Scot McKnight (born 1953) is an American
New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
scholar, historian of early Christianity, theologian, and author who has written widely on the
historical Jesus
The term ''historical Jesus'' refers to the life and teachings of Jesus as interpreted through critical historical methods, in contrast to what are traditionally religious interpretations. It also considers the historical and cultural context ...
,
early Christianity
Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...
and Christian living. He is currently the Julius R. Mantey Chair of New Testament at
Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in
Lisle, Illinois
Lisle ( ) is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,390 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the population was recorded to be 23,270. It is a south-western suburb of Chicago in the Illinois ...
,
but announced in January 2024 that he would leave the faculty by the end of the academic year, due to allegations of mismanagement among the leadership at Northern and the way the board handled those allegations.
McKnight is an ordained
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions.
Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
and
canon theologian for the
Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others with
anabaptist
Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...
leanings, and has also written on issues in modern anabaptism.
Childhood and education
McKnight was raised in
Freeport, Illinois
Freeport is the largest city in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,973 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and the mayor of Freeport is Jodi Miller, elected in 2017. Freeport is k ...
. He earned a B.A. from Grand Rapids Baptist College (now known as
Cornerstone University), an M.A. from
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and, in 1986, a Ph.D. from the
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948.
Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...
, where he studied under
James D. G. Dunn, who is known for his work on the New Perspective on Paul.
Career
McKnight began his career at
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, first as Assistant Professor of New Testament Greek Exegesis from 1987 to 1992, then as Associate Professor from 1992 to 1995. He was appointed the Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at
North Park University from 1995 to 2013. Then in 2013, he took up a post as Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary and, in 2015, was appointed the Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament.
On January 3, 2024 McKnight announced with "grief and lament" that he would be resigning from Northern Seminary, effective at the end of the academic year. This comes after other resignations in 2023 from Northern due to allegations of abuse of power by the former President of the seminary.
Jesus Creed
McKnight is a prolific author, and has written more than fifty books. His book ''The Jesus Creed'' won the
Christianity Today
''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "eva ...
book award for 2004 in the area of Christian living, and has spawned a number of
small group studies and a DVD series.
McKnight's blog, Jesus Creed (formerly hosted by ''
Beliefnet'' and now by ''
Patheos'') is currently one of the most popular
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
blogs online.
McKnight is an author and speaker on issues related to the
emerging church; his blog was named the most popular blog online related to the movement. He has supported many of the movement's aims. In recent years, however, he has expressed concern about the direction of the movement, particularly regarding the "emergent" stream within the emerging church and some of the work of
Brian McLaren. McKnight and California pastor Dan Kimball more or less officially broke with the emerging movement, and have since formed ReGeneration, an initiative that focuses on ministry to and with young adults.
McKnight has lectured in numerous countries, including Canada, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Denmark, England, and Ireland. He has also been identified with the
New Perspective on Paul.
Personal life
McKnight and his wife, Kristen, a psychologist, live in
Libertyville, Illinois
Libertyville is a village in Libertyville Township, Lake County, Illinois, Libertyville Township, Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is located west of Lake Michigan, approximately 40 miles north of the Chicago Loop. As such, it is part o ...
and have two grown children.
He and his daughter, Laura Barringer, coauthored ''A Church Called Tov'' (2019) and ''Pivot'' (2023) as well as the children's version of ''The Jesus Creed'', called ''Sharing God's Love: The Jesus Creed for Children'' (2014). His son, Lukas McKnight, was a minor league catcher in the Chicago Cubs system.
In April 2014 McKnight announced that he had joined the
Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), a denomination founded by former members of the
Episcopal Church of the United States and the
Anglican Church of Canada
The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2016, the Anglican Church of ...
. On April 26, 2014 he was ordained into Anglican Holy Orders as a Deacon at Church of the Redeemer in Highwood, Illinois by Bishop
Todd Hunter. In January 2017, McKnight began a series of posts explaining more about his transition into the Anglican tradition. He emphasized how much the
church calendar was key in his decision to become Anglican, and included screen shots from
Robert Webber's 2004 book ''Ancient Future Time: Forming Spirituality through the Christian Year''.
Works
Books
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Chapters
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Articles
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References
External links
Jesus Creed��Scot McKnight's personal blog
Indepth Interview with Scot McKnight-- "Beyond Evangelical"
Scot McKnight biography from TheopediaNorth Park UniversityA Review of McKnight's FASTINGOff The Map Episode 4 Scot McKnight Talk from Missional Matrix in 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKnight, Scot
1953 births
American Christian theologians
American biblical scholars
New Testament scholars
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School alumni
Alumni of the University of Nottingham
Living people
Christian bloggers
People from Freeport, Illinois
Cornerstone University alumni
American Anglican Church in North America members