God and Violence in the Old Testament: Many people that object to Christianity or that are considering it but can’t quite make the decision to follow Christ get hung up on the issue of violence in the Old Testament. How was God okay with so much violence? Did he actually perform a significant number of violent acts? And ultimately, how do you reconcile the Bible’s claim that he is wholly good, kind, and loving with all of the violence? One of my favorite go-to sources has addressed some of these issues and questions. Check out The Worldview Bulletin’s most recent post titled, The Old Testament and “Divine Violence”
Aristotle on Friendship: Many of my posts over then next couple of months will include a bit of Aristotle on various moral topics. I could spend a year highlighting his important points and insights on friendship. He writes: “And when people are friends, they have no need of justice” (Book VIII in Nichomachean Ethics). This is such a powerful statement. To rephrase this in more biblical terms, when two people love each other and care deeply about the other’s good, then they do not need a list of laws or duties telling them what to do and constraining them from evil. Love motivates them to do the good without any law.
“Ungrading” in Education: One of the colleges where I teach offered a 20-minute professional development opportunity. They arrive in my inbox every Monday morning and I take advantage of them! This week, the topic was on “ungrading.” It was so fascinating, and I was intrigued to know that this doesn’t necessarily require getting rid of all quantitative measures to assess work. Here is an article that explains, at least in part, what it is and what it isn’t.
BJ Condrey, Ph.D. 