New Professor in Aberdeen

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:50 pm By Scot McKnight

Source: The University of Aberdeen’s department of Divinity and Religious Studies has appointed a leading professor to strengthen its position as a premier centre for world class research in Theological Ethics. The University is delighted to announce the appointment of Stanley Hauerwas to a Chair in Theological Ethics. Professor Hauerwas will take up his part-time post within the School of Divinity, History &Philosophy this autumn. Respected worldwide for his influential and wide-ranging scholarship and acknowledged as a leading public intellectual both within and... Read more

Let the Teens Sleep

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:50 pm By Scot McKnight

By Anne Miller: Teens: They sleep too much and make poor decisions. Amirite? Maybe not. Researchers at the University of Minnesota found that getting enough sleep — eight hours on average — benefits American teenagers in a host of ways, from boosting grades to literally keeping them alive They tracked 9,000 students at eight high schools across several Western states and discovered that at the school in Jackson Hole, Wyo., where administrators pushed the morning start time back to 8:55 a.m., the school’s teen... Read more

The Nature of Final Destiny

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:50 pm By Scot McKnight

In our series on the exceptional anthology, Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism (ed. C.M. Date, G.G. Stump, J.W. Anderson), we turn now to one of the quieter but influential thinkers on the topic, Stephen Travis. I met Stephen in 1982 in Cambridge England and have both admired and read his work since those days. His writing’s focus makes him a bit of an “eschatologian,” and one of his themes has always been conditional immortality/conditionalism/annihilationism, whichever words you prefer. Which of... Read more

The Giant Hole in Cynicism, by Jonathan Storment

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:50 pm By Scot McKnight

[There is] a radical difference between cynicism and joy. Cynics seek darkness wherever they go. They point always to approaching dangers, impure motives, and hidden schemes. They call trust naive, care romantic, and forgiveness sentimental…They consider themselves realists who see reality for what it truly is and who are not deceived by “escapist emotions.” But in belittling God’s joy, their darkness only calls forth more darkness. —Henri Nouwen “All is well, all shall be well, and all manner of things... Read more

Heavy Drinker? 2 per day

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:50 pm By Scot McKnight

Jen Christensen, for CNN: What do you think? Women are considered “heavy drinkers” if they have eight or more drinks a week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Men can have 14. At 15, you, my friend, are a “heavy drinker” in the eyes of the CDC.… Do you consider yourself a light, moderate or heavy drinker? Health agencies have these definitions to help you understand when your drinking may become a health problem. The definition is different... Read more

Adam and Eve as Special Creation (RJS)

Last updated on: December 2, 2015 at 7:31 pm By RJS

The next section in Four Views on the Historical Adam centers on the view of Adam put forth by C. John Collins. He takes an old earth special creation view, but is willing to consider a wide range of scenarios that fit within certain limits. For example, he seems fine with an evolutionary description of the appearance of animal life if this is where the evidence leads. However, he does not think humans can be fit neatly into an evolutionary... Read more

Jimmy Carter: Progressive Evangelical President

Last updated on: October 11, 2023 at 8:47 am By Scot McKnight

Mention former President Jimmy Carter and one is likely to get a response, and the most common is perhaps that Carter became more significant after his time at the White House that during his presidency. He is the only President in American history who used his presidency as a stepping stone to a more expansive career. Future historians may well demonstrate that Carter’s take on a number of issues — not least his routine questioning of our policies (one is tempted to... Read more

The Bible is our only Creed?

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:50 pm By Scot McKnight

Some pastors, preachers, professors, and parishioners will announce they have “no creed but the Bible.” One of America’s Reformed church historians, Carl Trueman, now has a book challenging both the accuracy of this statement (we all have creeds and confessions he observes) and the wisdom of it — not to mention its seemingly inconsistency with the Bible itself, which both has creedal lines and teaches the importance of teaching the essence of the faith. Trueman’s book is called The Creedal Imperative.... Read more

Liberalism Reinvented (by Carl Trueman)

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:50 pm By Scot McKnight

This review is by Carl Trueman, professor at Westminster Theological Seminary, pastor, and one of my favorite church historians. His book, The Creedal Imperative, is a timely reminder that low church doctrinal statements need stronger ties to the great tradition of the church. (Come back at 9:30am today for a summary of that book.) I have been reading this year on American Protestant liberalism but when I came across Theo Hobson, Reinventing Liberal Christianity, and began to read it I realized... Read more

Prayers of [not for] the People

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:50 pm By Scot McKnight

When a church is led by someone praying, often called the intercessor, the prayers are to be the prayers of the people more than prayers for the people, though the intercessor may lead the congregation to pray for people in the congregation or the wider church. In Samuel Wells and Abigail Kocher, Shaping the Prayers of the People, we are treated to a basic theology of how to shape the prayers of the people: 1. The prayer is directed to God through every... Read more