What is a Liberal anyway?

Last updated on: February 11, 2013 at 5:17 am By Scot McKnight

Roger Olson speaks: Roger lists paradigmatic theological liberals as Schleiermacher and Marcus Borg, I’d add Harvey Cox as another example. One observation: over the years I’ve seen lots of evangelicals “drift” into liberalism. Quite often they refuse to admit they are liberals. What happens is that they absorb evangelicalism’s denunciation of liberals as non-Christians while simultaneously both embracing liberalism and thinking (and knowing) they have not left the Christian faith. Evangelicals have successfully made “liberal” a pejorative term. So today... Read more

R.A. Dickey’s Story

Last updated on: February 10, 2013 at 6:17 pm By Scot McKnight

Great story about R.A. Dickey, major league pitcher fighting sex trafficking: This is Kamathipura, the red light district of Mumbai, among the most notorious sex-trafficking locations in the world. I am here as a guest of Bombay Teen Challenge (BTC), a charity that has been fighting human trafficking for more than 20 years, one I joined forces with last year, when two friends and I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and raised $130,000 , much of it from generous and kind-hearted Mets... Read more

Vin Baker’s Story

Last updated on: February 10, 2013 at 6:18 pm By Scot McKnight

From Mitch Abramson: Vin Baker is resting an elbow on a wooden pulpit, his 6-11 body wrapped in a snappy, plaid suit that seems to stretch on forever. He takes a deep breath and exhales, his long face looking down for a moment. The audience waits patiently, kids sitting up straight. Then, Baker, a four-time NBA All-Star, tells his story, difficult as it might be. Delivering a sermon is harder than shooting free throws, he says. “At one point I thought... Read more

Snow Shot

Last updated on: February 10, 2013 at 6:04 pm By Scot McKnight

Wow, this is quite the pic. “Knock, knock.” “Who’s there?” “Snow!” For the moment we share the zaniness and fun of snow storms, which we get in Chicagoland at times, while we continue to sympathize with the many who suffering or who have experienced much stress. Read more

Personal Relationship

Last updated on: February 6, 2013 at 5:35 pm By Scot McKnight

A post from Lee Wyatt: What Does it Mean to Have a “Personal Relationship” with God through Christ? We hear the phrase all the time: a “personal relationship” with God and/or Jesus. Some valorize it, others critique and mock it. But few can explain what it means. The phrase itself, though not biblical, points to the reality of a connection with God that can only be called “personal.” The issue for those who value this phrase is what “personal” means. ... Read more

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

Last updated on: January 30, 2013 at 6:52 am By Scot McKnight

O God, who before the passion of your onlybegotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Read more

Boys, Girls, Science, USA

Last updated on: February 5, 2013 at 8:02 am By Scot McKnight

From NYTimes … click through to see the graphs. For years — and especially since 2005, when Lawrence H. Summers, then president of Harvard, made his notorious comments about women’s aptitude — researchers have been searching for ways to explain why there are so many more men than women in the top ranks of science. Now comes an intriguing clue, in the form of a test given in 65 developed countries by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It... Read more

Weekly Meanderings, February 9, 2013

Last updated on: February 7, 2013 at 6:01 am By Scot McKnight

John Dickerson, on Dan Cathy’s most recent friendship: “Scripture calls believers the “body of Christ.” Meaning, we are today his physical presence in the world. If we all follow Cathy’s example, perhaps the body of Christ will behave as Christ himself would behave.” Speaking of which, see this? Send up a Thank you God. “Just after 11 last Sunday morning at Old First Reformed Church in Brooklyn, the Rev. Dr. Daniel Meeter is starting the Sunday service as he always does. He runs... Read more

Atheist Ten Commandments

Last updated on: February 5, 2013 at 7:51 am By Scot McKnight

They’re not “formally” commands, but they are ten principles to live by: Alain de Botton’s ‘list for life’ Resilience: Keeping going even when things are looking dark. Empathy: The capacity to connect imaginatively with the sufferings and unique experiences of another person. Patience: We should grow calmer and more forgiving by being more realistic about how things actually happen. Sacrifice: We won’t ever manage to raise a family, love someone else or save the planet if we don’t keep up... Read more

Go to College

Last updated on: February 6, 2013 at 2:48 pm By Scot McKnight

From The Atlantic: Here’s what this graph does not say. It doesn’t say that college is guaranteed to get you a job, especially right out of school. It also doesn’t say that college drop-outs are destined to be unemployed. There are 150 million people working or trying to find work right now. That’s a lot of data points, and, without context, one or several of those data points can help you make just about any argument you want to make about the... Read more

Who succeeded Moses as leader of the Israelites?