Religiously Unaffiliated in MIddle Tennessee

This week the Tennessean ran a story about religious affiliation in Middle Tennessee. While the Nashville area is the "buckle of the Bible belt," even in this very religious part of the country many people do not profess a particular religious affiliation. For example, 41.7% of Davidson Co residents are not affiliated with any religious group, and that figure climbs to 61.6% in Rutherford Co and 66.6% in Cheatham Co. There is lots of work to do. (Thanks to Jerry Mitchell for letting me know about this article)

Ferrell Jenkins's Bible Lands Blog

My friend and former boss Ferrell Jenkins has a wonderful blog that focuses on the lands of the Bible. Today he just clicked over a million visits! Ferrell will be presenting a special series on Bible History and Archaeology here at Woodland Hills this fall (September 30-October 3).

Family Feuds

I am distantly related to the McCoy clan of the infamous Hatfield-McCoy feud. The Scotts intermarried with the McCoys very early in the 1800s, so my shared connections with the McCoys go way back. In view of the History Channel's recent mini-series on the feud, I started thinking about the passages in the New Testament that address conflicts that occur between members of God's family. Maybe you can think of some more relevant passages, but here are three points that emerged for me as I looked at these verses. Feuds are caused by:

• Jealousy and selfish ambition – James 3:13-4:3; 1 John 3:11-15
• Loyalty to earthly ties taking precedence over loyalty to God - 1 Cor. 3:1-4; 1:11-13
• Taking vengeance into one's own hand – Matt. 26:51-53; Rom. 12:17-21; 1 Cor. 6:1-11

Incidentally, if you would like to listen to this sermon, click this link.

Polling about Gen Xers

Here's a story about the religious beliefs of Gen-Xers. Bottom line: "The faith groups that grew during this period were what religion experts call 'the poles,' because they tend to be opposites politically and in their view of religion. Those are non-denominational Christians, a group which grew as a percentage of Gen X-ers — from 12 percent of the population to 16 percent — and people who say they have 'no religion,' a group that grew from 11 percent to 16 percent of the Gen X generation."

Chronology and Christology

Here's a link from New Testament scholar Larry Hurtado's fine blog summarizing evidence regarding the early development of the high view of Jesus in early Christian writings (esp. Paul).

Faith Makes it Easier to Resist Temptation - Go Figure!

Here's a report about a recent study indicating that faith in God helps people to assert self-control.

Vandy and Religious Freedom

Here's an excellent column in a recent Wall Street Journal focusing on the state government's response to Vandy's inexplicable interference with on-campus religious organizations.