“When I was fifteen years old, an angel of God came to me in the night, pinned me to my bed, and demanded that I trust in the Lord.” Thus begins Beha’s book, _Why I am Not an Atheist_, which I review here in context of other books relating the subject. … More Love Has its Reasons: Why I am Not An Atheist
The United States has the loudest voice and the most pervasive broadcast machines on the planet but there are over 200 other countries that may call for our attention. A Christian vision is by nature a global vision, and cultivating such a view requires some deliberateness in this age of the ubiquitous screen. … More Resisting the Default Spotlight, and Turning Our Attention Elsewhere
This blog offers a window into the three Canadian papers offered at the first ever Society of Christian Scholars global conference. It delves into the motivation for service into global higher education, the worldview that guides it, and the gaps in scholarship that need addressing. … More Brain Drain, Christian Worldview, and Christian Scholarship: Three Canadian Contributions to a Global Mission
Homecoming weekend is known as the big party event of the year. What does the most visible part of this weekend reveal about the nature of the university today, and how has this become a horrible revelation of mission drift? … More The Party Crowds, Student Tragedy, And the Failure of the University
A few highlights from the first ever Society of Christian Scholars global conference, which took place in Kenya in August 2026. What does it mean to be found together in common mission when you come from such divergent parts of the globe? What might we learn from each other? … More Academic Safari, Harambee, and an Impossible Dream: Christian Scholars Gather in Kenya from Around the Globe
“Following Jesus is irreducibly and inescapably migratory.” This is a bold statement that my guest blogger J. David Stark elaborates on in ways that understand migration as more than just geographical. … More Into the (Un)known: The Spirit’s Leadership and the Geography of Following Jesus
Tony Campolo died in the fall (Nov. 19th) of 2024 and he was a significant influence in my life as he, too, was a sociology/religion professor and pastor. His memoir is called _Pilgrim_ and reading it revealed to me more than it probably intended to reveal. He has shifted from my adolescent hero to a true pilgrim. … More The Tricks We Play in Autobiography: Tony Campolo
Religion is not just a private matter, and secularism is a religious orientation, says Dr. Leo Van Arragon in his latest book. Follow a dialogue on this book between four experts on the subject of religious literacy, and see the contentiousness of the dominant secular paradigm, its historical promise, and its current malaise. Is there a better way to acknowledge our religious plurality in Canada (and around the world?) … More The Contentious Fourth “R” in Education: Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and RELIGION in a Polarized World
Usually we leave nature to go into church and leave church to return to nature. In this blog I show that theology and biology, the Bible and creation, church and nature are actually on a similar wavelength. In theological terms, I will make a key connection between special and general revelation, and the link between the two is found in Jesus Christ. … More Nature and Church, Biology and Theology: Closer than You Think
Unity in diversity has been the life-work of Peter Noteboom, who is moving into semi-retirement after completing two terms as the General Secretary of the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC). Here I ask him about changes he has seen on the national church front through the decades and what has sustained him through this time. … More ‘The Best Job in Churchland’: Peter Noteboom’s Testimony in the Canadian Council of Churches
