Author: Peter J. Schuurman

Peter is executive director of Global Scholars Canada and the author of _The Subversive Evangelical: The Ironic Charisma of an Irreligious Megachurch_ (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2019). He lives near Toronto, Canada.

Scholarship as a Spiritual Discipline

November 7, 2019

I recently co-hosted a conference at Queen’s University on “Engaging the University”–a symposium on the integrality of faith and academics. One professor spoke up at one point when the discussion was centred on expressions of faith in the public university classroom. She said: “Something as simple as the practise of starting off the semester with … More Scholarship as a Spiritual Discipline

Loving Jesus: The Spiritual Heart of a Cosmopolitan Faith

October 7, 2019

I’m Calvinian in my faith in Christ, which I believe nurtures in me a cosmos-wide faith—really a cosmopolitan faith. We love the world, because the world belongs to God. But does this tradition shape me to love Jesus as both divine friend and the hope of the world? In other words, does the weight of tradition overwhelm the heart of our spirituality–our prayerful connection to God? … More Loving Jesus: The Spiritual Heart of a Cosmopolitan Faith

Diverse Diversity in the Public University: A Book Review of Wolterstorff’s “Religion in the University”

September 5, 2019

Wolterstorff’s goal: to establish the place of religion in the public university in a liberal democracy. Not its legal or moral place, but its place within the role-ethic of a scholar in such a context. … More Diverse Diversity in the Public University: A Book Review of Wolterstorff’s “Religion in the University”

Dying to the Genius of Youth: Andrew Root vs. John Seel on the Future of the Church

August 26, 2019

I just had an article published with The Christian Courier in which I review some recent books on youth, faith, and church. The subject, of course, is close to the heart of the university, as it is dedicated to the formation of youth for wisdom and service in society. To be for higher education is … More Dying to the Genius of Youth: Andrew Root vs. John Seel on the Future of the Church

The Spirit World in Africa and the West: Contextual Theology for the Church

June 17, 2019

Esther Acolatse frames the problem well: a hermeneutical gap between the church in the global South and modern West. The African church, with its animist cultural heritage and the influence of divination found in African traditional religions, lives in an enchanted world where the conflicts of angels and demons affect the details of everyday life. … More The Spirit World in Africa and the West: Contextual Theology for the Church

The Corpus of James K. A. Smith: Worldview Made Flesh

June 17, 2019

Dr. James K. A. Smith has been called both an “academic rock star” and “a faithful guide” and I want to commend his postliberal Biblical vision for creaturely life to you. I have been following him for years, trying to keep up with his prolific writing, identifying him as a post-boomer peer who offers a fresh paradigm and practice for Christians. I would describe him best as a provocative public intellectual: a self-described “philosophical theologian with interest in socio-political realities” who teaches at Calvin University in Michigan. … More The Corpus of James K. A. Smith: Worldview Made Flesh