Smurf-blue Pride and the Power of Forgiveness * Fools mock at making amends for sin, but goodwill is found among the upright. (Proverbs 14: 9-10) The 10 year-old boy visiting our home that day was bored so my wife let him play in the pool room. He was thrilled. His mother soon noticed him touching the cue stick tip and …
Walk Tall and Carry and Gentle Stick
Walk Tall and Carry a Gentle Stick * 1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 2 The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. (Proverbs 15:1-2) In 2009, Republican Mark DeMoss and Democrat Lanny Davis founded the Civility Project. They asked national politicians to sign a …
Let’s Have a Conversation about The God Problem
Let’s Have a Conversation about The God Problem Mark Ward Sr., Ph.D. Associate Professor of Communication University of Houston-Victoria Fifteen years ago, Quentin Schultze spoke to the annual awards banquet of the Religious Communication Association. His address on “The ‘God-Problem’ in Communication Studies” was subsequently published in the Journal of Communication and Religion. The essay put the problem succinctly: If …
Compassionate Communication
Compassionate Communication Annalee R. Ward, Ph.D. University of Dubuque Annalee Ward, Professor of Communication, currently serves as the Director of the Wendt Character Initiative at the University of Dubuque. This Initiative promotes excellent moral character and lives of purpose. Passionate about interweaving faith, life, and learning, Annalee is grateful for the work of the Christianity and Communication Studies Network whose …
The Rhetoric of Place
The Rhetoric of Place Annalee R. Ward, Ph.D. University of Dubuque Annalee Ward, Professor of Communication, currently serves as the Director of the Wendt Character Initiative at the University of Dubuque. This Initiative promotes excellent moral character and lives of purpose. Passionate about interweaving faith, life, and learning, Annalee is grateful for the work of the Christianity and Communication Studies …
Politically Correct Morals; Morally Correct Politics
Politically Correct Morals; Morally Correct Politics Guest Columnist Mark Williams, Ph.D. Professor of Rhetoric California State University, Sacramento Frequently lost on Christians is the distinction between the moral and the sacred, between virtue and holiness. Take the recent remark by RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel who asserted, “I go to church for my moral leadership,” noting, “You can be the nicest, …
What We Can Learn about Christian Communication from First Reformed
What We Can Learn about Christian Communication from First Reformed Guest Columnist Paul A. Creasman, Ph.D. Arizona Christian University The 2019 Academy Awards ceremony came and went with the usual amount of fanfare/controversy: The Academy couldn’t find a host, Spike Lee and President Trump traded barbs, Glenn Close still does not have an Oscar. Lost among the din of Twitter …
“Ode for O Joe,” Motivation and Communication – Part 2 (by Paul A. Creasman)
Motivation and Communication – Part 2 “Ode for O Joe” Paul A. Creasman, Arizona Christian University, Professor of Communication; Chair, Communication and English Department (paul.creasman@arizonachristian.edu) I was saddened to learn this summer that Joey “O Joe” Taylor, the co-founder and driving force behind Undercover, one of the seminal early Contemporary Christian punk/rock bands, had renounced his Christian beliefs. Although this …
The “Why?” of Communication, Motivation and Communication – Part 1 (by Paul A. Creasman)
Motivation and Communication – Part 1 The “Why?” of Communication Paul A. Creasman, Arizona Christian University, Professor of Communication; Chair, Communication and English Department (paul.creasman@arizonachristian.edu) Seems so simple a question yet it is also decidedly complex. Out of the “5Ws” of journalism (who, what, when, where, why) “why” is the most difficult to address because it asks for something more …
What Is Higher about this Education? (by Joel Ward)
What is higher about this education? Joel Ward, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Communication, Geneva College, (jsward@geneva.edu) The question of what higher education demands has recently received notable attention in public conversation. Many have been quick to both defend and deconstruct higher education as we currently practice it in American colleges and universities. As in past decades, arguments have become necessary …
