Te’o’s More-Common-Than-We-Know Virtual Relationship

Last updated on: January 21, 2013 at 7:11 am By Scot McKnight

From AP: CHICAGO — It started out a stunner: The Heisman Trophy runner-up had told heartbreaking stories about a dead girlfriend who didn’t exist. Then it became unreal: The All-American linebacker said he had been duped, and theirs was a relationship that existed only in phone calls and Internet chats. The reaction was predictable: Unbelievable. Couldn’t happen. Yet even people who really ought to know better say what Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o says happened to him has happened to them,... Read more

Swearing on the Bible

Last updated on: January 21, 2013 at 10:30 am By Scot McKnight

At CNN.com Dean Obeidallah contends the “swearing” by the President ought to be over the Constitution, not the Bible. Why do you think the President swears on the Bible? Do you think he (or should it be a she) should? (CNN) — U.S. presidents should not be sworn into office with their hand on a Bible. At Monday’s inauguration of his second term, President Barack Obama will raise his right hand and place his left on not one, but two Bibles:... Read more

A Prayer for our President

Last updated on: January 21, 2013 at 6:58 am By Scot McKnight

Our prayer today, Our Father, is for our President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Our prayers include [Please add your prayers as well]: That You, the infinite font of wisdom, might grant him wisdom daily, for our country and for our relations with the world. That You, the loving God of all, might grant him love for you and for others, including especially our enemies and with a renewed commitment to work together for peace and justice. That... Read more

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Last updated on: January 18, 2013 at 11:23 am By Scot McKnight

Martin Luther King. Jr. Letter From Birmingham Jail April 16, 1963 MY DEAR FELLOW CLERGYMEN: While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities “unwise and untimely.” Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I... Read more

Odd Experience

Last updated on: January 20, 2013 at 4:56 pm By Scot McKnight

Kris is a big fan of our local library and prefers to order books on her computer and get the books at the small pick-up window at the library. Yesterday on our way to a family gathering Kris told me she needed to pick up a book so we drove by the library. I gave the attendant, a woman with a lovely English accent, Kris’ library card, she searched her files, found a book and then gave it to us,... Read more

Spending per Student

Last updated on: January 19, 2013 at 9:17 am By Scot McKnight

What do schools spend per student vs. per student-athlete? College sports are big business, but just how big? In the SEC, on average, schools spend 12 times as much per individual athlete as they do per individual student. Not on the athletes, of course, just around them. There are priorities here. And for most schools, athletic revenue doesn’t come close to covering these expenses, requiring universities to dip into general funds to keep their sports programs humming. As university presidents... Read more

Second Sunday after Epiphany

Last updated on: January 5, 2013 at 9:46 am By Scot McKnight

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Read more

Any Takers?

Last updated on: January 19, 2013 at 7:59 am By Scot McKnight

Michael Jordan has dropped the price on his Chicagoland mansion, from 28 to 21 million. Bulls great Michael Jordan on Thursday slashed the listing price for his 56,000-square-foot Highland Park compound by a $8 million, to $21 million from $29 million. Jordan lowered his asking price more than 11 months after the mansion and 7-acre spread first hit the market. His original asking price is one of the highest asking prices of any residential property in Chicago-area history, along with... Read more

From “Country” to “State”

Last updated on: January 19, 2013 at 10:18 am By Scot McKnight

The Second Amendment is all over the news, but Jana Riess asks why Christians aren’t more concerned with limitations of the Second Amendment. She contends what we have is not so much freedom as license. Americans willingly accept limitations on our First Amendment rights — we believe in freedom of the press, for example, but we also have checks in place in cases of libel; we uphold the freedom of religion, but not where such freedoms impinge upon the rights... Read more

Weekly Meanderings, January 19, 2013

Last updated on: January 18, 2013 at 7:58 pm By Scot McKnight

Yes, Karen’s right on this one: “So while I was busy wrapping up the manuscript for my upcoming novel — MOTHER OF RAIN — the National Father’s Day Council named former president Bill Clinton Father of the Year. Really? Father of the Year? The Huffington Post reports: National Father’s Day Committee chairman Dan Orwig commended the politician and philanthropist for his “profound generosity, leadership and tireless dedication to both his public office and many philanthropic organizations.” Shouldn’t they just have named Bill Clinton Giver of... Read more