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David Rawson

By on December 4, 2009 in Faculty Publications

Rawson, David. “Burundi: Burundi: Biography of a Small African Country.” African Studies Review 52, no. 3 (December 2009): 190-191.

Abstract: In its first ten years of independence, the emergent state of Burundi suffered the assassination of two prime ministers, several political massacres, two attempted coups, two successful coups, and in 1972, a revolt in the south followed by state-organized genocide. Except for path-breaking studies by Rene Lemarchand {Rwanda and Burundi [Praeger, 1970] and Burundi: Eth-nocide as Discourse and Practice [Cambridge University Press, 1994]), these events went largely unreported in English-language media and unexplored in scholarly analysis. In 1988 communal violence broke out in the north, followed by another brutal repression. This time, however, pressured by external demands and internal necessity, the military ruler, Pierre Buyoya, engineered a national political accommodation and free elections in 1993, which were won by his opponent, Melchior Ndadaye.

Mark Correll

By on November 21, 2009 in Faculty Publications

Correll, Mark R. “Kevin P. Spicer, Hitler’s Priests: Catholic Clergy and National Socialism.” Fides et Historia no. 1 (2009): 111.

Abstract: Kevin P. Spicer’s new work, Hitler’s Priests: Catholic Clergy and National Socialism, examines Catholic-Nazi cooperation by inspecting the role of the small but vocal group of clerical Nazi supporters, the so-called “brown priests.” Hitler’s Priests explores the brown priests’ lives through their correspondence, parish records, and publications. Spicer describes the pastoral and theological results of the brown priests’ worldview, as well as the rationale for their open support of the Nazi party. Taking nine of the most active clerical supporters of the Nazis, he sketches biographies of these individual priests, outlining their respective entries into a pro-Hitler stance, their agitation for the Nazis, and the difficulties they encountered either with the church hierarchy or party leadership.

Ines Jindra & Michael Jindra

By on May 3, 2009 in Faculty Publications

Jindra, Ines W. and Michael Jindra. “Alien Worlds: Social and Religious Dimensions of Extraterrestrial Contact.” Sociology of Religion 70, no. 2 (Summer, 2009): 200-201.

Here, we found Scott Scribner’s chapter to be especially interesting, since he highlights parallels between religion and these experiences, notably in the area of “interactions with supernatural beings, stmggles between good and evil, encounters with overpowering benevolent (‘light’) forces or malevolent (‘dark’) forces, conversion and reframing of interpretations (belief templates), the notion of being chosen, visions, testimonial evidence, the occasional channeling of otherworldly beings, altered states of consciousness, healing narratives, and apocalyptic pronouncements” (151-152).

Michael Buratovich

By on April 16, 2009 in Faculty Publications

Buratovich, Michael A. “The Evolution Controversy: A Survey of Competing Theories.” Christian Scholar’s Review 38, no. 2 (2009): 301-303.

Abstract: […] the authors state that a prediction of Darwin’s theory was that “nature will preserve even the slightest variation that proves beneficial,” but that “population genetics calculations show that single mutations, even if positive, usually only have a small chance of survival” (57). […] relativistic effects result in billions of years passing in the rest of the universe while only thousands pass near the Earth, which explains how billion-year-old stars and galaxies can exist in a universe only a few thousand years old.\n Several eukaryotic organisms have flagella that do not display the standard 9 + 2 arrangement. […] the book misses a primary problem with alternatives to evolutionary theory scientific assertions must pass through the flames of peer-review and colleague confirmation before they are admitted into a classroom.

James Coe

By on October 16, 2008 in Faculty Publications

Coe, James and Paul Carr. “Magnificence at Work: Living Faith in Business.” Christian Scholar’s Review 38, no. 1 (Fall, 2008): 163-164.

Abstract: Magnificence at Work: Living Faith in Business begins with the profound suggestion that work is a paramount consideration and an integral facet of faith-especially from a Christian perspective: “work has always been the locus of God’s calling. It would be surprising if it were not, for work matters profoundly as a creative act, as a contribution to sustenance and community, and as a mark of human dignity and personal identity” (11). John Dalla Costa draws inferences as well as direct quotes from biblical perspectives that Jesus utilized the platform of “entrepreneurial commerce” in the gospel of Luke (20). He suggests that we knew the occupation of the disciples before we even knew their names as Jesus walked into their midst while they “were repairing and cleaning nets;” he points out as well that Christ was in their midst while they worked, and “he is in our midst while we are at work” (21). This is a very powerful reminder that while we work, Jesus and his teachings are with us also. It is evident the author is making the assertion that one cannot simply be a Christian in one facet of life but relinquish one’s faith while working. As an answer to this modern day reality, the author calls for spiritual growth and three stages of soul work.