tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71101032008-07-25T23:49:22.588-04:00Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comBlogger487125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-31496947771517224942008-07-09T16:03:00.004-04:002008-07-11T08:49:15.070-04:00

I'll be on a blogging hiatus for the next two weeks. Coming in mid July and August: Spiritual Formation: How our being made in the imago Dei determines our purpose as ChristiansChristian Political Philosophy: Interactions with Ron Sider's The Scandal of Evangelical PoliticsMcCain and Obama: Pros and Cons for Christians in selecting a candidateTheology: N.T. Wright's Surprised by Hope - and how

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-60621896612501568552008-07-08T17:20:00.003-04:002008-07-08T17:36:22.104-04:00

The CCO's collaborative website, CampusMinistry.com has posted the audio from when Tim Keller spoke at a CCO-sponsored Pittsburgh event while on tour supporting his book “The Reason for God”. Listen Here.

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-78828507980838600392008-07-03T22:50:00.007-04:002008-07-03T23:23:11.101-04:00

The liberals in America are upset with Barack Obama. On Tuesday, the Democratic nominee announced a plan to expand faith-based government-funded charities. The New York Times reports: Senator Barack Obama said Tuesday that if elected president he would expand the delivery of social services through churches and other religious organizations, vowing to achieve a goal he said President Bush had

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-14958278385747491642008-07-01T20:48:00.005-04:002008-07-01T21:13:41.232-04:00

CNN reports that Obama toured the Eastside Community Ministry in Zanesville, Ohio today and gave an address on how he plans to build a “real” partnership between faith-based organizations and the White House if he becomes president. He feels confident that he is reaching out to evangelical voters, having private summits with pastors and has an advocate in the Matthew 25 political action

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-86625898587666122892008-06-26T23:03:00.013-04:002008-06-29T11:57:09.796-04:00

James Dobson, on his Focus on the Family radio show the other day (June 24, 2008), did a 20-minute diatribe against Barack Obama. Dobson took offense at what Barack Obama said about him in a speech from two years ago. Evidently, Dobson hadn’t read the Call to Renewal speech or heard it until just recently. In the "Call to Renewal" speech, Obama said, “Given the increasing diversity of America's

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-8612122001435008332008-06-21T22:43:00.009-04:002008-06-22T07:37:40.314-04:00

OH! I know that there are those of you who wonder about my quirky musical taste. I love the genre call "progressive rock." It's an underground genre, but those of us who love it are very loyal. And we have our festivals. Most feature "Yes-wannabes" and "Almost-Floyds." But the one coming up at Pittsburgh's Pepsi Roadhouse in August is going to be one for the ages. It's called the 3 Rivers

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-54933844196654927562008-06-20T12:44:00.008-04:002008-06-28T08:53:38.220-04:00

God is the creator of potential. When the Triune God created the cosmos and placed humanity at its center, the goal was development. The ancient church father Irenaeus taught that Adam was not created as a fully mature end-product, but with a future goal in mind. The human race was never meant to be stagnant – we were created with great potential and placed in a cosmos of great potentiality.

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-4090032298075938432008-06-18T10:24:00.010-04:002008-06-18T23:00:42.165-04:00

And, what will be God’s judgment upon him? Evangelicals are credited with getting Bush into office and especially with keeping him there. I was one who voted for him in 2000 and then voted against him in 2004. Why? Because I became convinced that Bush’s presidency was a sham – that this “Christian” was responsible for misleading the American public with manipulating the intelligence to drum up

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-42442524075186067922008-06-09T11:43:00.007-04:002008-06-09T12:15:06.728-04:00

My friend Joel Daniel Harris is attending Envision 08: The Gospel, Politics, and the Future at Princeton this week. He offers the following quotes at his blog that should get us all thinking. "The church should be about the earthing of heaven..." - Richard Cizik quoting others "When we partner for God's purposes, we win no matter who we partner with... whether Muslim, or homosexual, or a

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-38019358304695095242008-06-03T08:51:00.009-04:002008-06-03T09:19:33.776-04:00

James Skillen, of the Center for Public Justice writes, Religions are ways of life and not merely the consciously intended practices of worship and pastoral service. Christian, Jewish, and Muslim ways of life are supposed to guide the adherents of those faiths in what they do all week long and not only in the ways they worship. Religions as ways of life generally function like the glasses

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-42513857366505173212008-05-31T13:23:00.009-04:002008-05-31T13:47:01.786-04:00

The CCO just hosted Tim Keller at Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh, situated between the campuses of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, on May 22. It was a very insightful presentation and Q & A time, based on Keller's new book, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. For those who are looking for excellent things to listen to on the mp3 players, click on

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-71398056522965222862008-05-30T08:59:00.001-04:002008-05-30T09:03:14.875-04:00

Panelists discuss the alarming trend of politicians who break their promises to the lobbyists who helped elect them.

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-16275931225863411452008-05-29T21:46:00.005-04:002008-05-29T21:53:05.098-04:00

Chaplain Richard Brunk watching as soldiers enter a briefing at Fort Hood, Tex., before they are sent to the Persian Gulf. Just as it has claimed so many other members of the military, the war in Iraq has taken a toll on chaplains. Although they do not engage in combat, chaplains face the perils of war as they move around Iraq to visit troops. None have been killed, but some, like Chaplain

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-49753497888944345232008-05-23T07:31:00.005-04:002008-05-24T16:54:57.852-04:00

Watch this video on how the technological revolution is changing our lives and how it must also change our whole paradigm about education. What are your initial reactions to what you saw in the presentation?How are these changes manifesting themselves in your personal lives? professional lives?What do we think it means to prepare students for the 21st century? What skills do students need to

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-3096181502428789432008-05-14T15:13:00.003-04:002008-05-14T17:22:03.766-04:00

The debate is raging about how many Iraqi civilians have actually died during this war. The New England Journal of Medicine just published their findings, which is different from John Hopkins University’s findings. The New England Journal of Medicine estimates deaths of civilians to be around 104,000 to 223,000. John Hopkins University has done two national surveys in Iraq and have estimated

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-56401946687217006222008-05-08T13:36:00.002-04:002008-05-08T13:40:54.609-04:00

John McCain was just on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and revealed that his running mate will be Dwight Schrute. Whatever you think of his politics, you've gotta admit that John McCain has a great sense of humor.

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-80653126177342423732008-05-06T16:49:00.005-04:002008-05-06T23:45:45.495-04:00

In last Wednesday’s editorial, The New York Times wrote, “It took more time than it should have, but on Tuesday Barack Obama firmly rejected the racism and paranoia of his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., and he made it clear that the preacher does not represent him, his politics or his campaign. Senator Obama has had to struggle to explain this relationship ever since a video

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-26903620878165131752008-04-28T11:50:00.004-04:002008-04-28T12:05:45.156-04:00

I know this may not sit well with some of my dear anabaptist friends. The line of thinking that they carry into discussions about the Christian's role in politics is usually that If it weren’t for sin there would be no need for government. It is sin that creates the need for law and order.Government itself is part of the Fallen order - the kingdoms of this world are set against the kingdom of God

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-47337721978919379222008-04-23T16:26:00.004-04:002008-05-03T12:28:29.830-04:00

Bill Moyers Journal to air first television interview with Rev. Jeremiah Wright since controversy. The Rev. Jeremiah Wright will be interviewed on PBS this week by Bill Moyers in his first broadcast interview with a journalist since he became embroiled in a controversy for his remarks and his relationship with Barack Obama. Wright, who retired in early 2008 as pastor of Trinity United Church

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-36869285150522384222008-04-22T16:26:00.004-04:002008-04-22T17:41:40.814-04:00

My very good friend, Larry Bourgeois, along with Brandon Dawson, have written a helpful article on how coffee houses foster deep conversation of consequence in the college culture. It is published in COMMENT Magazine. Here's an excerpt: Great coffeehouses embody four elements. First is Creation, a relationship more about the earth, stewardship, and accountability than about "products." Great

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-23533468987332577602008-04-10T12:24:00.012-04:002008-04-10T13:19:20.602-04:00

I laughed out loud when I heard N.T. Wright say this in one of his audio lectures I was listening to a few months ago. It's a perfect play on words. Not only is this a great figure of speech, but it is also the biblical teaching. Sure, heaven is nice. But it is not the telos, the culmination of our existence as Christians. Modern evangelicalism has adopted a neo-gnostic paradigm about heaven

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-366787811474064392008-04-09T11:40:00.006-04:002008-04-09T12:00:11.785-04:00

I deeply believe that each person needs to make a personal decision to be a follower of Jesus Christ. I am an evangelist at heart, and I want to see each person experience the transformation that begins at conversion. But, too often, my evangelical zeal to see individuals come to faith is divorced from the biblical reality of community. God's gospel work is the creation of the New Humanity -

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-80685556058202905022008-04-01T10:45:00.004-04:002008-04-01T12:39:58.779-04:00

Scot McKnight just did a series on the relationship of the Kingdom of God to the Church. He asked me to create a pdf file of the series. This way, we can have it in printed form for more in-depth study. Here it is: "Keys to the Kingdom" by Scot McKnight technorati: theology, spiritual formation

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-85602091824303665832008-03-31T15:02:00.007-04:002008-03-31T15:41:46.994-04:00

Nicholas Kristof, columnist for The New York Times wrote an opinion piece recently that takes liberals to task about their attitude toward evangelicals. He writes, "Liberals believe deeply in tolerance and over the last century have led the battles against prejudices of all kinds, but we have a blind spot about Christian evangelicals. They constitute one of the few minorities that, on the

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-30205262387485910932008-03-22T14:09:00.018-04:002008-03-27T10:29:49.548-04:00

This is an important and perhaps pivotal moment in American politics, American religious life, and American race relations. As I listen to the left and the right (both in the secular realm and the Christian realm) react to the controversy over Barack Obama and his pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, I believe that we have come to the place in our nation’s history where we need to stop the

Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.com