I always read John Hawthorne’s posts, this one about the CT article and its graphics: This week Christianity Today reported on research sponsored by the Billy Graham Center and conducted by LifeWay Research. Titled “Why Evangelicals Voted Trump: Debunking the 81%,” it reported on data from 3,000 respondents.  These respondents were analyzed in three groups: evangelicals by belief (EBB), self-identified evangelicals (SIE), and non-evangelicals. … One thing that stands out immediately is that 77% of white evangelicals voted for Trump. While it’s true... Read more

By Emily McFarlan Miller: (RNS) — Eugene Peterson, the bestselling author of “The Message” and longtime pastor praised as a “shepherd’s shepherd,” passed away Monday morning (Oct. 22) at age 85. Among Peterson’s last words were, “Let’s go,” according to a statement from his family. “During the previous days, it was apparent that he was navigating the thin and sacred space between earth and heaven,” according to his family. “We overheard him speaking to people we can only presume were welcoming him into paradise.... Read more

I love the series from Princeton called Lives of Great Religious Books. So far I have enjoyed the following: Alan Jacobs, The Book of Common Prayer Ronald Hendel, The Book of Genesis Bruce Gordon, John Calvin’s “Institutes of the Christian Religion” But this new one is beyond tempting to drop everything to read: Timothy Beal, The Book of Revelation Beal’s teenage world was mine: I had tried and failed to read the actual text of the biblical book of Revelation.... Read more

Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen. BCP Read more

On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life Through Great Books Professor Karen Swallow Prior’s terrific new book, frames this conversation: On Reading Well. David George Moore’s other interviews with Professor Prior can be found at http://www.twocities.org/?p=2360 and here: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2015/02/07/saturday-book-interview-with-karen-swallow-prior/ Some of Dave’s videos can be accessed at www.mooreengaging.com Moore: You have written another book about reading (see interview above). How is On Reading Well different? Prior: The framework of my first book about books, Booked: Literature in the Soul of... Read more

Hello from Dublin! Beth Allison Barr: The same afternoon Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court, one of my friends sent me a link to a devotional series for married couples from Desiring God. My heart just sank. This is how it was tweeted on October 5, 2018: “She submits. He sacrifices. She follows. He leads. She affirms. He initiates. They both reflect Jesus.” The devotional book, Happily Ever After: Finding Grace in the Messes of Marriage, was a free digital download last weekend. I... Read more

By Mike Glenn Last year, I started working with a trainer. You know, I meet a guy every day at the gym and he tortures me for the next hour. For him, I’m not doing good unless I’m feeling bad. If I haven’t crumpled over in agony, grabbed a torn muscle or thrown up sometime during the hour, he’s failed at his mission. According to him, all of this is necessary for me to get stronger. The pain has to... Read more

In our series on the patristic writings, we return to 2 Clement 8-9. Our series uses for its text Michael Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers. What’s 2 Clement about? It’s an exhortation to faithfulness to the way of Christ in the face of threats like gnosticism, false teachers and rebellion against leaders. I reads like a sermon, and our passage today is about repentance. He begins with the problem of time: it is time now to repent because once the time is... Read more