Category: ethics

Why Enter A Temple of Another Religion? Crossing the Threshold into Your Neighbour’s House of Prayer

September 25, 2023

I teach World Religions at Redeemer University and require my students to visit a non-Christian house of prayer: a temple, mosque, gurdwara, or synagogue. Many of them are conservative Christian students, and many have never been to such a place, and some are worried and anxious about the assignment. Here I delve into the reasons why this is such an important experience for a Christian. … More Why Enter A Temple of Another Religion? Crossing the Threshold into Your Neighbour’s House of Prayer

Science and Faith Conference Tackles Wicked Problems: 50 Years of Christian Scientific Discussions

September 12, 2023

“Moving Forward Together: The Future of Science and Faith” was the title of the annual conference for the ASA and the CSCA July 28-31 2023 at the University of Toronto Mississauga campus. Attendees engaged each other over a host of wicked problems that confound and intrigue humanity today, and did so with a depth of realism and hope. … More Science and Faith Conference Tackles Wicked Problems: 50 Years of Christian Scientific Discussions

“To Thine Own Self Be True”: A Pathway to Liberation or Loneliness?

September 11, 2023

Here I explore Canadian sociologist Sam Riemer’s book Caught in the Current: British and Canadian Evangelicals in an Age of Self-Spirituality (McGill-Queens 2023). His argument is that concerns over church decline, sexual ethics, and the exit of youth from church are just the surface of our cultural sea. The underlying current that drives all the visible issues is self-spirituality, and more specifically, a shift from a locus of external authority to internal authority.  … More “To Thine Own Self Be True”: A Pathway to Liberation or Loneliness?

“Letters from Moscow”: The Opening and Closing of Russia, a Thousand Year History

June 22, 2023

What is happening in Russia that it would sacrifice its young men, military budget, Ukrainian relatives, and Western relations in an attack on Ukraine? Global Scholars Canada asked a few of its scholars and some academic friends to weigh in on the larger historical, political, and ecclesiastical context behind the war that continues to rage in eastern Ukraine. … More “Letters from Moscow”: The Opening and Closing of Russia, a Thousand Year History

Have a Righteous Christmas, Joseph Style: A Meditation on a Saint in a Season of Sexual Misconduct

December 12, 2022

Was St. Joseph’s character more about being righteous or being just? The original Greek word opens up possibilities in meaning that have been a matter of a translation debate which has implications for sexual ethics today. … More Have a Righteous Christmas, Joseph Style: A Meditation on a Saint in a Season of Sexual Misconduct

Brain Drain in African Higher Education: Motivations and Methods for Bolstering African Educational Opportunities

October 3, 2022

Brain drain is typically understood as the growing trend of educated, emerging leaders from developing countries emigrating to foreign nations that offer better vocational opportunities, higher pay, and more desirable living conditions. This essay argues that a flourishing African continent requires students to invest in their homeland, and that methods need to keep motivations in mind. … More Brain Drain in African Higher Education: Motivations and Methods for Bolstering African Educational Opportunities

Grace Happens: Reconciliation in a Post-Colonial Age as the New Paradigm for Christian Mission

September 8, 2022

Reconciliation is not new to the faith, but as a paradigm for mission, it is being put in a position of greater urgency in Christian practise. Christian mission has been focused on growth, expansion, translation, transformation, and renewal. But now reconciliation must take centre stage. Reconciliation is when conflicting parties come to make amends, ideally turning to friendly relations, and right now the Church is one of the offending parties. … More Grace Happens: Reconciliation in a Post-Colonial Age as the New Paradigm for Christian Mission

Why I Changed My Mind: The Perils of Highway Charisma and the Megachurch

June 7, 2022

News of pastor Bruxy Cavey’s arrest, which comes after other sad news of his sexual transgressions, prompts me to take a more critical look on the liabilities of megachurch charisma. “Highway charisma” is my new term for the runaway power of personality fostered by megachurches and the technology that built them. … More Why I Changed My Mind: The Perils of Highway Charisma and the Megachurch