The word “apostle,” by and large, isn’t all that important to low church evangelicals. It is far more important to the liturgical and creedal traditions, and it was very important to the earliest Christians. So important that Judas’ falling out meant someone had to occupy his seat at the apostolic table. That is what we read in Acts 1:15-26 (below). The small group of leaders at the core — vv. 12-14 — stands in contrast with the 120 who comprise... Read more
We are in a conversation and discussion about John Walton’s (professor at Wheaton) new book, The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate. What does it mean when we say “create”? John Walton argues that the standard view today is a “material ontology.” For us, to “create” means to bring something material into material reality. We think of physical properties. Walton argues that the ancient world, which had lots of creation stories, did not think of... Read more
I’ve seen a phenomenon in the church. I think it happens often enough to just about anyone in the church, not just pastor’s spouses. What happens to our unity in Christ when politics are inserted into the relationship? Scenario 1: Two people who know each other in church are quite good friends in their “church relationship.” At some point, they get to know each other well enough to find out that they do not agree on a political issue within... Read more
From Time.com…. Think you should haggle only when buying a car or shopping in the streets of Morocco? In this recession, if you’re not bargaining for everything everywhere, you’re needlessly draining your wallet. According to the consulting firm America’s Research Group, in October, 56% of consumers said they had recently tried to negotiate at retail outlets other than car dealerships. Of those hagglers, 50% got deals. When the company repeated the survey in May, 72% of consumers said they had... Read more
That opening sketch in Acts (1:1-11) is wide-ranging and cosmic in its theology. We return to earth with the next scene: the earliest followers of Jesus are gathered for prayer (1:12-14): Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James... Read more
Chapter 15 of Alister McGrath’s book A Fine-Tuned Universe: The Quest for God in Science and Theology is entitled “An Emergent Creation and Natural Theology.” This chapter presents some rather interesting ideas. First McGrath returns to Augustine – not to his cosmology or science, but to his view of God’s creative power. According to Augustine God’s creative activity encompasses both an act and a process. While Augustine applied his ideas in the context of the understanding of his day, which... Read more
The worst society I can imagine is one where Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris get to determine what is good and what is bad and where they get to determine who is good and who is bad. They are, you know, Christianity’s fiercest (and sometimes uninformed) critics and, once we let them rip all traces of Christianity (or religion) from culture and society, I can’t imagine they will be able to find any grounds for morality. Let them... Read more
A NY Times Blog Green Inc. reported last week that six universities will test a Kindle text book plan this fall. The development was also reported in the Wall Street Journal last May: Amazon to Launch Kindle for Textbooks. From the WSJ article: Beginning this fall, some students at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland will be given large-screen Kindles with textbooks for chemistry, computer science and a freshman seminar already installed, said Lev Gonick, the school’s chief information officer.... Read more
We begin our series today on the book of Acts, a march right through this book from 1:1 to 28:31, and I anticipate it will take us months. As we march through this book, our emphasis will be on the theme of mission and what we can learn about missional theology in the Acts of the Apostles. To help us, I will be reading Beverly Gaventa’s commentary on Acts: The Acts of the Apostles (Abingdon New Testament Commentaries) . So... Read more
We at the Jesus Creed blog, both Scot and RJS, have already invited one and all to enter into a conversation and discussion about John Walton’s (professor at Wheaton) new book, The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate. Today is our first day. We anticipate 18 posts, one for each chapter… Post one concerns this claim by Walton: “Genesis 1 is ancient cosmology.” What happens to Genesis 1 and the faith-science debate when Genesis 1... Read more
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