FEBRUARY 2022 NEWSLETTER

In this last full month of a very cold winter here in central Canada, I begin with some good news. As you will recall, last year an anonymous donor issued a fundraising challenge, committing to match all new donations up to a maximum of $8,000. I am pleased to report that, thanks to your generous support, we surpassed that goal! I cannot express enough my deep gratitude to you for making this possible. And, of course, ultimately I am grateful to God for providing so many opportunities for service over the past few years and for the appropriate financial support.

In my last newsletter, I mentioned that I was interviewed by Aeric Estep and Scott Reavely for their City on the Hill podcast. It has now been posted and can be found here: Interview with Dr. David Koyzis. The interview concluded a multi-week series they produced on Political Visions and Illusions and the ideologies it covers. Estep and Reavely are pastors at New Life Church in West Linn, Oregon, United States.

This week I was privileged to lecture for three evenings in a row to the community associated with the Seminário Biblico do Nordeste in Carpina, Pernambuco, Brazil, near the major coastal city of Recife. The three lectures were titled: "Ideology, Religion, and Idolatry"; "The Redemptive Stories of the Ideologies"; and "Towards a Non-Ideological Alternative." This was the second event that I have done for SBNE, the first taking place last November. The lectures were also streamed to Christians in Mozambique, a lusophone country in east Africa with which I have made a few connections in recent months. You can listen to them here: SBNE lecture series.

With the world watching eastern Europe with considerable unease, I posted three articles last month relevant to the current crisis: Russia and Ukraine: a fraught relationship, Ukraine's impossible dream, and Putin's destabilizing ambitions. Let us continue to pray for peace in the region. My contact in Kyiv has told me that this is a "stressful situation" and thanks us for our prayers.

I linked to my blog another article which I wrote in 2020, The synthetic gospel of Liberation Theology, posted at Kuyperian Commentary. North Americans sometimes assume that Latin American Christians are heavily into a movement that started just over a half century ago. But this is not my experience with many of the Christians I have come to know in Brazil. Liberation Theology appears to have peaked in the 1970s and '80s and seems much less popular today.

I have just written a foreword to a forthcoming book by Josué Reichow, whom I know through English l'Abri, on Herman Dooyeweerd's philosophy. In this book, he brings Dooyeweerd into conversation with both Liberation Theology and the Integral Mission of the Lausanne Movement. I am unaware of any other book in English that treats the growing influence of neocalvinist thought in Brazil, so you will undoubtedly want to read this when it comes out. I will let you know when it is published.

Earlier this week, Cateclesia Forum published my review of Alan Noble's excellent book, You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World. My review is titled, Not Our Own: Noble's Critique of Self-Belonging. I strongly recommend it to everyone. Noble teaches at Oklahoma Baptist University and is editor-in-chief at Christ and Pop Culture. 

With respect to my work with the Psalms, The Outlook published my article, "The Genevan Psalter: Introduction," in its January/February 2022 issue. The Outlook began publishing in 1951 under its original name, Torch and Trumpet. A follow-up article on my own Genevan Psalter project will appear in a future issue.

In May I will be lecturing on the Genevan Psalter at Calvin University, Grand Rapids, Michigan, as guest of the H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies. This year marks the 460th anniversary of the Genevan Psalter's completion. More information forthcoming.

Thanks again to those who have generously contributed to my work with Global Scholars. 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. Thank you so much.

Yours in the service of God's kingdom,

David Koyzis, Global Scholar