Seven books to consult at once! A new blog and an exceptional post by David Cramer: In case you missed it, last month there was a bit of a blogosphere dust-up when religion writer Jonathan Merritt tweeted that it was “weird” that evangelical historian Thomas Kidd used the word “evangelical” to describe Phillis Wheatley, the first published African-American poet. A number of evangelical historians came to Kidd’s defense (as is well documented by historian John Fea), and the conversation quickly shifted to the questions of how... Read more

Interested in getting a taste of Northern with Scot McKnight? Join us for a class at Northern – seminary.edu/taste Parakeets make delightful pets. We cage them or clip their wings to keep them where we want them. Scot McKnight contends that many, conservatives and liberals alike, attempt the same thing with the Bible. We all try to tame it. McKnight’s The Blue Parakeet calls Christians to stop taming the Bible and to let it speak anew to our heart. Check... Read more

By Mike Glenn We have a tendency to romanticize history. When we read the stories of past, we want to feel what it must have been like to be one those people. We imagine ourselves as Knights of the Round Table, soldiers in the Revolutionary War, doctors making rare discoveries and kings and queens who ruled the world. We love the images of beautiful clothes and daring deeds and then we read detailed recreations of what it was really like... Read more

Last summer I started reading a new book by Craig Allert, Early Christian Readings of Genesis One. The first chapter and post, Why Care?, focused the value of reading the early church fathers and addressed the question of why we should care about their approach to Genesis (or anything else). It has been a long hiatus, but the book is worth a return visit. Chapter 2, How Not to Read the Fathers, wanders through a number of topics related to... Read more

By Sarah Lindsay CBE permission Sarah is a recovering academic with a passion for the middle ages, baking, and science fiction. She currently lives in the Chicagoland area with one husband, two dogs, and three daughters who inspire her to advocate for gender equality. Sarah blogs at intoresurrection.com and tweets @drlindsay. Who has stories to tell about changing views about women in ministry? Editor’s Note: This article is based on an interview conducted by the author. In 2016, pastor Ray Kollbocker... Read more

There is a matrix within which we find Purpose and meaning. Evolution doesn’t undermine the possibility of Purpose in the world or purpose in life. The scientific study of biology alone doesn’t lead us any closer to an understanding of Purpose. But there is more to life than the naked scientific reality. In the next chapter of his book Is There Purpose in Biology Denis Alexander explores a Christian matrix within which biology and the study of biology can flourish.... Read more

By Mandi Hecht, a recent DMin graduate of Northern Seminary. You know that Christmas song you sing? Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright? Well, one thing I’ll tell you, all was not calm, and it wasn’t very bright either. Well, by the time we got to the actual birth part of it, to the manger and all that stuff, things were getting better. But that’s not to say that they were not difficult. In fact, the... Read more

O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. BCP Read more

Now Good ministry notice: BY PAIGE STANAGE This is Living Ministries is seeking to help women leaving incarceration improve their lives. “Tennessee Department of Corrections has given us their approval, and we can take in participants any day now,” said ministry executive director, Lindsay Holloway. Holloway said the focus group for the ministry are women under the supervision of the Department of Corrections. “There are (TDOC women) in every county jail, and prisons. I just feel like that’s the population of... Read more

Let Winter Do Its Work The great thing about living in Nashville is we get all four seasons, but we don’t go crazy with any of the four. It gets cold in the winter, but not that cold and it doesn’t stay cold for too long. We get a few inches of snow, but not too much. My friends who have moved to Nashville from places further north always laugh at us because if we think it might snow, we... Read more