We are in the final month, when many people are once again deciding on how to allocate their donations for the year. Please consider making a financial contribution to my work with Global Scholars Canada. Your contributions help to support the following:
- I draw a small monthly salary from these funds to supplement my private and public pension income, and together they cover a portion of the time and energy put into the various responsibilities I have taken on.
- The funds cover equipment, supplies, books, and other incidental expenses incurred in my work. The computer on which I work and the connected printer are two of the major pieces of equipment provided by your generous contributions.
- I have resumed some work-related travel. Your contributions will help to support this travel, especially where resources in the host country are insufficient to cover the costs.
GSC's page for giving can be found here. Once you are in the page, scroll down to the heading marked DONATION DETAILS, and then choose one of the options under FUND. Americans may donate through our sister organization in the US.
Or, if you prefer, Canadian donors can donate publicly traded securities (shares or mutual funds) directly to charities without having to pay the capital gains tax. This is a cost-effective and painless way to make a donation that comes with a substantial tax incentive. By donating securities, donors pay no tax on capital gains, receive a tax receipt for the fair market value of the securities, as well as reduce their taxes. Watch this video for more information about this option: Link Charity Canada: Donation of Securities. If interested, please visit the Link Charity Canada Inc. website, and call for details at 1-800-387-8146. Link Charity Canada is a partner organization of Global Scholars Canada, so Link Charity can easily direct funds for my work.
If you cannot afford to give, please do continue to pray for my work.
Probably the biggest news over the past month is that my book, Citizenship Without Illusions, was named a finalist in the Christianity Today Book Awards in the category of Politics and Public Life. I hope that this honour will attract new readers. I should indicate that the term "finalist" here appears to mean that the book was shortlisted for the top award, which then went to another book. No matter; it's still an honour to be runner-up.
As readers of my books will be aware, I have never been a fan of the left-right spectrum as a means of tracking political opinion. I discuss this at some length in my Political Visions and Illusions (19-23). I recently discovered a video whose author nicely articulates reasons for rejecting the left-right spectrum, which I embedded in my blog: The poverty of left and right. I revisit the issue in chapter 7 of Citizenship Without Illusions. Unfortunately, its use is unlikely to go away any time soon, but those who persist in using it should be aware of its deficiencies and consider avoiding its use as a term of derision.
For several years in a row now I have conversed online with the cohort of young people studying with the United Kingdom's CARE programme. CARE stands for Christian Action, Research, and Education. The leaders of this programme have the participants reading Political Visions and Illusions. Last month I spoke once again to the current CARE cohort: CARE UK conversation. As always, it was a most enjoyable experience. One day I would love to go to the United Kingdom and speak to such a group in person.
I have long been fascinated by Robert Putnam's work in exploring the significance of political culture. His Bowling Alone was much discussed when it came out in 2000. But I found his Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy more intriguing. Coming across a map of results of a 1946 Italian referendum prompted me to pen a reflection on the implications of political culture for the functioning of governing institutions: Robert Putnam and an Italian referendum. The upshot of his findings is that successful constitutional government depends on supportive traditions and cannot be created ex nihilo.
At the end of last month, the Kirby Laing Centre held a book launch for a co-authored volume, The Intellectual Legacy of Herman Dooyeweerd (1894-1977): A Hopeful Philosophy for our Time. Read about the event here: Philosophy in full colour. I was asked to speak remotely on the significance of Dooyeweerd's philosophy for North America. Although I was unable to do so in person, due to a prior commitment, I recorded video for the event. I will be reviewing this book for the journal, Neocalviniana in the coming months.
As I continue to work on various projects and plans for next year, I would like to wish everyone a blessed Advent and Christmas. I will close with a link to this guitar arrangement of Philipp Nicolai's immortal 1599 hymn, Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying. Thank you once more for your support for my work.
Yours in Christ,
David Koyzis, Global Scholar
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