Charles Moore at The Spectator, on a book by Eliza Filby called God and Mrs. Thatcher: As I swink in the field of Thatcher studies, this book brings refreshment. It is a welcome and rare. Far too many writers attitudinise about Margaret Thatcher (for and against) rather than studying her. I doubt the author likes Thatcher much, but all the more credit to her that she makes a fair-minded effort to understand what she believed about God, and how she... Read more
I am deeply honored that Northern Seminary has chosen to name me the Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament. I want to offer a few comments about Professor Mantey and I, but first the Northern announcement: Northern Seminary is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Scot McKnight, Professor of New Testament Studies, to the Julius R. Mantey Chair of New Testament. The prestigious position was established to honor a New Testament professor making noteworthy scholarly contributions to the... Read more
Ancient texts were not written to be read in private but were written to be performed or read aloud. Read more
Almighty and everlasting God, Who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Read more
Folks, I think this week marked 10 years of blogging at Jesus Creed! Woop, woop. Here was the first post, used without permission from the only one who can deny permission! In the last three or so years I have been struck, through my reading of the most influential writers on Christian spiritual formation, by how many of them were committed to the “divine offices”. “Divine offices” refers to a rhythmical prayer life. These Christians prayed three times a day... Read more
Julie Rovner: “I was not taught this in medical school myself,” says McKean. “We haven’t taught people how to be specific about working in teams, how to communicate with peers and colleagues and how to communicate to the general public about what’s going on in health care and medicine.” It’s just one of many such changes, and it’s dramatically different from the traditional way medicine has been taught. Flexner’s model is known as “two plus two.” Students spend their first... Read more
Trying to define conversion in a meaningful way is not easy, so I will go to two major scholars of conversion theory. In doing this, let me emphasize that the scholarly discussion of conversion avoids specific theological terms, so sometimes this can sound a bit clinical and artificial — but I want to emphasize that it isn’t. Conversion is a profound spiritual moment and/or process that, at the same time, can be analyzed on the basis of “what we can... Read more
Here’s how he begins the chapter, with a question: How can hell exist if God is truly love and will bring his world to the perfect comic end we explored in the first chapter? The answer? Well, what I want to argue is that hell can exist precisely because God is love. Because God is love, the comic ending is assured, but because he is love, hell is also possible. So Jerry Walls in Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory: A Protestant View... Read more
We’ve now finished Iain Provan’s book Seriously Dangerous Religion with subtitle: What the Old Testament Really Says and Why It Matters. In the postscript to his book Provan sums up his argument. There are a variety of different worldviews at play in our world each with its own particular story of the past. In this mix of stories some claim that the biblical story is an outgrown superstition, with the Old Testament focused on tribal gods and bronze age ethics... Read more
Are you perhaps disillusioned with the church? Erin Lane says disillusionment is a gift. Yes, that’s right. It’s a gift. From God. Or at least a gift we are given and are given a challenge to do something with it. Actually, she says disillusionment is the gift of being freed from illusions in her new book, Lessons in Belonging: From a Church-Going Commitment Phobe. Church, she says, is “anywhere we regularly gather to receive communion from God and practice communion with one... Read more
Jesus Creed
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In