DECEMBER NEWSLETTER

During these last weeks of the calendar year, I renew my appeal for your financial and prayer support for my work with Global Scholar's Canada. Here is where your contributions go:

1. 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. 
2. The funds cover equipment, supplies, books, and other incidental expenses incurred in my work. The computer on which I am typing and the connected printer are two of the major pieces of equipment provided by your generous contributions.
3. As the pandemic eases, I hope that opportunities to travel will return, and your contributions will help to make this possible, especially where resources in the host country are scarce.
   

Earlier this year, I was issued a challenge by an anonymous potential donor. Up until 31 December 2021, they will match every dollar raised over and above last year's funds up to $8,000. If a particular donor gave $200 last year, what counts this year for purposes of matching is what he or she gives above the $200 amount. All new donations from people who have not previously given count towards the total. This means that if someone gave $500 last year and gives $800 this year, $300 of that will be matched by the donor. A new donor who gives $1,000 this year will in effect be giving $2,000 in total. As always, our accountant will be conscientious in assuring that all qualifying donations are properly matched.

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. If you cannot afford to give, please do continue to pray for my work. God does indeed work through our prayers for each other.

Last month, Comment magazine, the periodical of local Hamilton think tank Cardus, published my article, Christianity and Ideologies, with the subtitle, "Embracing the rich diversity of God's world helps us resist distorting it."

As I indicated last month, my lecture for the Society of Christian Scholars took place on 18 November. The True Nature of Freedom is based on my second book, We Answer to Another: Authority, Office, and the Image of God.

On the 3rd day of this month, I woke up early to speak to a group of young people connected with an organization called CARE, which stands for Christian Action, Research, and Education and is located in the United Kingdom. From its website:

For over 20 years CARE has been equipping a generation of Christians to be salt and light in our culture. This 12 month graduate programme gives a unique insight into Parliament, political advocacy and Christian leadership.

I had spoken to the previous cohort last year and have found the participants to be both enthusiastic and wise in their understanding of the relationship between the faith and their political aspirations. In the course of this programme they read my Political Visions and Illusions, and this month's conversation took the form of a question and answer session with the author.

On the 7th and 8th of this month, I spoke at a two-day event to the parishioners of the Igreja Batista Vilas do Atlântico in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, on the subject of "What is a worldview?" The first evening I spoke on "A Christian Worldview and Political Ideologies," based on my first book, and the second evening I lectured on "A Christian Worldview and Authority," based on my second. This was part of the church's annual Bible Celebration Week. The lectures can be found online here.

Although I was not an active participant in last week's online international Christian Philosophy Conference sponsored by the Association for Reformational Philosophy at the Free University of Amsterdam, I did tune in for two days of the proceedings and was amazed at the numbers of Brazilians registered, which amounted to just over 38 percent of all registrations, putting that country in first place among those represented. The Holy Spirit is obviously working mightily in the Brazilian church, and I am grateful that he is using my work to advance God's kingdom.

Finally, I was interviewed late last year by the Rev. Dr. James Ellis III, University Chaplain and Director of Student Ministries at Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Canada, and it has now been posted online: The Illusion of Power & Choices. The interview can be streamed as well through Spotify, Google, Apple, and various other services.

I continue unofficially to mentor young people locally and around the world. These conversations are too numerous to mention in detail here, but I see them as a continuation of my decades-long teaching ministry. Once again, a huge thank you to all of you who have supported my work both financially and with your prayers. I hope you will consider making an additional contribution at year's end.

Yours in the service of God's kingdom,

David Koyzis, Global Scholar