A new Carolingian era

Christian Courier has posted my latest column: A new Carolingian era, with this subtitle: "Three reasons to believe that King Charles is off to a good start." Here is the second reason:

[A]lthough King Charles has not been as beloved a figure as his late mother, he is heir to a legacy of considerable good will and admiration that she earned during her seven decades of service to her country and to the Commonwealth. Sad to say, the media are not as respectful of the royal office as they were in 1952, yet I believe that our new monarch will rise to the occasion, taking every opportunity to connect with his people on a personal level. He may not be a gregarious person, but neither was his late grandfather, who endeared himself to his people through his courage and dedication during the war.

 Read the first and third reasons here.

The Canterbury Trail: Liturgy and Reformation

Kuyperian Commentary has published my post, titled, The Canterbury Trail: Liturgy and Reformation. I wrote it in response to a post by Gillis Harp: Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail: Reflections on the Pilgrimage to Anglicanism Nearly 40 Years After Webber’s Classic. An excerpt:

A close examination of the Apostolic Tradition [of Hyppolytus] and similar early documents indicates that many of the Reformers unduly disposed of much that should have been retained, rejecting some of the substance of the tradition along with the accretions. . . . If the Apostolic Tradition was lost to the Reformers, its liturgical rubrics and texts survived in both the western and eastern rites of the historic church and were thus available to the Reformers of the 16th century in that form. Indeed, Cranmer and Luther retained much of the ordinary of the mass, removing its accretions, translating it into their respective vernacular languages, and prescribing it for use in the churches for which they were responsible.

This is cross posted to my Genevan Psalter blog as well.

Dooyeweerd and the inadequacy of conservatism and progressivism

One of Abraham Kuyper's philosophical heirs was Herman Dooyeweerd (1894-1977), whose prolific writings are increasingly being translated into English, Portuguese, and other languages. One of his lesser known works is his Encyclopedia of the Science of Law, of which two volumes have thus far been published in English. Although Dooyeweerd was also an heir of Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer (1801-1876), whose analysis of the French Revolution owed much to that of Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Dooyeweerd was severely critical of conservatism in its many manifestations. This is from volume one of the Encyclopedia:

Iran and the arc of history

When I was an undergraduate student back in the mid 1970s, I took a concentrated summer course in the Russian language at the University of Minnesota. While my grasp of Russian would weaken over the ensuing decades, I still remember the protests on campus of Iranian students against the rule of the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who had less than two years remaining in his troubled reign. At the time, it seemed possible that the Shah might be replaced by a Marxist régime. My political science education, coupled with a minor in history, had prepared me for the likelihood that an unpopular American-supported monarch, whom the CIA had put in power in 1953, could be replaced by a revolutionary group sympathetic to the Soviet Union. After all, we had seen it happen before in Asia and Africa, and, of course, in Castro's Cuba, only 140 kilometres from Florida's coast.

Ukraine & Russia: To Whom Does The Land Belong?

Jason Scott Montoya interviewed me again last week, and the interview can be viewed here:

The interview along with ancillary material can also be found here: Ukraine & Russia: To Whom Does The Land Belong? Discussing Geographic Sovereignty With David T. Koyzis Ph.D.

October newsletter posted

My Global Scholars newsletter has now been posted online: October 2022 newsletter. As always, I am thankful for your financial and prayer support for my work. Please pray for a complete recovery from my chronic shoulder pain and that I might get to see two specialists before too long. Thanks again.

The altar call: good or bad? Kuyperian Commentary

My short piece from last week has been reposted at Kuyperian Commentary: The altar call: good or bad? An excerpt:

Reformed Christians in North America were historically divided over New Measures revivalism, leading to an outright split between Old School and New School Presbyterians lasting from 1837 to 1857. The division resurfaced in the 1930s during the fundamentalist-modernist controversy with Orthodox Presbyterians (Old School) going one way and Evangelical and Bible Presbyterians (New School) going another. Old School Presbyterians feared that revival methods would elicit false conversions that would quickly disappear when buffeted by the winds of adversity and the temptations of sin (Matthew 13:20-21). Once the emotional high had evaporated, converts would rest on a false assurance of salvation depending too much on their own decision for Christ apart from God’s electing grace and the work of the Holy Spirit. Revivalism appeared to be based on the false assumption that an unregenerate person could decide for Christ and thereby effectively ensure his or her own redemption—something often called decisional regeneration.

Would bringing back altar calls in churches be a good thing?

Find the answer here.

Can Christian Higher Education Stay the Course?

A blog post of mine from the beginning of last month has been picked up by the Christian Scholar's Review blog: Can Christian Higher Education Stay the Course? An excerpt:

One possible reason for a university losing its confessional moorings is an underlying worldview that divides the curriculum between divinity/theology on the one hand and so-called secular disciplines on the other, parallel to the historic scholastic division between sacred and secular. Because it was assumed that these latter disciplines were subject to the canons of a neutral reason, any connection with the faith would be extrinsic at least and unnecessary at most. In McMaster’s case, this approach is likely why the university could so easily restrict the historic Baptist element to the Divinity College, still situated uneasily on campus as a curious vestige of its earlier affiliation.

Understanding liberal mythology: The Politics Network

Last week, on 3 October, I had the privilege of conversing with between 15 and 20 young people in the United Kingdom who are part of the Civitas programme of the Politics Network. I believe this is the third time I have spoken with a Civitas group, as hosted by Thomas Kendall. The Politics Network is affiliated with Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, or The Christian Unions, located in Oxford. The participating young people are generally working for members of parliament. The topic under discussion was "The Liberal Myth: Rationalism and the Privatisation of Faith." As before, it was a most enjoyable experience.

The altar call: good or bad?

Christianity Today recently published an article by Russell Moore titled, Bring Back Altar Calls,  with the following subtitle: "They could foster the worst in evangelical spirituality. But the best of it, too." Because the article is behind a paywall, I cannot assess the author's argument, but I will take the occasion to look at the altar call because it is something with which I grew up, at least in part. No, not at the Orthodox Presbyterian Church congregation my parents started with another family in Wheaton, Illinois, when I was a small child. The OPC represents a rather pure form of Old School Presbyterianism, which took a dim view of New Measures revivalism in the 19th century. Worship in our congregation was based on the 1961 Trinity Hymnal, along with the use of traditional liturgical forms such as the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, the Gloria Patri, the confession of sin and assurance of pardon, and the weekly reading of the Ten Commandments. We sang metrical psalms from the 1912 Psalter of the former United Presbyterian Church in North America.

Remembering Ron Sider

My latest Christian Courier column has been posted online: Remembering Ron Sider, devoted to the late Christian leader who died on 27 July this year. Here is an excerpt:

[Sider] attempted to articulate a comprehensive pro-life ethic in opposition to abortion, capital punishment, and of course hunger. In 1987 Sider wrote a book called Completely Pro-Life: Building a Consistent Stance, in which he tied together several issues that would defy the conventional labels of conservative and progressive. Sadly, his efforts did not prevent especially evangelical Christians from dividing along the political lines familiar to us today.

Read the entire article here.

When a constitution gets rights wrong

Last month, after Chileans rejected a new proposed constitution, I offered some possible reasons for this rejection: Chile's constitution: back to square one. Now another article appears that puts Chile's constitutional issue in a larger historical context: What the Constitutions of the Soviet Union and North Korea Can Teach Us about Rights—and the Purpose of a Constitution. The author, Jack Elbaum, recounts the adoption of the 1936 Soviet Constitution which the country's leaders praised as "the most democratic in the world."

Jason Montoya interview

This week Jason Scott Montoya interviewed me for his podcast, which can be seen immediately below:

The interview can also be found at Jason's website, along with relevant links: Political Visions & Illusions: A Survey & Christian Critique of Contemporary Ideologies — With Author David T. Koyzis. Thanks to Jason for a stimulating conversation!

The seeds of the gospel: remembering the Queen

Over the past not quite two weeks, the world has witnessed the grandest of ceremonial and pageantry in honour of Her Late Majesty the Queen, beginning with the memorial service at St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, then the funeral a week later at Westminster Abbey, and finally the committal service at St. George's, Windsor, where she was laid to rest. Great Britain is, of course, famous around the globe for the pomp and circumstance with which it surrounds its monarchy—something which other constitutional monarchies long ago put behind them.

Nevertheless, what stood out for me in these three memorial services is the extent to which they focussed, not so much on the Queen's life and witness, but on the person of Jesus Christ whom she trusted as her Saviour. To be sure, there was some eulogizing, especially by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, during the funeral.

Sherif Girgis on Constitutional Law and Culture After Dobbs

Last week Calvin University hosted Prof. Sherif Girgis, who teaches at the Law School at my alma mater, the University of Notre Dame. His lecture on Constitutional Law and Culture After Dobbs can be found immediately below:

One of Girgis' more persuasive points is that, in today's United States, there is a predominant notion that the courts—and the courts alone—are the arbiters of what is constitutional and what is not. But it has not always been thus. In the early history of the US, presidents and Congress alike saw themselves as guarantors of the constitution, alongside the courts. The introduction of judicial review in 1803 was not meant to negate the responsibilities of the other branches of government to uphold the constitution. Two centuries later, however, something like judicial supremacy has become a poor substitute for constitutional supremacy, as provided for in Article VI, paragraph 2, of the Constitution of the United States.

September newsletter

I have just posted my Global Scholars newsletter for September online, including, once again, a request for prayers for my return to health, especially after COVID made its way through our household this month: September 2022 newsletter. Thanks once again for your financial support and prayers!

'We are all orphans'

My updated Christian Courier column has been posted online under the title, "We are all orphans," with this subtitle: "In a culture of ‘self,’ the Queen was a true servant of the people." An excerpt:

Although we knew it was coming, we still experienced the death of Queen Elizabeth II as a blow. I myself was caught off guard and wept when I heard the news. A good friend put it well: we are all orphans. The Queen had been on the throne for seven decades, since before I was born, and serving until after my retirement. . . .

In Canada and 14 other Commonwealth Realms, once styled dominions, Queen Elizabeth II served as head of state, serenely carrying out the responsibilities she believed God had given her. No other monarch reigned as long as she. During her years on the throne, she earned the admiration of her own subjects and of people around the world, who have good reason to envy people living in these realms.

Read the entire column here.

Chile's constitution: back to square one

Twice in recent months I have had speaking events related to Chile, an unusually long and thin Spanish-speaking republic stretching along the Pacific coast of South America bounded to its east by the Andes Mountains and Argentina. On sunday, 4 September, Chilean voters rejected the new constitution proposed by the administration of the country's 36-year-old president Gabriel Boric by a substantial margin of 62 percent over 38 percent. This new draft, intended to replace the 1980 constitution introduced by former dictator Augusto Pinochet, boasted a whopping 388 articles, making it one of the longest, if not the longest, constitutional documents in the world. After unrest in 2019 over price rises, the government decided to hold a plebiscite on a new constitution, which 80 percent of voters supported the following year. The next two years were spent drafting the document, which was to be placed before Chileans for their approval. While Pinochet's constitution had enshrined a neoliberal market-oriented economic régime, ordinary Chileans became increasingly dissatisfied with it, culminating in the mass protests of three years ago.

Unifying or divisive? Biden's speech

Last thursday evening, 1 September, United States President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., delivered a speech in Philadelphia, a city of historic significance for Americans. Here is the speech in full:

There is reason to be ambivalent about the appropriateness of this speech, which will likely be seen as hopelessly partisan by his political opponents. I will make three observations concerning the speech.

Staying the course: Christian higher education

Not far from our home in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, is one of southern Ontario's premier universities, McMaster, known internationally as a centre for advanced scientific and medical research. What few remember is that the university once had a connection with the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Québec, the only remnant of which is the presence on campus of McMaster Divinity College, whose most famous faculty member was probably the late Clark Pinnock. 

During my first years of teaching at a neighbouring institution, I often found myself in the Mills Library at McMaster. During one visit, I happened to notice the university's crest outside the elevators, and I was surprised to read the motto emblazoned in Greek letters above the shield: ΤΑ ΠΑΝΤΑ ΕΝ ΧΡΙΣΤΩΙ ΣΥΝΕΣΤΗΚΕΝ: "In Christ all things hold together." This, of course, is a reference to Colossians 1:17. I imagined that hundreds of people would walk past this coat of arms every day as they moved between the floors of the library, unaware of what the words meant or of their history. According to the university's website, "One may suppose that the motto and book were intended to express the concept, espoused in the Will of Senator McMaster, of 'a Christian school of learning'."