Category: faith and culture

Wonder, Heartbreak, Hope and Joy for Distressed Souls: A Reformed Theology of Personhood and Mental Health

March 31, 2020

Some would normalize mental illness, but insofar as it is debilitating, it indicates dis-order, something amiss in one’s soul, and everyone feels its shadow fall across their life in some way, instigating hope for healing in a life lived coram deo, before the face of God. … More Wonder, Heartbreak, Hope and Joy for Distressed Souls: A Reformed Theology of Personhood and Mental Health

Exasperated by BS in Higher Education

February 3, 2020

I stumbled on a diatribe from Christian Smith in The Chronicle Review from January 9, 2018 entitled “Higher Education is Drowning in BS”. It is a prophetic lament for a scholar who sees the “disastrous political condition” of his country directly linked to the failure of its institutions of higher learning. He maintains that universities … More Exasperated by BS in Higher Education

Beyond the High Wall and Open Door Dichotomy in Muslim Immigration: The Christian Pluralist’s Hospitable Table

February 3, 2020

Matthew Kaemingk. Christian Hospitality and Muslim Immigration in an Age of Fear. (Eerdmans 2018) Book Review Those familiar with the central slogan of early 20th century Dutch Prime Minister and theologian Abraham Kuyper will hear an echo here: “There is not one ‘square inch’ in the entire public square where Christ’s model of hospitality does … More Beyond the High Wall and Open Door Dichotomy in Muslim Immigration: The Christian Pluralist’s Hospitable Table

Campus Ministry: Deep Roots, Wild Branches

January 20, 2020

The Flourishing Congregations Institute reported a few years back that the United Church in Canada was closing a church every week. That can’t continue very long. Religious “nones” are the fastest growing religious group in the country–up to 25 percent of Canadians, and even a higher percentage of the younger generation. If churches contribute to … More Campus Ministry: Deep Roots, Wild Branches

If we are all wired for God–why is atheism the modern option?

December 18, 2019

In my last post I explained John Calvin’s contentious claim that everyone is somehow wired for God–a phenomenon he called the sensus divinitatis. But it leaves our modern mind with a number of questions. For one, a logical pushback would be: if everyone is hardwired for God, why are there so many atheists through history … More If we are all wired for God–why is atheism the modern option?

A Christian Textbook for Africans, Muslims, Women and Martyrs

December 17, 2019

Wendy Elgersma Helleman and Musa A. B. Gaiya. Early Christianity: A Textbook for African Students. Langham Press, 2019. Wendy Helleman’s co-authored textbook on early Christianity has been called “significant,” “timely,” “substantive,” “indispensable,” “in-depth,” and “comprehensive.” I would also like to add the words “a redemptive influence” to the mix as this is the centre of our … More A Christian Textbook for Africans, Muslims, Women and Martyrs