How about you? Decreasing your …

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:14 pm By Scot McKnight

… number of times going to a restaurant per year? If you find yourself eating out less often these days, you’re not alone. The average American now eats at a restaurant only 74 times each year, the lowest reading in more than 30 years, according to data from market research from NPD group. “People have been abandoning restaurants for quite some time,” said Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst and vice president of NPD group. “Eating out just isn’t as popular as it once was.” Indeed, it’s not. The number... Read more

The Real Living Bible (by John Frye)

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:14 pm By Scot McKnight

The Real Living Bible (by John Frye — see here) “For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church” (1 Corinthians 4:17). There can be no more instructive verse from Paul, in my opinion, that emphasizes life over doctrine than this one. There are others like it,... Read more

Christian Realism

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:14 pm By Scot McKnight

Who is the most influential American theologian of the 20th Century? In some circles the name Charles Hodge (Princeton) or BB Warfield would immediately be mentioned, though Hodge is a 19th Century theologian with a 20th Century influence. Others might say Walter Rauschenbusch, but in his book The Journey of Modern Theology, Roger Olson probably gets it right with this: If asked to name America’s most influential twentieth-century Christian theologian virtually every historian and theologian would name Reinhold Niebuhr. He never regarded... Read more

G.B. Caird, NT Theology, p. 1

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:15 pm By Scot McKnight

Here is the original handwritten draft of page one of his New Testament Theology: Read more

Every Body Loves Authenticity, until…

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:15 pm By Scot McKnight

… it is they who need to be authentic. But my friend at Church of the Redeemer, Donald Nwankwo posts these five reasons for not being authentic with others: Sometimes, the dilemma of authenticity can be a real challenge for a few reasons. I have attempted to identify just five of those below. Let’s look at them, and briefly consider how they can be turned around to positive directions. A misplaced sense of identity: Sometimes one might feel that their... Read more

No Miracles Allowed? (RJS)

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:15 pm By RJS

I’ve been reading Stephen Jay Gould’s short book Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life in which he outlines the concept of non-overlapping magisteria (NOMA), an important concept in the discussion of science and Christian faith. In Chapter 2 Gould provides two examples illustrating the idea of NOMA and the compatibility of science and faith under this principle. The first is the position that the Catholic Church through Pope Pius XII and John Paul II has... Read more

Encountering God in Prayer

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:15 pm By Scot McKnight

One of the themes Tim Keller presses us to see in his new book on prayer (Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God) is that prayer is a conversation with God on the basis of the Bible’s words. We listen to God through reading and pondering and meditating over Scripture and then we pray to God. But Keller’s title focuses on the experience of prayer and intimacy with God, so I have been waiting for these themes to appear more... Read more

Peter King on Jay Cutler (for football fans)

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:15 pm By Scot McKnight

Peter King: [Jay] Cutler is an easy target, because of his laissez-faire look. Those who really like the guy say that’s just his way. There are other quarterbacks who give off a similar look. Carson Palmer, for instance. But ask Palmer’s teammates how they felt when he went down for the season on Sunday. “A sick feeling, for everybody,” said backup Drew Stanton. “That’s our leader.” Cutler, whether he likes it or not (and I am sure he does not),... Read more

Pondering the Church Calendar

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:15 pm By Scot McKnight

Every year about this time, which means just before Advent begins, churches and church leaders ponder the church calendar. I got a calendar in the mail recently that begins the year on Dec 1 (not Jan 1), and it’s an attempt to reshape our minds and lives around a new kind of calendar — actually, an old calendar, the church calendar. Chaplain Mike at Internet Monk recently had a post that gives five reasons to think about the church calendar... Read more

The Bible: Uncut (by Collin Packer)

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:15 pm By Scot McKnight

“The Bible: Uncut” (by Collin Packer) My childhood heroes weren’t Superman, Spiderman, or The Hulk. My superheroes were named Daniel, David, and Moses. That opener sounds like a sad tale from a child who grew up in a home with parents who denied me the pleasure of cable television in an effort to keep me away from “worldly influences.” My list of heroes wasn’t the result of a conscious censoring attempt by my parents. It was the result of a... Read more