Bible and Religion
April 14, 2022
GC hires four new faculty members
Next year, there will be some new faces at the front of classrooms. Goshen College has hired four new faculty members in the departments of religion, sustainability, Master of Social Work (MSW), biology and nursing. Luke Kreider, currently a lecturer of Christian ethics at Yale Divinity School, will join the faculty in a unique joint position, dividing his time between the religion, justice and society department and the sustainability department. Kreider said he is “interested in the connections between peace, justice and sustainability issues.” Kreider’s area of research ties together some of the interdisciplinary causes of climate change, and he...
April 9, 2021
Bible and religion professor announced
On Monday, the Bible and religion department announced that Breanna Nickel, GC class of 2010, will be joining the faculty in the fall. Nickel graduated with a double-major in Bible, religion and philosophy and peace, justice and conflict studies, and continued her studies with a master’s degree at Yale Divinity School and a Ph.D. in the theology department at the University of Notre Dame. She is currently the Conrad J. Bergendoff visiting fellow in religion at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. “I am thrilled to be joining Goshen’s religion, justice and society department in the coming year,” Nickel said....
March 18, 2021
Bible religion and philosophy department searches for new professor
After months of considering 44 applications and resumes, interviewing the applicants, and discussing the goals of the department, four final candidates for the position of Bible professor have been selected for virtual campus visits in the next few weeks. Each candidate will teach a model Engaging the Bible class session and give a presentation of their current research. The process began in January, with professors Keith Graber Miller, Regina Shands Stoltzfus, Suzanne Ehst, and junior PJCS and Bible and religion major Elizabeth Reimer meeting every Monday at 8 am. Together, they make up the search committee for seeking out a...
January 16, 2020
Students’ study of dead languages very much alive
Bible and religion professor Paul Keim lives in language. He has since seventh grade, when he began learning German, opening the door to nearly 15 languages that Keim now humbly considers himself literate in – German, French, Spanish, Arabic, Greek, Latin, Polish, Hebrew, Akkadian, Ugaritic, Aramaic, Ge’ez… His journey with languages, those both dead and alive, is shaped by the relationships he’s made with others while studying language together, a realization that became clear to Keim during his time as a Goshen College student. Now in his last teaching semester at Goshen College, Keim continues to pass the gift of...
October 31, 2018
Missions banquet educates students on service opportunities
The annual missions banquet, sponsored by the Goshen College Career Networks and Bible and Religion Department, took place in the College Mennonite Church fellowship hall Tuesday evening. A record number of students, over 60, made reservations for this year's event that hopes to educate GC students on ways they can serve around the world. Keith Graber Miller, professor of bible, religion and philosophy, gave an introduction to the event, which is something the department has been doing for 18 years. During the meal, each table had a representative from Mennonite Mission Network or Mennonite Central Committee and a GC faculty...
March 3, 2016
Connecting Goshen to dead languages, travel abroad, and the Old Testament
Paul Keim, professor of Bible and Religion, has an office filled with books on languages, books on the bible and one rabbit that he thinks might belong to the Biology department. Keim has been working at Goshen College since 1997, although he did not become a professor until 2001. He attended Goshen College as a student before going to Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, or AMBS, and then Harvard. At Harvard, Keim earned a degree in ancient Near Eastern languages and civilizations, which Keim says is “what you do when you study the Old Testament.” Keim has traveled the world, visiting...
September 10, 2015
Bob Yoder Campus Pastor now published author
In April, Campus Pastor Bob Yoder published the book “Helping Youth Grieve: The Good News of Biblical Lament.” This past week during Goshen’s First Friday, he held a book signing at Better World Books. The following interview explores his book, inspiration and process. Q: How was the book signing last Friday? A: It was good! It was fun to be able to see people, talk to people, make people aware. Q: How long did it take you to write the book? A: A long time. There’s phases. This is like 8 years. However, the bulk of the book is the...
October 30, 2014
Missions Banquet Informs Students
The Bible, Religion and Philosophy Department’s Missions Banquet gave students a chance to ask questions and become more informed about mission opportunities from former mission workers in the Goshen community. Approximately 40 Goshen College students attended the dinner, hosted by College Mennonite Church, where they conversed with faculty and representatives who have been involved in mission or service work. Organizations represented at the Missions Banquet included Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite Mission Network. Several professors who were present brought their international Study-Service Term experiences to the table as well. After the meal and informal discussion, a panel of five missions...
October 8, 2014
Bible, Religion And Philosophy Department Transitioning
The Bible, religion and philosophy department is changing due to a low number of students and budget cuts. The Bible, Religion and Philosophy department has experienced budget and personnel cuts in the past year due to a declining number of students in the department, a trend seen beyond Goshen College in the larger collegiate atmosphere. “Just logic dictated that if you’re going to cut back, you want to have the least negative effect on the students, so the decision [to cut] was a very rational one,” Jo-Ann Brant said. “All across the country there has been a decreasing number of...
September 21, 2011
Institute explores world of Anabaptists
In the last 40 years, the number of Anabaptists in the world has nearly tripled, with much of that growth happening outside of North America and Europe. The Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism, a new initiative at Goshen College, aims to document and explore these dramatic changes. According to its website, the institute “will help nurture a new generation of scholarship and fraternal exchange explicitly oriented to the global Anabaptist church.” Anabaptists belong to a faith tradition that grew out of the Radical Reformation of 16th century Europe. Goshen College is a member of Mennonite Church USA, which...
March 17, 2011
Students to follow in Apostle Paul’s footsteps through Greece and Rome
An exciting new opportunity now exists for students who love to travel, learn, and explore their faiths. A new May Term course, Journeys of Paul in Greece and Rome, will lead participants on a trip that follows in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul on his second missionary journey, as described in Acts 16-18. The path creeps from northern Greece down into Italy through the cities of Florence and Rome. As they experience first-hand key biblical sites that Paul reached, students will explore the issues of the various religious communities he influenced and the books of the Bible associated with...