From a quick scan of MacGregor, it seems I was wrong. MacGregor says the Reformation did not have episcopal support in Scotland.

@Jeff_Palouse @RevZekveld @DanielRHyde @jamesrwoodtheo1 As I recall, MacGregor was talking about the Presbies.

@zugzwanged I was in London one time and saw a group of farmers unload a bull from a truck and try to force it through the gate at the end of Downing Street.

@Conservagator Yes. Be interesting to compare, say, Poland and Ireland.

@RevZekveld @DanielRHyde @jamesrwoodtheo1 Geddes MacGregor's Corpus Christi deals with this, I think. @jamesrwoodtheo1 is reading that right now, so he can confirm.

@zugzwanged Says the man with a home on each side of the Atlantic. ;-] Mobility matters. I'm not sure it matters as much as you say.

Believers run their race in view of a "cloud of witnesses" (Heb 12). It's the Lord's glory-cloud, constituted not by cherubim but by the heroes of Heb 11, which guides runners to the finish line and provides the rear-guard.

"The definition of human nature has been drawn and redrawn by different cultural norms, which themselves change under technological pressure. Human beings are (unlike other animals) self-constituting; that is, what is 'natural' to us is never simply a matter of fact, but a consequence of what we take ourselves to be. 'Natural' connotes either 'normal' or 'whatever is external to human design' - and both of these categories are relative to our technological capacities. As Bruno Latour puts it, 'the very notion of culture is an artifact created by bracketing Nature off.'"

RT @_Theopolis: Many of those who have shaped the new postmillennialist wave in Protestantism have labored slowly and, with heavy hearts, h…

Why I admire Eagles qb Jalen Hurts. From a 2019 article about Alabama football, when Hurts was replaced as starting quarterback by Tua Tagovailoa: Successful football players cultivate old-fashioned martial virtues – self-discipline, perseverance, teamwork, sacrifice, the courage to take a hit, the courage to give one. Football isn’t typically associated with softer virtues like patience, humility, meekness. But those are the virtues that Hurts exhibited throughout the 2018 season. Instead of nursing a grudge, he was Tua’s biggest fan; Tua’s family returned the compliment, stating publicly that they prayed for Jalen every day. Sitting on the bench out of the limelight, Hurts earned a “Most Inspirational Player” award from his teammates. Here was a new kind of Bama football legend: A player celebrated not only for his exploits on the field but for the dignified way he rode the bench.

Deborah chides the people of Meroz because they didn't "come to help ('azar) Yahweh" (Judg 5:23). The verb is the root of 'ezer, "helper," used in Gen 2. Jael, Deborah implies, does come to Yahweh's aid (5:24), proving herself a true 'ezer who crushes the head of Yahweh's enemy. (Thanks to Thomas Hilleke for the reference.)

The principal acts of of saving faith, from Hebrews 10-11: Endurance: The original readers have their property confiscated and are tossed into prison. And yet they don’t shrink back. Risk-taking: Abraham leaves home to go to a place he’s never seen and later offers Isaac on the altar. Miracle-working: Sarah conceives in her old age. Defiant: Moses' parents don't fear Pharaoh’s edict. Moses himself chooses the reproach of Christ over Pharaoh. Rahab betrays the king of Jericho by hiding Israel’s spies. Victorious. By faith men conquer kingdoms, establish justice, shut the mouths of lions, escape the sword, become strong and mighty in battle, chase their enemies. By faith women receive back their dead by resurrection. Stoned, sawn in two, tempted, put to death, poor, afflicted, mocked, scourged, ill-treated: Yet in all these things faith conquers.

RT @firstthingsmag: Hatred is inherent in sport because it’s an unrehearsed morality play, an imitation of the action of life. https://t.co…

The cross is the climactic definition of God's faithfulness to death. As a memorial of the cross, the Supper refocuses our faith on its proper object, the faithful God.

Without faith, it's impossible to please God (Heb 11:6). What kind of faith? Faith that God is, and faith that He rewards those who seek. Which means: Consistent Kantians and Derridean cannot please God.

Jealousy no doubt. Also impotence: Are they capable of losing?

@jamesrwoodtheo1 @rossbyrd @BrantleyVosler @jgreenhall This was a hoot. Thanks, @JonAskonas.