Profession and Psychopath Correlation

Last updated on: January 1, 2013 at 12:32 pm By Scot McKnight

The study did not have full explanations about why, but here is the list of the professions with the highest and lowest correlations with being a psychopath: The top 10 most psychopathic professions: 1. CEO 2. Lawyer 3. Media (TV/radio) 4. Salesperson 5. Surgeon 6. Journalist 7. Police officer 8. Clergyperson 9. Chef 10. Civil servant The top 10 least psychopathic professions: 1. Care aide 2. Nurse 3. Therapist 4. Craftsperson 5. Beautician/stylist 6. Charity worker 7. Teacher 8. Creative... Read more

Alan Jacobs Gets It

Last updated on: December 31, 2012 at 3:05 pm By Scot McKnight

From The American Conservative, by Alan Jacobs, essayist: So in 2005 a very thoroughly researched and well-argued scholarly article was published that demonstrates, quite clearly, that group productivity is an illusion. All those brainstorming sessions and group projects you’ve been made to do at school and work? Useless. Everybody would have been better off working on their own…. It’s because the world is run by extraverts. (And FYI, that’s the proper spelling: extrovert is common but wrong, because extra– is the proper Latin prefix.) Extraverts... Read more

God is Real because our Brains are Reliable

Last updated on: January 6, 2013 at 10:42 am By Scot McKnight

God is Real Because Our Brains are Reliable (Jeff Cook) Socrates said, “Philosophy begins with wonder” and nearly all human beings at all times have looked at the world around them and, given its beauties, powers, and complexities, asked if what they saw was designed by a mind for a purpose. Whether you are a committed materialist, a believer in God, or something quite different—knowing why you come down where you do on this question is a mark of a... Read more

The Jewish Context for What Jesus Said about Hell

Last updated on: January 6, 2013 at 10:39 am By Scot McKnight

For many people today what one believes about hell is a matter of fidelity to orthodoxy. Most don’t quite want to contend that if you don’t believe in eternal, conscious punishment you are a heretic though some get mighty close. In fact, for some the gospel itself is shaped to get people out of (a theory for) hell that is about eternal, conscious punishment. In other words, change hell you might change the whole gospel for these sorts. So, when... Read more

Understated

Last updated on: January 5, 2013 at 6:30 pm By Scot McKnight

From Reuters: RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – A cat carrying a saw and a mobile phone was “detained” as it entered a prison gate in northeast Brazil, Brazilian media reported on Saturday. Prison guards were surprised when they saw a white cat crossing the main gate of the prison, its body wrapped with tape. A closer look showed the feline also carried drills, an earphone, a memory card, batteries and a phone charger. All 263 detainees in the prison of... Read more

Smart Phone Contract for Youth

Last updated on: January 3, 2013 at 7:36 am By Scot McKnight

Mom’s contract for the Christmas present gift of an iPhone. What do you think? Will a contract work? Anyone try this? What would you include? Dear Gregory Merry Christmas! You are now the proud owner of an iPhone. Hot Damn! You are a good and responsible 13-year-old boy and you deserve this gift. But with the acceptance of this present comes rules and regulations. Please read through the following contract. I hope that you understand it is my job to... Read more

Prayer for The Epiphany

Last updated on: January 5, 2013 at 9:45 am By Scot McKnight

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. Read more

Difficult Decision

Last updated on: January 2, 2013 at 7:30 pm By Scot McKnight

I looked over this list more than I care to admit, but I have to say this might be my favorite. It’s a bit of a feeble gag, I admit. Which is yours? Read more

Saturday Book Review: Peter Goodwin Heltzel

Last updated on: January 2, 2013 at 7:33 pm By Scot McKnight

Peter Goodwin Heltzel, Resurrection City: A Theology of Improvisation (Eerdmans, 2012). Review by Wesley Vander Lugt Resurrection City was a shantytown built on the National Mall in the summer of 1968 after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., serving as a communal expression of the Poor People’s Campaign and their fight against economic injustice. Although Resurrection City was not without its faults, Peter Heltzel uses it as a parable for collective improvisations of hope and shalom justice that witness... Read more

Weekly Meanderings

Last updated on: January 4, 2013 at 6:34 am By Scot McKnight

Our first Weekly Meanderings of 2013 opens with an image of icebergs in Greenland. Karen’s testimony to Mama, about whom we learned in her After the Flag Has Been Folded. Thanks Karen. In praise of the essay, led by Montaigne. Speaking of essayists means we speak of spelling, and ask Is “agenda” a plural or not? Roger Olson: “In 1950s evangelicalism we memorized Scripture. Who does that anymore? Then we sang theologically rich hymns and gospel songs. Who does that anymore?... Read more