I grew up with the idea that I could only be happy if I found “God’s will.” People do weird things because they think they are doing God’s will. I once met a man who told me God spoke to him about starting a fishing business in the Caribbean, and it so happened that he was from Minnesota, didn’t like the cold, and loved fishing. And it sure seemed to me that he blamed God for what he was doing,... Read more
Oh my, this one is funny as it gets. Sit back a spell and enjoy. Read more
One of the most important themes in the last supper is Bread. Brant Pitre, in his new book, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper, examines “I am the bread” through the filter of the manna miracle and manna expectation in Judaism. The Bread of the last supper is not Passover bread, but Manna bread. This makes all the difference in the world for Pitre. He studies Exodus 16, the manna story,... Read more
Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Read more
From a friend, former student, and now fully reasonable — and right: Dear Scot, You may find this hard to believe after my ragging on you and my son with your Macs, but yesterday I bought a MacBook Pro. I got tired of my machine crashing, not being able to connect to wireless, running really, really slow, etc. So many of my students have gone to Mac and have told me nothing but good things that I finally took the... Read more
I swiped this review by Jonny Baker from this site [perhaps I should write jonnybaker]. Good discussion there, but maybe we can move it to the USA here at Jesus Creed. Bias alert: I wrote two chps in this book, one on Scripture and one on Atonement/Gospel, so this is more than just a review for me. I’m vested. But this is a fair review, focusing on Jason Clark’s pieces. kevin corcoran has brought groups of students from calvin college... Read more
We’re back in action with the Meanderings. The controversy around Rob Bell’s book has calmed enough for us to begin a series on his book, and we will begin that series this Friday. We will patiently examine the major ideas/chps of his book. But we are glad to resume Weekly Meanderings… back in action is the word: “Monday was a nasty cold day. Clouds, heavy as a cow’s teat, hung overhead, threatening to drench anyone at any moment. I put... Read more
A letter this morning came to me asking a question that I can’t answer. But I suspect you pastors have some good suggestions. Here is the note: A pastoral question: a lady in our church was informed that she has a terminal illness. She told me on the phone that she does not know how to prepare for dying (who does?). I have appreciated so much of the pastoral advice you’ve given through your blog and thought I’d send you... Read more
Tony Jones calls into question Rob Bell’s belief in human freedom. Rob’s idea is often called libertarian free will, and for Rob’s title — love wins — to work, it requires that God grants humans the freedom to choose to do what they want, turn to God or turn into themselves. Tony Jones contends for a more deterministic mindset and less human freedom. Here’s the question: Are we, are all humans, free to choose God? And does Rob Bell’s theory... Read more
Tim Keller’s newest book, King’s Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus, examines big questions through the Gospel of Mark. Chp 8 is called “The Approach” and is about how we learn to approach God if we approach God properly. Mark 7 contains a story about a woman who comes to Jesus, but as Keller describes her so well: “she is a Phoenician, a Gentile, a pagan, a woman, and her daughter has an unclean spirit.... Read more
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