The Grace of God

Last updated on: January 28, 2011 at 4:48 pm By Scot McKnight

Andy Stanley’s book is unlike any other book I’ve seen of his. This is a biblical theology of grace — a splendid march from creation — a gracious God who creates — to the missionary task of the church. This is not a book about leadership or the Christian life or about preaching … it’s a series of reflections on how the story of God’s grace motivates, guides, and sustains the entire story of the Bible. Yes, there are some... Read more

Weekly Meanderings

Last updated on: January 28, 2011 at 9:54 am By Scot McKnight

It’s been a dreary week in Chicago, my home town: Kris and I want to thank you the many readers of these Weekly Meanderings. Many tell us they drink their Saturday morning cup of coffee over these links … and if you have some links for us during the week, send them our way. We can’t use them all, but we are always grateful for your participation and for the opportunity to find new links we wouldn’t otherwise have found.... Read more

An Egyptian Woman’s Response to Violence

Last updated on: January 28, 2011 at 7:23 pm By Scot McKnight

“… and the gates of hell …”

Last updated on: January 28, 2011 at 10:02 am By Scot McKnight

I hope you had time to read Jennifer Powell McNutt’s exceptional piece in CT about the enduring church. This clip sets the stage. With magazines like Newsweek announcing “The End of Christian America,” it is easy to give in to fear and the perception of decline. Not only can worries like that become self-fulfilling, more often than not, they also blind one to the enduring nature of the visible church in our world. It would be hard to find a century when... Read more

Is God ever Surprised? 2

Last updated on: January 25, 2011 at 6:46 pm By Scot McKnight

John Goldingay, in his new book, Key Questions about Christian Faith: Old Testament Answers, has a chp on a question many “fresh” readers of the Bible ask: Does God have surprises? Or does God know everything so that nothing surprises him? Which brings us to part two in this series — God’s knowledge of the present and the past. Goldingay distinguishes “innate” from “empirical” knowledge — the former what God knows as God and the latter what God discovers by... Read more

Health Care in Sweden

Last updated on: January 25, 2011 at 6:48 pm By Scot McKnight

This post is from Jodi Fondell, former chaplain at NPU and now co-pastor with her husband, Doug, who is one fine golfer (and so is Jodi). [A big question: Did Doug have to eat lutefisk in the hospital stay?] I know that many people in the US are scared out of their wits that the US is “going the way of Sweden” and turning into a socialist society. I almost laugh out loud every time I hear that. For starters…the... Read more

This is a new one to Kris and me…

Last updated on: January 27, 2011 at 6:05 pm By Scot McKnight

… we read this in disbelief. We have a son who has been involved in very high level of sports, but never seen anything like this. Anyone have any clues? CNN.com Thirteen University of Iowa football players were hospitalized after a strenuous workout this week. They were found to have rhabdomyolosis, several days after taking part in an off-season workout, according to CNN affiliate KWWL. When a muscle ruptures, it releases its cellular content, including particles called myoglobin, into the body.... Read more

Rochester College Lectures (press release)

Last updated on: January 27, 2011 at 6:48 pm By Scot McKnight

This is the press release from Rochester College about the lectures I will be giving with Miroslav Volf. Streaming: Biblical Conversations from the Missional Frontier (May 16-18) Over the last two decades, Rochester College (in Metro Detroit) has hosted compelling conferences bringing together the best of the evangelical and mainline worlds for a conference on the intersection of theology and life in the church. With past presenters such as Fred Craddock, Barbara Brown Taylor, and Stanley Hauerwas—Rochester College has placed... Read more

Creation and Worldview 2 (RJS)

Last updated on: January 27, 2011 at 7:39 am By RJS

I put up a post Tuesday on Richard F. Carlson and Tremper Longman III’s new book Science, Creation and the Bible: Reconciling Rival Theories of Origins. (A short review of the book by Christopher Benson can also be found in the web only edition of Books and Culture.) The last two chapters of this book discuss the genre of the two creation accounts in Genesis 1-2 and the impact that has or should have on interpretation of these passages. Concerning... Read more

Leaving Fundamentalism (Taylor George)

Last updated on: January 27, 2011 at 7:12 am By Scot McKnight

Be Not Afraid, Be Very Not Afraid -by Taylor George “I hope the Lord takes me home before I see a piano in this meeting,” sobbed one of our elders in a Sunday evening sermon. A piano in a church service. A piano. In a church service. The piano, if it were to come, would be accompanied by a fight. Drinking beer was a sin, and most of pop culture, including dancing or movies, was forbidden. Unless it was... Read more

Who saw a vision of a ladder reaching heaven?