“Angry Atheist”: A Stereotype?

Last updated on: April 22, 2015 at 7:15 am By Scot McKnight

Yes, says Amanda Marcotte: And I wonder if she would admit the same about evangelicals and fundamentalists and political conservatives? The fact is, shrill voices find a way to be heard. And public voices who are shrill become the well-known voice of the atheist, not least Christopher Hitchens or Sam Harris. The stereotype of the angry atheist, much like the stereotype of the angry feminist, is widespread, used by believers to stigmatize and discredit atheists. The eagerness to discredit atheists... Read more

A Big Surprise

Last updated on: April 22, 2015 at 6:36 am By Scot McKnight

By Jonathan Storment Right now I am reading one of the most recent books to crack the Best Seller list “So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed” It is a witty look at the way that public shaming is having a renaissance in todays world. Today we don’t lock people up in stocks or tar and feather them, we don’t need to…we have Twitter and Facebook, and we have shame, lots of shame. When I was in high school, I knew a... Read more

Women and Worship: Corinth

Last updated on: April 22, 2015 at 6:46 am By Scot McKnight

In her very important new book Women and Worship at Corinth, Lucy Peppiatt contends there are no fewer than six reasons to examine afresh the passages in 1 Corinthians about women in worship. Before I get to her reasons, I want to post six slogans in 1 Corinthians — that is six lines that even the NIV puts in quotation marks as lines expressing the views of others. How does one detect these kinds of slogans or the rhetoric of the... Read more

Free-Range Parenting and a Culture of Fear

Last updated on: April 19, 2015 at 2:14 pm By Scot McKnight

Source: What is your policy/practice? Long before the Meitivs of Silver Spring clashed with Montgomery County over their young children’s walk home alone from a park, other parents across the country were at odds with authorities over similar questions: How much supervision do children need, and when are they truly at risk? In Austin, Kari Anne Roy, 38, a children’s author, was investigated for neglect after her children walked the dog one day in August and her 6-year-old lagged behind, playing on an outdoor bench... Read more

Archetypal Adam (RJS)

Last updated on: April 21, 2015 at 6:37 am By RJS

Today’s post turns again to John Walton’s new book The Lost World of Adam and Eve, before digging in I would like to mention a conference coming up this summer. The BioLogos foundation is holding a conference on Evolution and Christian Faith in Grand Rapids MI, June 30-July 2, 2015. John Walton will be one of the speakers, and the format should allow ample opportunity for conversation and questions. At this conference we look forward to sharing a rich time of... Read more

Scribe or Prophet?

Last updated on: April 18, 2015 at 2:24 pm By Scot McKnight

Marilynne Robinson’s gift must be the ability to think about the life of a pastor though she is neither a pastor nor the daughter of a pastor. But somehow she gets to the heart of so much of what pastoring is in her deft conversations between Ames and Boughton, especially in Gilead (p. 142 below [image]). This is one of my favorite scenes/paragraphs in her many about the pastoral life, and this paragraph, which I will break up a bit, probes into... Read more

Time for Seminary? Join us.

Last updated on: April 20, 2015 at 8:34 am By Scot McKnight

What is happening at Northern Seminary these days is so exciting. I am right now reading papers of my students and I am so grateful to see the quality of their papers — excellent command of background sources as students work to show how that background informs both what the Bible says and what that means for church life today. Think about joining our new Master’s program in New Testament where we will focus on how the context informs the... Read more

Knuckle Popper?

Last updated on: April 18, 2015 at 10:55 am By Scot McKnight

Are you a knuckle popper? (I am.) From Sarah Knapton: The wince-inducing sound of knuckles cracking is caused by a small bubble building up in the fluid of the fingers then ‘popping ‘, scientists believe, and it could even be beneficial to health. For decades researchers have debated what causes the unpleasant sound and argued about whether knuckle cracking could cause joint problems like arthritis. Now a new study from the University of Alberta suggests that when muscle joints are... Read more

Is “No Tears in Heaven” Desirable?

Last updated on: April 20, 2015 at 6:44 am By Scot McKnight

Here’s how he sums up the problem: Let’s face it, the Christian notion that heaven will wipe away all tears is a staggering thought. If heaven is real, no doubt there are many rapists, murderers, and terrorists who will be there along with their victims. Is this idealistic nonsense? Is it a moral absurdity? Or is it a profoundly moral hope? So Jerry Walls, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, 144. Walls opens by discussion the famous Ivan scene/discussion/rhetoric in Brothers Karamazov. He then... Read more

If I Wrote an Intro to the Bible Text

Last updated on: April 18, 2015 at 2:16 pm By Scot McKnight

I have no plans to write an introduction to the Bible textbook, but if I did it would complement lectures, overlapping at times, lead students to read the Bible more and encourage them to see the grandeur of the Bible. The major idea for each chapter would have this approach: Here’s something to know so you can read your Bible more adventuresomely and meaningfully. What do you think needs to be in such a book? So, while there are a... Read more