Those who don’t know what the blog title means probably are wondering what it means…and those who do are probably wondering why I picked such a crude title. The Greek word “skubala”, or “skubalon”, is a harsh expletive meaning “excrement”. In English, it could be taken to mean “crap” but the more accurate translation starts with the letter S.

So what’s the point? Why name a blog after it, or for that matter even use the word?
First off, Paul did. In Philippians 3:8 Paul speaks of now counting all the things he formerly boasted of (his Jewish heritage, his exemplary law-keeping, his good works, his zeal, etc.) as skubala – compared to the worth of knowing Christ.
Our modern English translations, even the esteemed ESV, do the passage a great disservice by rendering the word as “rubbish”. In our society today, rubbish can be a thing of value to some people. From dumpster divers to tree-huggers to antique collectors, some seem to be able to take others’ rubbish and consider it something worthwhile. We’re certainly a strange culture. Couple that with a dislike for strong, earthly language and it becomes difficult to even express the original meaning in contemporary American society without either sending the wrong message (indicating that there’s some redeemable value) or offending gentle hearers (such as by directly translating it… as Luther did by choosing the word “kot” in his translation).
But the point is that the works of righteousness — of which Paul had a greater resumé to boast about than probably anyone else alive — are akin to an unredeemable pile of bull manure compared to the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:7), gaining Christ (Phil 3:8), and having not “a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ.” (Phil. 3:9)
So now what’s that have to do with the blog? One of my major focuses has been attempts to show how foolish it is to place confidence in human works of righteousness as means of merit. Nonetheless my efforts to illustrate this are still, in and of themselves, human works. The only good that can come out of anything I write is if, somehow, God uses any truth that may be present to draw people to himself and away from attempts at meritorious law-keeping which can in the end only lead to death. Our own efforts at earning favor or trying to be good under our own power need to fade away and be considered as skubala (or dung – Geneva & KJV).
Now, I’d thought about some provocative title such as “Holy Skubala!” and while that title still seems fitting in a way (think along “saint and sinner” lines), due to its close similarity to an offensive phrase I couldn’t really use it as a title without parading liberty in a way that wouldn’t be right. Though you’ve gotta admit it would be a creative title.
So there it is. Renamed blog. Even if what I say is nothing more than a pile of you-know-what in and of itself, if it can be used to point someone to the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:7), gaining Christ (Phil 3:8), and having not “a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ” (Phil. 3:9) — then it has done its job.