the body out of biblical studies journals and into the church library. The tone of the book is much lighter than you might expect! I think our […]
Building resilience
I’m speaking about resilience toward the end of this week at a conference in Maryland and have been completing my talk and presentation for the group. I’ve integrated several sources into my plans for the session and can’t wait to share it. Sources include womanist theology, critiques of conventional “death-surrogate” atonement, personal narratives, self- and community-care strategies, and a wellness […]
Research: LGBTQ Adventists, 18-35yo
Last spring, LGBTQ Andrews University students planned a bake sale to raise funds for a regional LGBTQ youth housing/anti-homelessness project. Thanks to off-campus attention, the students raised thousands of dollars from hundreds of donors around the US. Over a year later, Andrews University researchers are still contributing to this conversation in their own professional way. Curtis Vanderwaal, chair […]
When authenticity is thought foolish, it matters most.
I just wrote about how authority, authorship, and authenticity are etymologically related and can improve the way we interact with each other. And then there’s a New York Times op-ed talking about, “Well actually, that’s a terrible idea and only works if you’re Oprah.” In the Times article, Adam Grant, who teaches psychology at Wharton’s School of Business, argues that society should promote sincerity rather […]
Christy—On Education and Entropy
“The most powerful symbol in the universe is the “=” sign: it’s a commerce between worlds, symbolic or real. That commerce is the heart of education— greasing the skids between one side of the equation and the other. Remember that the “-” symbol marks a mere subtraction, the one-way interaction present in much of our […]
Why Communicating Can Be So Hard
Steven Pinker is a Harvard psychologist who has spent the last few years studying language and morality. You may recognize his curly grey locks from his 2007 TED talk on the international violence rate: “The surprising decline of violence.” In a new column posted to the Chronicle of Higher Education this week—just in time to drive traffic […]
