Baylor in the News – Oct. 6-12, 2024
Baylor faculty experts called on by Christianity Today, The New York Times, Deseret News, BBC, among others
Kimlyn J. Bender, The Foy Valentine Chair in Christian Theology and Ethics at Baylor’s Truett Seminary, writes for Christianity Today about five enduring lessons Christians can learn from the Barmen Declaration, which was penned during Nazi-era Germany by Christians who opposed indirect state interference in the work and life of the church.
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Note: The opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of the University.
Featured News
Christianity Today: 5 Lessons Christians Can Learn from the Barmen Declaration
Kimlyn J. Bender, Ph.D., The Foy Valentine Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics at Baylor’s Truett Seminary, outlines five enduring lessons about how a wartime confession called the Barmen Declaration of 1934 that resisted Hitler’s Nazification of the German church is still relevant today.
National/International
The New York Times: Cissy Houston Dies at 91; Gospel Star Guided Daughter Whitney’s Rise
Emeritus journalism professor Robert Darden, founder of Baylor’s Black Gospel Music Preservation Program and author of several books on gospel music, is quoted about Grammy Award-winning soul and gospel star Cissy Houston, who died Oct. 7. Darden said Houston was “a significant figure not because she sold a lot of records, but because of the people she influenced who did sell a lot and because of her work as a sustainer and nurturer of the gospel music tradition.”
EurekAlert (AAAS): Microbiome researcher awarded NIH Transformative Research Award to pursue personalized treatment for gut diseases
Aaron Wright, Ph.D., The Schofield Endowed Chair in Biomedical Science in Baylor’s Department of Biology, has earned a $5.6 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Transformative Research Award for a project that he and collaborators F Weill Cornell Medicine hope could lead to personalized – and revolutionary – treatments for gut microbiome diseases like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis and more.
Deseret News: Do athletes mean what they say about religion?
Q&A with Paul Emory Putz, Ph.D., assistant director of Truett Seminary’s Faith & Sports Institute at Baylor and author of a new book on sports and religion called “The Spirit of the Game: American Christianity and Big-Time Sports.” While the book explores a wide range of cultural and historical topics, from 19th century evangelists to the rise of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the interview focuses on today’s athletes and religious expression.
BBC Last Word: Lord Ouseley, Norman Ackroyd, Lore Segal, Cissy Houston
AUDIO: Robert F. Darden, Emeritus Professor of Journalism and founding director of Baylor's Black Gospel Music Preservation Program, joined the BBC's Last Word program to talk about the late Grammy Award-winning singer Cissy Houston, a leading light in gospel music who sang with a range of artists, including Elvis, Van Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and her daughter, Whitney.
Marquette Today: College of Nursing to host James Wake Memorial Lecture on Nov. 8
Candi Cann, Ph.D., associate professor of religion in the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core in the Honors College, will give the 2024 James Wake Memorial Lecture, sponsored by Marquette’s College of Nursing and the Institute for Palliative and End of Life Care. Cann will speak on “Death, Culture, and Religion: How Different Worldviews Impact the Dying Process,” comparing various faith traditions within a medical framework, revealing how culture impacts how dying is managed, how death is defined and how different conceptions of life after death affect grief.
Sisters (From AARP): I’m a Doctor. Here’s What I Know About the Healing Power of Prayer
This column about the potential health benefits of prayer cites published research, including Baylor research published in 2023 in the Journal of Religion and Health, in which Laura Upenieks, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology, noted, “Painting with broad strokes, prayer appears to be associated with better mental health if it facilitates and reinforces a positive relationship with a perceived divine other (God) through praise or belief that one’s prayers are answered.”
The Ringer: How the ‘Pulp Fiction’ Poster Became a Dorm Room Staple
Chris Hansen, M.F.A., professor and chair of film and digital media at Baylor, is quoted in this article about how the 1994 Pulp Fiction movie poster that captured the vibe and influences of Quentin Tarantino’s indie breakout remains the go-to choice of freshmen across the country.
State/Local
Baylor Connections: Michelle Gonzales, First in Line Program Manager
PODCAST: Michelle Gonzalez, B.A. '12, First in Line Program Manager, highlights the ways Baylor walks alongside first-generation students as they navigate the college years, and shares why the program was recognized among the nation’s best.
Waco Tribune-Herald: 'I've always been a foreigner': Renowned author Isabel Allende to speak at Baylor
Freida Blackwell, Ph.D., professor of Spanish whose research and teaching interests focus on Spanish literature and culture in the 19th and 20th centuries, was interviewed about the Baylor appearance of celebrated author Isabel Allende, saying Allende’s lecture at Baylor offers a chance to hear “one of the most important writers from Latin America in the 20th century.”
KWBU-FM (NPR/Waco): County Commissioner Precinct 2 up for grabs in November Election
AUDIO: Patrick Flavin, Ph.D., interim chair of political science and The Bob Bullock Professor of Political Science at Baylor, was interviewed for this story about the race for Precinct 2 McLennan County Commissioner.
KWTX-TV (CBS/Waco): Degrees of Science: Earth’s Temporary Mini-Moon
VIDEO: An asteroid the size of a school bus will be temporarily trapped by Earth’s gravity and will spend about two months orbiting our planet. KWTX talked with Baylor astrophysicist Barbara Castanheira Endl, Ph.D., about the science behind how something like this happens.
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