February snippets

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs believes there is a "God gap" in American foreign policy, as reported in today's Washington Post.

American foreign policy is handicapped by a narrow, ill-informed and "uncompromising Western secularism" that feeds religious extremism, threatens traditional cultures and fails to encourage religious groups that promote peace and human rights, according to a two-year study by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

The council's 32-member task force, which included former government officials and scholars representing all major faiths, delivered its report to the White House on Tuesday. The report warns of a serious "capabilities gap" and recommends that President Obama make religion "an integral part of our foreign policy."

The Council's report is available here.

Painstaking efforts continue to alleviate the suffering of the people of Haiti after last month's deadly earthquake. The father of one of Redeemer's recent alumni is at the forefront of this, as reported in yesterday's Hamilton Spectator: City MD returns to aid his Haitian homeland. May God bless and strengthen Dr. Alezandre Dauphin as he continues this important work.

Today's Spec carries this report on Redeemer's new president, Dr. Hubert Krygsman: He's out to build bridges.

Change is in the air elsewhere. Three other christian institutions of higher learning have chosen new presidents as well. Baylor University in Waco, Texas, has appointed Judge Kenneth Starr as its new head. Starr is best known to the American public as the Independent Counsel for the Whitewater investigation from 1994 to 1998.

A few days later Wheaton College announced its new president, Dr. Philip Graham Ryken, Pastor of historic Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. This brings to the 150-year-old evangelical university a leader who stands squarely in the Reformed tradition.

Finally, Reformed Theological Seminary's Orlando campus has just appointed a new president, Dr. Don Sweeting, senior pastor of Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church in Englewood, Colorado. I keep up with the goings-on there through my friend, Jake Belder, who is currently an RTS student.

Over now to my Genevan Psalter blog where I have put up two recent posts: Psalm 95 - T'ai Giorkou, and Updates: Sweelinck arrangements. Below is a performance of the ancient Cypriot folk song, T'ai Giorkou (Τ'αη Γιωρκού), which is an epic poem about St. George and the dragon. It's a typically Cypriot song sung in the local Τζιυπριώτικα dialect.