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

Four “Social Imaginaries” Shaping the Modern University

June 2, 2019

“The contemporary university is hollow at its core.  Not only does it lack a spiritual center, but it is also without any real alternative.” So said George Marsden over two decades ago in The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship (Oxford, 1997) and this was echoed in many ways twenty years later in 2017 through Glanzer, … More Four “Social Imaginaries” Shaping the Modern University

Thinking as Conversion: Book Review

June 1, 2019

Alan Jacobs. How to Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds. Currency, 2017. First published in The Christian Courier here: http://www.christiancourier.ca/columns-op-ed/entry/thinking-as-conversion How To Think is not about finding truth as much as it is about preventing us from shooting people with whom we disagree. The subtitle gives it away: a survival guide for … More Thinking as Conversion: Book Review

Christian Worldview 101

June 1, 2019

Worldviews are the way we view the world and its moral order. G. K. Chesterton maintained that while it is important for a landlady to know the income of her renter, it is more important for her to know his worldview. “The most practical and important thing about a man,” he said, “is still his view of the universe.” … More Christian Worldview 101

Academics Who Care: The Society of Christian Scholars

May 31, 2019

Its a powerful technology that hopes to nurture a warm and lively community of like-minded scholars and become a significant transnational influence for good. Its is becoming a wealth of virtual libraries, webinars, job postings, and conferencing for academics who share a commitment to the Christian faith, the church, God’s kingdom, and the planet. … More Academics Who Care: The Society of Christian Scholars

“Vocation” as Fresh Language for “Mission”

May 28, 2019

Blog Intro Post #4 “The language of vocation and calling addresses some of the most critical concerns in higher education today.” – David S. Cunningham (ed) in Hearing Vocation Differently: Meaning, Purpose, and Identity in the Multi-Faith Academy (2019) p. xvi Every organization has a “mission” today, and all are focused on transformation of some … More “Vocation” as Fresh Language for “Mission”

Book Release: The Subversive Evangelical

May 27, 2019

My first academic book is being released next month (June 2019) by McGill-Queen’s University Press and its available on Amazon, too. Its a book about Canadian religion, evangelicalism, and charismatic leadership. Evangelicals have of late been scandalized by their association with Donald Trump, and their megachurches are summarily dismissed as “religious Walmarts.” In The Subversive … More Book Release: The Subversive Evangelical