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Recently read: Steinberg’s “Age of Opportunity”

Laurence Steinberg, Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence (First Mariner Books, 2015). (Amazon; Bookshop)

Laurence Steinberg is a psychologist who happens to be one of the foremost experts on adolescence (see his fuller credentials here). His book, Age of Opportunity, applies the insights gathered by psychologists into what is going on in the minds and bodies of emerging adults.

The first few chapters are an informative look at why adolescence is so important for the development of humans (probably the second most important developmental stage) and what’s happening in the human brain at this time. If you’re a parent or an educator, I guarantee these insights will help you become more patient with your evolving children/students.

Chapter 3, “The Longest Decade,” is important because it explains why “adolescence” can actually last about two decades. In other words, this stage of brain and body development isn’t over at 18 or 21…not even close. Think late 20s!

Chapter 4, “Protecting Adolescents from Themselves,” drives home the point that adolescents are “risk-takers,” far more than those of us who are post-adolescence. This comes with many risks and possibilities that parents/educators need to consider.

Maybe the most unique argument offered by Steinberg is that one of the most important things that must be developed in adolescences in “self-regulation”. This is the central thesis of chapter 6 but remains key to the rest of the book’s argument with gives advice to parents in chapter 7 and educators in chapter 8.

If you’re wondering what’s going on in the brain of teens and most twenty-somethings, this book is worth your time. As I’ve mentioned, it’s beneficial to parents and educators. And I think it’ll make you a more patient person!

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The translation philosophy of the ESV; the “orthodoxy” of Trump

Bookmarking a couple of interesting, recently published journal articles (that happen to be free to read for anyone):

  1. Samuel L. Perry, “Whitewashing Evangelical Scripture: The Case of Slavery and Antisemitism in the English Standard Version,” Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 
  2. Gerardo Martí, “The Unexpected Orthodoxy of Donald J. Trump: White Evangelical Support for the 45th President of the United States,” Sociology of Religion.
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Recently read: Bond’s “The First Biography of Jesus”

Helen Bond, The First Biography of Jesus: Genre and Meaning in Mark’s Gospel (Eerdmans, 2020). (Amazon; Bookshop)

I received my copy of this book from the journal Review and Expositor, so I’m saving my full review for them, but I’ll say here what I said on the website “Goodreads”:

This is about as good a case as I’ve read for reading Mark as a form of the ancient Greco-Roman genre of bioi. But it’s more than that, as Bond shows the practical implications of reading Mark this way. For example, one big takeaway would be the centrality of the main character in a biography and how secondary characters exist only to reflect upon the primary one. In other words, the reader should not see themselves in Peter or Judas or Pilate…but instead, compare themselves only to the moral/ethical example of Jesus. This approach could alter everything from scholarly to liturgical to devotional readings of Mark.

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The religious language of the Texas Constitution (1876)

I’m continuing to brainstorm for my proposed class “Religion in San Antonio”. In fact, I’m in conversation with representatives of a local university and a non-profit to see if some sort of joint venture is possible. As say more as/if that materializes. For now, I’ve been thinking about the Texas Constitution (1876) while reading Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth by Brian Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, and Jason Stanford. I decided to browse through it to see what religious language can be found therein. For what it’s worth, as I show my “Religion in the United States” students, the United States Constitution lacks religious language beyond the First Amendment (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”), Article IV, Clause 3 (“…no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States”), and Article I, Section 7 (“except Sunday”). The Texas Constitution doesn’t. For example:

Preamble: “Humbly invoking the blessing of Almighty God…”

Article I, Section 4: “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.”

Article I, Section 5: “No person shall be disqualified to give evidence in any of the courts of this State on account of his religious opinions, or for the want of any religious belief, but all oaths or affirmations shall be administered in the mode most binding upon the conscience, and shall be taken subject to the pains and penalties of perjury.”

Article I, Section 6: “All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences. No man shall be compelled to attend, erect or support any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry against his consent. No human authority ought, in any case whatever, to control or interfere with the rights of conscience in matters of religion, and no preference shall ever be given by law to any religious society or mode of worship. But it shall be the duty of the Legislature to pass such laws as may be necessary to protect equally every religious denomination in the peaceable enjoyment of its own mode of worship.”

Article I, Section 7: “No money shall be appropriated or drawn from the treasury for the benefit of any sect, or religious society, theological or religious seminary; nor shall property belonging to the State be appropriated for any such purposes.”

Article IV, Section 14: “If any bill shall not be returned by the governor with his objections within ten days (Sundays excepted)…”; “If any such bill, containing several items of appropriation, not having been presented to the governor ten days (Sundays excepted)…”

Article VII, Section 4: “And no law shall ever be enacted appropriating any part of the permanent or available school fund to any other purpose whatever; nor shall the same or any part thereof ever be appropriated to or used for the support of any sectarian school“

I browsed through pretty quickly, so I may have missed something, but this short list is clearly more than what we find in the United States Constitution. There’s definitely an attempt to align with the ideas of establishment and free exercise found in the First Amendment. Theism, and even more specifically Monotheism, is assumed for the most part, and even required for holding public office (which, apparently, is seen as something other than a “religious test”).

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Religion in San Antonio

This summer, I needed a break. I think that’s understandable considering Covid-19, an election year, an attempted insurrection, Winter Storm Uri bringing Texas to its knees, displacement caused by the storm, and every thing else that’s happened over the past 16 months. That said, I intend on teaching summer school next June. But I want to mix it up a bit. I don’t want fifteen days in a row of class when it’s summer outside, so I’ve been thinking up a class proposal for a unique-to-summer class I want to offer in 2022: “Religion in San Antonio”.

If this class happens, one of the goals will be the make sure it has several “field trips”. As you’ll see in the outline posted below, I imagine a trip to the Missions (which includes The Alamo but also would probably require a stop at San Fernando Cathedral), to the Hindu Temple of San Antonio, Temple Beth-El, and the nearby Sikh Dharamsal of San Antonio, though these choices could change based on what’s practical and available. (The Hindu Temple and Sikh Dharamsal are 22 and 11 minutes away from our campus, respectively, making them ideal.)

I’ve been reading Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth by Brian Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, and Jason Stanford. At the beginning of the Introduction, the authors share a quote from John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley: In Search of America that perfectly captures the potential this class has: “I have said that Texas is a state of mind, but I think it is more than that. It is a mystique closely approximating a religion.” Anyone who has lived in Texas, or spent a lot of time here, understands this quote. I’m a born-and-raised Californian. I have a lot of pride in this. But Californians’ pride and self-obsession can’t match that of Texans. So, the intersection of Texas culture(s) and religion isn’t just about religion in Texas, or religion in San Antonio, but it’s Texan-ism—its Texas-as-religion.

As I said in a recent post, there are a few books about Texas I want to read in preparation. Additionally, I’m listening to a podcast series and about to begin another one that’ll help round out my knowledge of Texas:

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Secularization and Social Change

Let me recommend a recent episode of Tripp Fuller’s “Homebrewed Christianity” podcast wherein he interviews/gives lecture space to Gerardo Marti, a professor of sociology at Davidson. This is such an excellent episode if you’re trying to understand a range of cultural shifts from defining secularization to the rise of the “nones” to declining church affiliation to white supremacy and evangelicalism to…well, a lot. I recommend!

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Course Description: “Religion in Global Context”

A little over a week ago, I shared my “Course Description” for my fall 2021 class “The Hebrew Scriptures”. Today, I want to share the one I wrote for “Religion in Global Context,” my other fall 2021 class:

“Religion in Global Context is an examination of how religious beliefs and practices function amongst a variety of cultures in different parts of the world. Students are taught methods of inquiry related to history, the philosophy of religion, and the social sciences as they explore not only how the word “religion” refers to a wide-variety of traditions but also how those traditions are internally diverse, dynamic, and embedded in culture. The aim is to develop “religious literacy” so that students can become familiar with and accustomed to the variety of religious expressions found in an international context. Similarly, this course functions to help create awareness of how religion continues to influence how the various peoples of the world understand and interpret their origins, identities, morals, ethics, politics, and other matters related to being a global citizen on an increasingly interconnected planet.”

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Rachel Held Evans and Matthew Paul Turner’s “What Is God Like?”

I received my copy of Rachel Held Evans and Matthew Paul Turner’s beautifully written and illustrated children’s book, “What is God Like?” It’s vision of divinity is loving and inclusive. It’s imaginative and open. It offers anyone caring for children a way to teach a healthy theology, as displayed on the page I shared below. (“But whenever you aren’t sure what God is like, think about what makes you feel safe, what makes you feel brave, and what makes you feel loved.”) I love it. It’s a perfect reflection of Rachel’s legacy and her love for people—especially people who felt disenfranchised by institutionalized religion.

Cover

It’s available June 15th wherever you buy books.

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Interesting Books about Texas

I’m pondering the possibility of offering a summer school class titled “Religion in San Antonio” next year. So, I’ve decided that I want to learn a bit about my, eh, adopted (?) state. Here’s a list of books I want to read soon-ish.

Potentially, I might add Lone Star: A History of Texas And The Texans by T.R. Fehrenbach.