A Skeptical Faith in the University with Steven Knapp

Steven Knapp, (recently) former president of George Washington University, long time friend and collaborator with Philip Clayton, scholar of literature, Romanticism, and literary theory is on the podcast. While Steven has been a part of many podcast related events, this is his first solo interview.

In it, he'll share about his intellectual and spiritual journey, his cross-disciplinary career in the academy and church, how the political tumult in the late 60s and early 70s, long nights reading German philosophers, and an Advent sermon on Bonhoeffer reignited his faith. He describes his conversion experience, which occurred while reading Kierkegaard, and how an interest in Pannenberg brought together Steven and Phil and sparked their future work on the relationship between rational inquiry, science, and the Christian tradition, ultimately leading to The Predicament of Belief

Steven and Tripp also discuss how literary criticism and the postmodern movements of deconstruction have positively and negatively shaped the discourse surrounding theological reflection and higher education, the specialization of academia, the crisis in the humanities and in the church and how the dissolution of the canon is connected to that, how and why students are more religiously engaged today. Free speech and safe space issues, the mischaracterization of millennials, the challenges of financing higher education, and Steven's advice for those thinking about pursuing higher education are all part of this nerdy episode.

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