John Fea/The Way of Improvement Leads Home

Book Review: Believe Me by John Fea

By No Longer Normal 4 July 2018 Leave a comment

As someone who grew up steeped in the conservative political world of the Evangelical Christian movement in the US, I was continually stunned by the ability (and willingness) of Evangelicals to continue to make excuses for the seemingly un-Christian behavior, attitudes, and rhetoric of Donald Trump. In his book, Believe Me, John Fea (my colleague at […]

The Power of Music

By No Longer Normal 11 April 2012 Leave a comment

Thanks to John Fea for pointing out this powerful video. Like John, I could do without the constant reference to a particular brand of mp3 player, since this is really about the power of music, not about any particular brand.

The Hidden Side of Monticello

By No Longer Normal 13 March 2012 Leave a comment

Thanks to John Fea for the link to this video from a new project about the slaves that once called Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello “home”. Just Friday I was reading about Jefferson in Fea’s Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? The book is an essential read for those wanting a full historical treatment of that question. […]

Rick Santorum’s Theme Song?

By No Longer Normal 13 March 2012 2 Comments

Not sure if this effects my vote (or lack thereof), but I can certainly see this becoming an internet sensation. (HT: John Fea)

The Power of Introverts

By No Longer Normal 6 March 2012 Leave a comment

This is an amazing and powerful talk from Susan Cain at TED this year about the power of introverts. She suggests that our current education and work environments have shifted from catered toward introverts to heavily favoring extroverts. She asks for us to provide space for both. This is worth the listen, and consideration for […]

The History of Church vs. State in the U.S.

By No Longer Normal 3 March 2012 Leave a comment

John M. Barry offers a little historical perspective on the origins of the church/state relation debate. Not too surprisingly, the debate about the relationship between church and government in the US dates back to the earliest colonies. Barry looks specifically at the Massachusetts Bay Colony and more specifically the thoughts of Roger Williams. Here is […]

Is Obama Really a Conservative?

By No Longer Normal 1 March 2012 1 Comment

On the heels of the kerfuffle over John Fea claiming that Barack Obama is the most explicitly Christian president the US has ever had, I was pointed by a friend (thanks Adam Yankay!) to a thought provoking piece from The Political Compass that places Obama clearly on the conservative end of the political spectrum. Here […]

Can Glenn Beck Read?

By No Longer Normal 24 February 2012 1 Comment

I’m not so sure after the uproar of the last week or so. It all started with a post by my friend and colleague John Fea. Dr. Fea is the chair of the Department of History here at Messiah College, a thoughtful Christian, and an exemplary historian specializing in early American History. He is very […]

Reflecting on Imperfect Heroes

By No Longer Normal 23 January 2012 Leave a comment

10 as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; 11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; 12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” 13 “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” […]

John Fea on the Democracy and this Election Cycle

By No Longer Normal 19 January 2012 1 Comment

Several great posts from John Fea about the election cycle and how Christians can think faithfully about the role of government and the process of democracy. John is the chair of the Department of History at Messiah College (where I am on the faculty and teach statistics). I’ll highlight two of them here, but you […]