Orthodoxy was a Process

Last updated on: May 21, 2013 at 5:41 am By Scot McKnight

Some — and probably far more than “some” — believe Christian orthodoxy is a simple, clear, uneventful interpretation of Scripture and, in particular, of the apostolic teaching. In other words, apart from some dipsticks all believed in the deity of Christ in more or less the Chalcedonian form from the beginning. Ronald Heine, in his book Classical Christian Doctrine: Introducing the Essentials of the Ancient Faith, establishes in simple chapters and clear prose and undeniable evidence that orthodox christology was a... Read more

Oklahoma City in our Prayers

Last updated on: May 20, 2013 at 5:31 pm By Scot McKnight

We are praying for the victims and families and workers in Oklahoma City as they tend to the devastation of this tornado. Read more

Tithers — a Profile

Last updated on: May 17, 2013 at 6:34 pm By Scot McKnight

Melissa Steffan, at CT: That last paragraph is a whole world of concern. 77 percent of tithers reported giving between 11 and 20 percent of their income, and 70 percent donate based on their gross (not net) income. The majority (63 percent) started tithing 10 percent or more between childhood and their twenties. Moreover, it appears that generous givers are better off financially than their non-tithing counterparts. Nearly 1 in 3 Christian tithers reports being debt free, and the vast... Read more

Tiger Mom, Thanks

Last updated on: May 17, 2013 at 11:24 am By Scot McKnight

From Grace Liu: My parents are immigrants from Taiwan. I was an only child, and I was expected to excel academically and extracurricularly. So, I delivered. I got straight A’s. I played violin for hours. I did extra math, chemistry and physics problem sets under the eagle-eyed gaze of my mother. Through it all, I cried and screamed. A lot. My mom yelled back. A lot. I told her I hated my life, my teachers, my school and all my... Read more

Negotiating the Political Powers

Last updated on: May 18, 2013 at 9:00 pm By Scot McKnight

How did the Judeans in the era around Jesus negotiate with the Roman powers and the Judean powers? We might need to begin with the observation that they had to since Rome’s power was pervasive and, if need be, brutal. In 63 BC Pompey the Great was sent to the eastern Mediterranean to calm things down, which he did and what he did in particular was grab hold of Judea to occupy it. Judea was in the middle of its... Read more

A Long Faithfulness: Preface

Last updated on: May 18, 2013 at 8:56 pm By Scot McKnight

The following is from my new e-book, A Long Faithfulness: The Case for Christian Perseverance. The aim of this book is to present how the warning passages in Hebrews teach perseverance and the possibility of genuine apostasy of genuine believers, and this theme is applied to the notion so popular today called “meticulous sovereignty,” that God determines or brings about all things. If humans can resist God’s will, or undo their redemption, a case can be made that meticulous sovereignty over... Read more

Interested in Writing? Read Slowly

Last updated on: May 15, 2013 at 7:03 pm By Scot McKnight

Learning to write sound, interesting, sometimes elegant prose is the work of a lifetime. The only way I know to do it is to read a vast deal of the best writing available, prose and poetry, with keen attention, and find a way to make use of this reading in one’s own writing. The first step is to become a slow reader. No good writer is a fast reader, at least not of work with the standing of literature. Writers... Read more

Pentecost Sermon by Jason Micheli

Last updated on: May 17, 2013 at 9:08 am By Scot McKnight

Genesis 11.1-9 & Acts 2 Speaking a Different Language I studied five years of Latin in high school and four years of German. I can still decline the word for ‘farmer:’ acricola, agricolae, agricolam. And I can recall enough German to appreciate Indiana Jones on a deeper level. I studied Greek and Hebrew in seminary, and I still know them well enough to venture into the Old and New Testaments like a treasure hunter armed with a few well-chosen tools. But when it comes... Read more

Pentecost

Last updated on: May 2, 2013 at 7:13 am By Scot McKnight

Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. or this O God, who on this... Read more

Olympic Venues: Check these out

Last updated on: May 18, 2013 at 5:42 am By Scot McKnight

Note to Jesus Creed blog readers: I’ve posted all our posts today by 8am because Patheos is updating its systems. Be patient with any glitches today. Thanks. What happens to the Olympic villages and facilities? This is the story of the colossal waste of money, and lots of it … maybe there should be a movement to host the Olympics in 3 or 4 places in the world and rotate. Sarajevo’s Olympic village… Read more