Asbury's aftermath: weighing revival

Asbury Collegian

The New York Post is covering the revival that recently broke out at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky: How an ‘itchy sweater’ sparked a new Christian revival at a Kentucky university. Not having experienced this event first-hand, I am reluctant to comment on it. I will indicate that, by temperament and conviction, I am not a partisan of revivalism, a phenomenon often associated with emotional manipulation and a pelagian conception of salvation based less on God's redeeming work through Jesus Christ and more on my decision for Christ. I wrote in some detail about this last year: The altar call: good or bad? I am persuaded that it is better to emphasize, not the intensity of my response to God's call, but to focus instead on the ordinary means of grace that come to us through word and sacrament through regular church attendance.

That said, I would not wish prematurely to dismiss what has been happening amongst the young people at Asbury. Anything that moves the current generation to greater fervour and dedication to the kingdom of God must be seen as a manifestation of the work of the Holy Spirit, and for that we should give thanks. Youthful energy and enthusiasm can be infectious, and having taught and grown to love this age group for thirty years, I can testify that I am not immune to this. However, the test will come with time as we see how all this plays out in their lives over the long term. At present we are at the stage of the sower sowing the seeds (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23). Inevitably, some will fall away after the enthusiasms ebb, but others will persevere throughout the course of their lives, trusting in God's saving grace and living in gratitude and obedience to his will. May God multiply the numbers of those in the latter category.

Conservatism: tradition as norm

The latest of my series of articles for the Politics Network of UCCF: The Christian Unions in the United Kingdom has now appeared. The title is Conservatism: tradition as norm. Here is an excerpt:

Despite attempts to define a “true conservatism,” the phenomenon is so slippery as to elude such efforts. While liberals and socialists boast guiding principles in their efforts to govern and improve their societies, conservatives lack something comparable. What unites conservatives is less a substantive set of principles than an attachment to tradition. Which tradition? Well, their own, whatever that might happen to be.

Obviously, every society has its traditions which it passes down to future generations through various means. Although we have experienced revolutions in technology and social mores over the centuries, we still for the most part live within a civilization shaped in countless ways by our forebears. We expect that people will live up to shared social norms when, say, eating in a restaurant, attending a concert, or meeting a new person. Churches, workplace communities, amateur football clubs, theatre troupes, and so forth all have standards to which members must conform. These are informed by traditions inherited from the past.

But what happens when our traditions conflict with each other?

Read the entire article to find out.

CPJ international relations discussion

On 7 February, I participated in a discussion with James W. Skillen on the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, moderated by Calvin University Professor Tracy Kuperus. This was part of a board meeting of the Center for Public Justice. You can view the discussion below:

February newsletter posted

I have just posted my Global Scholars Canada newsletter for February, which this month includes news about my book contract and my recent travels to the Pittsburgh area to deliver three addresses at two educational institutions.

Trinity and Geneva: travels in western PA

Much of last week I spent in the Pittsburgh area speaking at two educational institutions. The first was Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge. I had known of this institution for a long time, because my good friend William G. Witt teaches systematic theology and ethics there. I spoke on two subjects. The first took place at the Dean's Hour on wednesday morning, 15 February. It was about "Ideology and Idolatry," covering the basics of my first book, Political Visions and Illusions, with a preview of what is coming in my third book. My second talk was on metrical psalmody, which you can read about here. The second person responsible for my visit was the new Dean President, Bryan Hollon, who had heard me speak five years ago at Malone University in Canton, Ohio.

'A United Canada'

Maintaining a unified Canada over such long distances and scattered populations has always been a difficult proposition. Our national unity narrative has now encountered one more plot twist with Alberta's passage of its Sovereignty Act: 'A United Canada': New Act in Alberta creates sovereignty without independence. An excerpt from the article in Christian Courier:

Since our own rebellions of 1837, Canada has been at peace, although national unity has always been a precarious enterprise. For most of our history, the major issue has been linguistic, with French-speaking Québec being the most obvious candidate for separating from the rest of the country.

But now the government of Alberta, led by United Conservative Party Premier Danielle Smith, has passed something that smacks of René Levesque’s paradoxical 43-year-old goal of sovereignty-association: Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act. According to the provincial government’s website, “The act allows Alberta to fight harmful federal laws and defend the constitutional federal-provincial division of powers.” Among other things, it allows Alberta’s legislature to debate and pass a motion to the effect that a particular federal policy violates the constitution or harms Alberta in some way. Once the legislature has approved such a motion, it will turn the matter over to the provincial cabinet to take appropriate action.

Read the entire article here.

MAID and the meaning of suffering

Christian Courier has published my most recent column, titled, MAID and the meaning of suffering, MAID standing for "Medical Assistance in Dying." An excerpt:

We live in confused times. The Government of Canada hosts two websites standing in tension with each other. The first is titled, “Preventing suicide: Warning signs and how to help.” It lists the phone numbers of crisis centres and offers advice for helping those at risk. It then lists the websites of other agencies and of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention. So far so good.

The second website is titled, “Medical assistance in dying,” otherwise known by its acronym MAID. It describes the amendments to the Criminal Code mandated by the Supreme Court’s Carter decision (2015) permitting assisted suicide. It then proceeds to tell us who can offer this service to those wishing to end their earthly journeys.

It is difficult to know what to make of such an obvious contradiction. On the one hand, Ottawa is reaching out to save lives. On the other, it appears to facilitate the taking of life. Which is it?

Read the entire article here.

Rethinking NATO's role

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, known as NATO (OTAN in French), is arguably the most successful military alliance in history. Founded in 1949, it brought together Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States into a defence pact aimed primarily at containing the Soviet Union. At the end of the Second World War, Moscow had moved into the heart of Europe, occupying a large swathe of territory extending from the Baltic to the Black Seas, stopping short of the Mediterranean. In the countries it occupied, it set up communist governments and made them clients of the Soviet Union.