Did Jesus Have “Real” Brothers and Sisters?

Last updated on: December 21, 2013 at 4:36 pm By Scot McKnight

In the recent sketch for a Catholic magazine, Meghan Murphy-Gill lays out some of the discussion and then concludes with this: These three general arguments continue to be defended and disputed by scholars today, whose positions depend mostly on their particular traditions and how they interpret early church theology. The New Testament writers didn’t leave a clear picture of what first-century Christians thought about Mary’s virginity after the birth of Jesus, if they left any details at all. All we... Read more

Why Careful Reading Matters (to Christians)

Last updated on: December 20, 2013 at 5:55 am By Scot McKnight

David Moore, who blogs at www.twocities.org, conducted the following interview. Last month, I travelled to Baylor University. I went there to interview Judge/President Ken Starr (video will be released soon) and Ralph Wood, University Professor of Theology and Literature. I have had the good fortune to interview many well-read people. Ralph is in a select group with the deepest and broadest learning I’ve encountered. His scholarship spans several disciplines. Some scholars are better with the written word while others are... Read more

Weekly Meanderings, 21 December 2013

Last updated on: December 19, 2013 at 11:52 am By Scot McKnight

Northern Seminary each year has a staff Christmas party, with a little bit of singing and eating and praying and congratulating … all wrapped up with nothing less than a leg-slappin’ riot of white elephant gifts, and here is none other than our OT prof, Claude Mariottini wearing some get-up he received as a gift. The women of Advent — with Gail Wallace. The borders in the Middle East and how we got them: The map that the two men... Read more

Ron Burgundy’s Guide to Dress for Success

Last updated on: January 2, 2014 at 12:44 pm By Scot McKnight

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Bethlehem Space (John Frye)

Last updated on: December 18, 2013 at 8:21 pm By Scot McKnight

Bethlehem Space, by John Frye. When the Magi asked King Herod where the new king of the Jews was to be born, Herod called the Bible scholars of the day together. Herod, too, wanted to know where. The scholars searched the Scriptures and came up with a location associated with the coming Messiah: Bethlehem (Matthew 2:5-6; Micah 5:2). The entire Micah segment (5:1-6) is rich with Messianic overtones and resonates with Isaiah 7:13-17 and 9:1-8 (Leslie C. Allen, NICOT, Joel,... Read more

4 Problems for the Pastor. 2. Staleness

Last updated on: December 20, 2013 at 5:49 am By Scot McKnight

Here is how he frames the problem: “in the midst of all the pressures that are upon us, how can we not only overcome discouragement but maintain spiritual freshness?” So John Stott, in Problems of Christian Leadership (27). Here is Stott birdwatching in Belfast, and it appears that’s Tyler to his left. No specific passage, he admits, but a reflection drawn from experience and Scripture. “I am,” he confesses, “an impenitent believer in the importance of discipline. I believe that indiscipline... Read more

Antibacterial Cleaners Challenged

Last updated on: December 16, 2013 at 9:04 am By Scot McKnight

From AP: WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration says there is no evidence that antibacterial chemicals used in liquid soaps and washes help prevent the spread of germs, and there is some evidence they may pose health risks. The federal ruling on triclosan and other antibacterial ingredients lends new support to longstanding warnings from scientists who say the chemicals can interfere with hormone levels. Under a proposed rule, the agency will require manufacturers to prove that their antibacterial... Read more

Why Would a Scientist Believe a Virgin Gave Birth? (RJS)

Last updated on: December 19, 2013 at 6:06 am By RJS

Most Christians have a deep appreciation for the scriptures, both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Many of our disagreements, especially the most heated discussions of science and faith arise because we respect and wrestle with scripture as inspired by God. As Paul tells Timothy, the scriptures are able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. They are not to be taken lightly. For those who were not raised in the church however, or who... Read more

Salvation Re-Imagined through the Spirit (NT Wright)

Last updated on: December 18, 2013 at 8:02 pm By Scot McKnight

One of the more (I predict) focused-upon sections in NT Wright’s Paul and the Faithfulness of God will be what he says about salvation, but he draws a set of narrowing circles: first we must think election, then salvation, and only then justification. All reworked “in Christ” and “in the Spirit” (which Wright always writes “spirit”). Today’s post will focus on election and Spirit and our next post on justification. If the election of Israel was the solemn and unbreakable divine... Read more

Christmas with Flannery

Last updated on: December 15, 2013 at 9:38 am By Scot McKnight

From Russ Moore, for CNN: But I think Flannery O’Connor’s newly published “Prayer Journal” is exactly what Christians need, maybe especially at Christmas. The book, recently discovered in the writer’s papers in Georgia and now published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, reproduces the handwritten notebook prayers scribbled down by O’Connor during her years as a student at the University of Iowa. The prayers are jarring because they are so personal and raw, clearly not written to “edify the saints” in a published... Read more