Canada more divided than ever

First Things has published my brief postmortem on last week's federal election here in Canada: Canada more divided than ever. Here is an excerpt:

Earlier this year there was no sign that the other parties, including the Conservatives, New Democrats, Bloc Québécois, and Greens, were ready to bring down the government. Nevertheless, like his predecessors before him, Trudeau decided that parliament had become dysfunctional—because it was not following his every wish and was doing what a parliament ought to do, namely, holding the government accountable for its actions. So last month Trudeau went to the newly appointed governor general, Mary Simon, and requested an early dissolution of parliament—something no governor general has refused since 1926.

Trudeau wanted to try for another majority government so he would have a freer hand. Canadians saw through this immediately, and his standing in the public opinion polls began to slide. At that point he looked set to lose his gamble and possibly even his government. But when Canadians went to the polls this week, they delivered their verdict: more of the same.

Read the entire article here.

September newsletter

My Global Scholars Canada newsletter has been posted here: SEPTEMBER 2021 newsletter.

At last!

Christian Courier has published the story of my recently completed Genevan Psalter project: At last! An excerpt:

This more systematic method enabled me to work through the remainder of the Psalms at a faster pace than I had anticipated. Thus, by the middle of August, I had completed the remaining unfinished psalms, at last reaching 150, thereby exceeding the target I had set for myself in the Reid Trust proposal.

The result of my efforts is not literary elegance. Some of the Psalms are rhymed, but not all. In fact, reading some of them without the music will not suggest that we have crossed from prose into verse, but they definitely fit the Genevan tunes, conforming strictly to their somewhat irregular metres.

What will I do with all this? I hope to find someone to publish my collection so as to disseminate knowledge of the Genevan Psalter, not only among English-speaking Reformed Christians, but among other Christians unfamiliar with the liturgical use of the biblical Psalter.

Read the entire article here.

The second Brazilian edition: Visões e Ilusões Políticas

Last week I finally received four copies of the second Brazilian edition of Political Visions and Illusions from InterVarsity Press.

The choices before us

Christian Courier has posted a second online article of mine in the run-up to the federal election: The choices before us. An excerpt:

As is generally the case, there is no obvious choice that is more Christian than the others. While the Liberals and the New Democrats are usually stronger on care for the poor and vulnerable in our society, their dogmatism on the so-called social issues, such as abortion, euthanasia and gender issues, makes them suspect to followers of the older faith traditions. Similarly, while Conservatives often, but not always, manifest a greater appreciation for the diversity of nonstate communities in Canada, they can just as easily appear insensitive to marginalized groups and to the physical environment.

Voting one way or the other will not usher in God’s kingdom, nor would we expect it to. We will thus likely vote in one of two ways: either for the party we think will do the least damage to the country, or for the best features of one party while hoping and praying that they will outweigh its negatives.

Read the entire article here.

Teoclub interview

Last evening I was interviewed by Jean Francesco in a live stream over YouTube on the subject of my Political Visions and Illusions. Much of it was in Portuguese, and Francesco translated my end of the conversation for the sake of his listeners in Brazil. The occasion was an online meeting of the Teoclub, a group of Brazilians interested in discussing theological matters.

WeeklyTech podcast interview

I thoroughly enjoyed my recent conversation with Jason Thacker of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention on the subject of my book, Political Visions and Illusions: A conversation with Dr. David Koyzis on political ideologies and the Christian worldview.

Trudeau's gamble

Canadians will be going to the polls next month, and many of us think that there is little reason at this point to do so, because the current government has been in office for under two years. Christian Courier has just posted an article of mine on the forthcoming federal election: Trudeau's gamble. An excerpt:

Trudeau may lose his gamble and retain only a plurality of seats in the Commons, prolonging his frustration for another four years. Or he may lose even more than that and suffer outright defeat at the hands of Erin O’Toole’s Conservatives.

If that happens, will O’Toole bring a different spirit to his office? Will his government, whether majority or minority, be less willing to employ the tactics of Harper and Trudeau for partisan advantage? While Trudeau may be in a gambling mood, I am not: I wouldn’t bet on it. The temptations that come with political power are often too great, even for someone with good intentions and promises of reform.

Read the entire article here.

Wesley Seminary conversation

Two days ago I was privileged to spend an hour with doctoral students at Wesley Seminary in Marion, Indiana. These are students of Dr. Aaron Perry, who has had them reading my Political Visions and Illusions. May God bless them as they continue to minister to his people in parish settings.

Genevan Psalter interview

This morning I was interviewed by the Rev. Uriesou Brito, pastor of Providence Church, Pensacola, Florida, on the subject of my recently-completed Genevan Psalter project:

COVID fatigue

My August column has been published in Christian Courier, titled, COVID fatigue. An excerpt:

Quite honestly, I am weary. The past nearly two years have been difficult for so many of us. Our daughter lost three of her grandparents, and we’ve not been able to visit my widowed mother during that time. Last month we drove up to spend a few hours with a dear friend who co-owns a brewery north of Toronto. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, sitting on a patio drinking beer in the sunshine. A taste of normality went down along with the drafts.

In my current work with the Psalms, I have noticed how many contain this plaintive phrase: “How long, O LORD?” (Psalms 6, 13, 35, 74, 79, &c.) This question has been on so many of our lips over the past year and a half. I feel numb these days, as if I’m watching all this happen to someone else. I’ve wept very little, somewhat to my surprise. Perhaps this is a natural coping mechanism that has surfaced to enable me to get through each day. Patience is not something which comes easily to me. But patience is what we all need at present.

Read the entire article here.

Cyprus: History, Politics, and Culture

I have posted a new page devoted to Cyprus: History, Politics, and Culture, which can also be accessed in the list of pages in the right sidebar. My father was born in the island over 90 years ago, and we still have extended family there. Cyprus has a colourful history as a crossroads of the eastern Mediterranean region and a pawn of competing empires. The original of this page was posted at my former website fifteen years ago, and this page is an edited version of the earlier one.

Liturgy and archaic language

In light of the recent Motu Proprio of Pope Francis limiting the use of the extraordinary form of the Latin mass, I thought I would repost something I wrote for First Things a dozen years ago: Liturgy and archaic language. An excerpt:

I myself am of two minds about updating liturgical language. As an heir of the Reformation, I believe it is generally best for Christians to worship in a language they can easily understand. Even the most conservative protestant congregations have largely abandoned the King James Version of the Bible, substituting instead the New King James Version or possibly the English Standard Version. Most other churches now use the NIV or the NRSV. There is good reason for this, since we all should wish to see God’s word proclaimed in comprehensible form.

At the same time, it would be a pity if English-speakers were to lose their grasp of the Elizabethan forms altogether. Who would the Copts be if they were to lose their ancestral Coptic language? Or the Maronites without Aramaic? Without Church Slavonic would Russians be forced to change, say, the cities of Volgograd and Kaliningrad to Volgogorod and Kaliningorod, just so people could continue to understand their meaning?

Read the entire piece here.

July newsletter

My Global Scholars Canada newsletter for July has been posted here.

O Evangelho da Paz e o Discurso do Ódio

No próximo mês GodBooks e Thomas Nelson Brasil publicarão um livro intitulado, O Evangelho da Paz e o Discurso do Ódio. Eu tenho um capítulo neste livro sobre a relação entre política e idolatria. Em breve.

Next month GodBooks and Thomas Nelson Brasil will be publishing a book titled, The Gospel of Peace and Hate Speech. I have a chapter in this collection about the relationship between politics and idolatry. Coming soon.

On Canada's constitution

Last week The Six Cents Report reposted a brief snippet of an interview with me that was posted earlier this year. My interviewers were Darnell Samuels and Joel Nicoloff. The topic is Errors in the Canadian Constitution.

The American Commons: interview

The American Commons has posted a recent interview between Ryan Ellington and me: A Conversation With David Koyzis. Here is a description of this online periodical from its website: "The American Commons is a free grassroots web magazine by rank-and-file American Solidarity Party members that provides commentary on faith, culture, and politics." An excerpt from the interview:

Koyzis: The smoke-filled rooms served a purpose, because they were an avenue whereby local officials and party functionaries would vet a candidate before he was presented to the public. And that stage has been largely removed from the process for the last 50 years. And I think Jimmy Carter, he was fairly ineffectual – a very good man, I like him personally; I heard him speak about 30 years ago in Atlanta, and I found him quite impressive as a speaker – but as a President, though, he had no connection with Congress. It was very difficult for him to govern, because he was this lone figure who was parachuted in and expected to govern in a system that is set up to disperse power.

So, this is the sort of thing that concerns me about the direction of American politics. The sort of figures that the 18^th century founders would have blanched at putting in power, these are the kinds of people that are increasingly coming to office in the United States. . . .

Reassessing our heroes

Christian Courier has published my July column, titled, Reassessing Our Heroes. An excerpt:

What do we do with our heroes from the past when we discover their flaws? What shall we do with the monuments to their achievements when the latter seem overshadowed by their errors?

Like so many Canadians, I was horrified to learn of the discovery of 215 unmarked graves of aboriginal children on the premises of a residential school in Kamloops, B.C. Soon after this grisly discovery, students at Ryerson University in Toronto upended a statue of Egerton Ryerson, a 19th-century Methodist leader who contributed to the formation of common public schools in Upper Canada and of “Indian” residential schools. As I write, Hamiltonians are debating the removal of statues of Queen Victoria and Sir John A. Macdonald in Gore Park downtown, because of the role they played in setting federal policy towards aboriginal Canadians.

What then do we do with our all too fallible heroes from the past? We cannot pretend that Macdonald was not our first prime minister and that he did not do much to create the country we love and to which we are loyal. In this respect, Macdonald is no different from other respected figures from the past who have shaped the world we live in.

Read the entire article here.

We Seek Your Kingdom: about the song

Yesterday I posted two videos on this blog, one of this year's National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast and the other of a beautiful hymn, We Seek Your Kingdom. Here is another video: We Seek Your Kingdom: The Story Behind the Song.

I especially appreciate the part of the conversation that begins at 10:56. 

"What's your favourite line, Andy?"

"The second line, actually: 'We long for heaven's demonstration here.' I think that word demonstration has become so key in my understanding of the kingdom in these last few years. Importantly, we're not building the kingdom. That's not our job. Our job is demonstrating the kingdom . . . . So just like Jesus' miracles. They were real. Transformation happened. But they were also a demonstration of what the future perfection was gonna be. And I think that takes a lot of the heaviness off our shoulders when we realize our call here is to demonstrate the kingdom, to show signs of that beauty, of that perfection, of that justice in our workplaces, in politics, in media, and everywhere. We're demonstrating that future perfection . . . . We're not building it to gradually get to this future utopia . . . . We're demonstrating what heaven is like in the now."

This text should be added to every future hymnal, as it so wonderfully sums up the nature of our earthly walk as we seek to do God's will in everyday life.

We Seek Your Kingdom

I was recently alerted to last month's annual National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast in the United Kingdom which moved online this year. It was recorded and I link to it below. I found it deeply inspirational. I wish we had something like this in Canada.

I especially want to draw your attention to the wonderful song at the end, which I hope will catch on in the churches. I would love to know more about Noel Robinson, Andy Flannagan, and Graham Hunter who wrote it. The text is, of course, set to the familiar tune EVENTIDE. The lyrics can be found here.