The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Pietism has long been ignored in evangelical scholarship. This is especially the case in the field of Christian higher education, which is dominated by thinkers in the Reformed tradition and complicated by the association of Pietism with anti-intellectualism. The irony is that Pietism from the beginning “was intimately bound up with education,” according to Diarmaid MacCulloch. But until now there has not been a single work dedicated to exploring a distinctively Pietist vision for higher education.
In this groundbreaking volume edited by Christopher Gehrz, scholars associated with the Pietist tradition reflect on the Pietist approach to education. Key themes include holistic formation, humility and openmindedness, the love of neighbor, concern for the common good and spiritual maturity. Pietism sees the Christian college as a place that forms whole and holy persons. In a pluralistic and polarized society, such a vision is needed now more than ever.
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- Reflects on the Pietist approach to education
- Invites readers to think about, feel, imagine and desire to actualize a Christian vision of higher education
- Includes themes such as holistic formation, humility and openmindedness, tand the love of neighbor
- Does Pietism Provide a “Usable Past” for Christian Colleges and Universities? - Christopher Gehrz
- Pietism and Faith-Learning Integration in the Evangelical University - David C. Williams
- Calling for Pietistic Community: Pia Desideria in the Classroom - Katherine J. Nevins
- Love and Learning: A Model for Pietist Scholarship in the Disciplines - Jenell Paris
- The Quest for an Evangelical University: The Educational Visions of Carl F. H. Henry and Carl H. Lundquist - Phyllis E. Alsdurf
- Reconceiving the Christ-Centered College: Convertive Piety and Life Together - Roger E. Olson
- The Common Priesthood Seeking the Common Good - Dale G. Durie
- Pietism and the Practice of Civil Discourse - Christian T. Collins Winn
- Love My (Religious) Neighbor: A Pietist Approach to Christian Responsibility in a Pluralistic World - Marion H. Larson and Sara L. H. Shady
- Pietistic Values in Science and Science Education - Richard W. Peterson
- A Pietist Approach to Nursing Education in a Christian University - Nancy L. Olen
- Intellectual Virtue and the Adventurous Christ Follower - Raymond J. VanArragon
- The Pietist Ethos and Organizational Coherency - Joel S. Ward
- Curating the Usable Past for a Vital Future: An Anabaptist Vision for Pietism - Kent T. K. Gerber
- Neoliberal Challenges to the Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education - Samuel Zalanga
- Conclusion: “Their Mission Is Innovation”: The Pietist University in the Twenty-First Century
Part I: Teaching, Scholarship and Community in the Pietist University
Part II: Changed People Changing the World: Pietists and Their Neighbors’ Good
Part III: Responses: Views from the Natural and Health Sciences
Part IV: Problems and Proposals: Putting the Pietist Vision into Practice
When Pietism was born as a religious movement in the seventeenth century it was as closely related to the university as it was to the church. Like the original Pietists who insisted that prayer, Bible study and love of neighbor could be wedded to academic rigor, the contributors to this volume share a vision for education that aims at both hearts and minds. These thoughtful essays, representing many different academic disciplines, will hopefully usher Pietism back into evangelical discussions about faith and learning. They surely will inspire readers to think anew about the realities and ideals of Christ-centered higher education in the current age of ‘spiritual but not religious’ students.
—Douglas Jacobsen and Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen, authors of No Longer Invisible: Religion in University Education
In The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education, Professor Gehrz makes a significant contribution to the growing literature exploring theological foundations for the life of the mind beyond the Reformed tradition. In this collection of essays, we are invited into a conversation that began among Professor Gehrz and his colleagues at Bethel University as they sought to discover the theological roots of their own institution. The book actually embodies the richness and the distinctiveness of the Pietist tradition’s approach to higher education: first, the humility reflected in the careful, exploratory tone of the individual essays; second, the relational element exhibited in the collective wisdom of the entire group; finally, the impact on the heart as well as the mind, as readers are inspired and motivated to pursue a deeper understanding of their own theological roots.
—Shirley A. Mullen, president and professor of history, Houghton College
Unfairly blamed for the secularization of American colleges, Pietism has served as a source of renewal and revitalization. Channeling the insights of their German and Scandinavian forebears, Christopher Gehrz and his colleagues articulate a fresh understanding of Christian higher education. Emphasizing the religious virtues of humility and love, they show why Pietism’s irenic sensibility is the perfect antidote to today’s culture wars.
—John A. Schmalzbauer, Blanche Gorman Strong Chair in Protestant Studies, Missouri State University
- Title: The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education: Forming Whole and Holy Persons
- Author: Christopher Gehrz
- Publisher: IVP USA
- Print Publication Date: 2014
- Logos Release Date: 2018
- Pages: 244
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9780830840717, 0830840710
- Resource ID: LLS:9780830897131
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-10-15T18:44:43Z
Christopher Gehrz (PhD, Yale) is professor of history at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he also helps coordinate the Christianity and Western Culture program. He is the editor of The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education and coeditor of The Pietist Impulse in Christianity.