USA and Cuba: A New Day?!

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:01 pm By Scot McKnight

CNN: Washington (CNN) — U.S. contractor Alan Gross, held by the Cuban government since 2009, was freed Wednesday as part of a landmark deal with Cuba that paves the way for a major overhaul in U.S. policy toward the island, senior administration officials tell CNN. President Barack Obama is expected to announce Gross’ release at noon in Washington. At around the same time, Cuban president Raul Castro will speak about it in Havana. Gross’ “humanitarian” release by Cuba was accompanied by a separate spy swap, the... Read more

The Honey of Hope (Josh Graves)

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:01 pm By Scot McKnight

I’m in my eighth year of leading a local church through the Advent Season. It has become–both communally and personally–the most meaningful part of the spiritual calendar. There’s something piercing about the cold, the candles, and repetition of The Magnificat. My new-found love for the Advent season is also the result of being the father of two young boys. They start counting down the birthday of Jesus as soon as the last trick-or-treaters leave our porch October 31st (defenders of... Read more

Does the Bible Contain Science?

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:06 pm By Scot McKnight

The question — Does the Bible contain science? — is one of the more penetrating question one can ask when the debate about creation vs. evolution arises. The irony is that many of the most conservative of Christians absolutely know and fight for the Bible containing science while the most naturalists of scientists contend the very opposite. The former say Yes, Genesis 1 is scientific information while the latter say No, Genesis 1 is about religion. The latter fall into the... Read more

Christmas as Propaganda

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:06 pm By Scot McKnight

In a series I am doing with others at Patheos, I thought I’d share the insight of Billy Kangas on the Christmas narrative in Luke 2 as “political propaganda.” Don’t let the word “propaganda” distract you. Here’s his set of ideas: 3. The Story of Jesus Birth was Propaganda (and that’s awesome) Luke opens his formal birth narrative by giving an explanation of how it came to be that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He situates the impetus for travel... Read more

Gay-Lesbian and Celibate

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:06 pm By Scot McKnight

WaPo: Any post about homosexual persons and homosexuality as a problematic theological issue invites harsh, destructive, judgmental comments. This post is about the rise of many in the church who self-identify as gay, as celibate and as Christian. Some are not happy that some want to modify “Christian” with “gay” (since it makes sexuality part of one’s identity) while others affirm such as a reality. Others, as in the article (but not clipped below), like Al Mohler, think identity statements... Read more

Purpose Matters! (RJS)

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:06 pm By RJS

There is a purpose to the universe and this purpose matters. The final case study in David N. Livingstone’s fascinating new book Dealing with Darwin: Place, Politics, and Rhetoric in Religious Engagements with Evolution, looks at the approaches to evolutionary theories at Princeton – both the college and the seminary. Most of the professors at Princeton were willing to accept a limited form of evolution. Limited, first, by the available data of their era. Evolution was gaining acceptance in the... Read more

Luke’s Counter-Cultural Christmas Story (Paul Penley)

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:06 pm By Scot McKnight

Luke’s Counter-Cultural Christmas Story: Jesus’ path to peace and joy By Paul T. Penley Was Jesus born to save us from this world or bring peace to the earth? Luke’s counter-cultural Christmas story answers this question. What a Birth Means to a Mom For many of us the story of our birth doesn’t answer questions about the purpose of our life. Birth stories typically amount to no more than nostalgic moments at family gatherings. One parent (if you’re so blessed to... Read more

Advent at The High Calling

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:06 pm By Scot McKnight

Please click through right here to read my Advent article at The High Calling. At that site I ask what a church would look like if it permitted Advent to being the church’s story. I ask, What does an Advent-shaped church look like? What are Advent church-shaped spiritual disciplines? Advent is the beginning of the church year and it is also the beginning of creating a church culture. What does a church culture look like that genuinely begins its story at... Read more

Lord’s Supper: Who is Unworthy? (Jeff Cook)

Last updated on: December 2, 2017 at 5:14 pm By Scot McKnight

Who is Unworthy to Celebrate in Church? (by Jeff Cook) I went to a large wedding a few years back in which the clergy invited only those who had jumped through the right hoops to come forward and receive the body and blood of Jesus. The leader then asked those of us who had not jumped through their hoops to “pray for the unity of all believers.” Of course, I sat there thinking, “The only thing keeping us disunified are... Read more

“God is on a mission to get the hell out of earth”

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:06 pm By Scot McKnight

I have been reading Joshua Ryan Butler’s The Skeletons in God’s Closet, the first major section in which is a study of hell — and how it fits into the Bible’s narrative. Hell without a story becomes a torture chamber. Butler begins by clarifying the all too common view of hell: We get hell wrong because we get heaven and earth wrong…. So what is this problematic story? The distorted picture in which the puzzle piece won’t seem to fit? If you... Read more