Here I review Mouw’s intellectual autobiography. His approach to academic life has been a great example of crossing intellectual boundaries and engaging both faithfully and civilly. … More Mouw as Scholar Saint: Living Out a Dialogical Pluralism as a Reformed Evangelical
We are losing our religious literacy in North America, and it is much to our detriment. There can be no peace without knowledge of each other’s faith, and no understanding of the Western world without knowledge of the Bible. Religion is the fourth “R” in any basic education, and our world would be better for including more rather than less religion in its education systems.
… More Joseph and The Whale: The Decline in Biblical–and Religious–Literacy and What to Do about it
The Life of Pi is a parable for the church today as it offers an apocalyptic vision–a tale of both destruction and revelation. … More End of the Frontier: Church, Apocalypse, and _The Life of Pi_
This is the story of one student in the M.A. (Biblical Studies) program we sponsor with scholarships at The University of The Gambia. We are helping teach students to be Christian teachers in their country. … More Student Profile: Sang Gomez, The Gambia, Bible Teacher in Training
Here I give my first impressions of life in Banjul, The Gambia. The Muslim context is readily apparent, and I reflect on what Christian education can mean in a place like this. … More Notes from Gambia: The Islamic Context of Christian Education
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
The Blind Men and the Elephant is a well-known story that reminds us we are all a little bit right and a little bit wrong. But are we equally right and equally wrong? And who is the king who sees that there are blind men and an elephant? There is something suspicious in this parable worth parsing… … More An Elephant in the World Religions Classroom: Parsing a Parable
This guest blog by comparative education specialist Ruth Hayhoe shows how the model of Christian liberal arts universities finds affinities and historical integration with Confucian ideals in China, suggesting that some of these integrated Chinese universities–with their commitment to moral formation, community service and global citizenship education, may be an exemplar for other cultures to follow. … More Chinese-Christian Cross-Cultural Learning in Higher Education
I was guest at a Muslim Society event in my home town of Guelph, which prompted me to re-consider the notion of hospitality. We usually view the practise from the superior position of the host. But if it is true that worship is a participation in God’s Trinitarian hospitality, we might do well to consider the notion from the role of guest and the spiritual practise of guesting (yes, it’s a word). This is especially relevant in the post-Christian West, and in the context of a polycentric World Christianity. … More Grace in the Play of Role Reversals: Muslim Hospitality to Christians in the West
Here is the story of Dr. Ruth Hayhoe — a GSC board member and a model of the kind of international faith-based academic work we seek to do: call it bridge-building, reconciliation, or being a “redemptive influence”–its making a difference in a way that the light of Jesus Christ shines through. Her story is a marvellous testimony to the wonder of spiritual surrender and international leadership. … More A Bridge Too Far? Faith Seeking Understanding of Chinese Culture
Sensus Divinitatis 