JULY 2023 NEWSLETTER

One of the things I really miss about teaching is the relationships formed with students. When I first began teaching thirty-six years ago, I quickly discovered, somewhat to my surprise, that I really enjoyed the students and became quite fond of them. Remarkably, in my retirement I find that I still have opportunities to mentor young people. One of these is a more formal relationship recently initiated through Cardus' NextGen programme, while others have come about through third-party references or through readers of my books contacting me via email or social media. I still enjoy these relationships and pray that they will continue in the future. Your ongoing support for my work makes them possible.

One opportunity along these lines occurred at the beginning of this month. I met remotely with a small group of young Christians courtesy of my good friend Samuel Vandeputte. Although it is apparently a wider community, the people I met with are in the Netherlands, with one American who studied under a former student of mine. I had a great time with them and will be meeting with them again in the near future.

This past Monday evening I completed the fifth and final session of a remote course on Political Visions and Illusions for the Escola Ministerial Antioquia in Araçariguama, São Paulo, Brazil, for their mestrado em teología missional (master of missional theology). I found it an enjoyable experience and hope that the students found it beneficial.

In April Jason Estopinal and I interviewed Hannah Nation, who edited the book, Faithful Disobedience: Writings on Church and State from a Chinese House Church Movement. The podcast has now been posted at the Kirby Laing Centre website: Learning from the Chinese Church Today with Hannah Nation. Indeed, we have much to learn from our brothers and sisters in a country that may one day become the global centre of Christianity.

Peter Schuurman, the head of Global Scholars Canada, posted an account of last month's event in Oakville, Ontario, including my own remarks: Letters from Moscow: The Opening and Closing of Russia, a Thousand Year History. The video of the event has not yet been posted, as far as I know.

Christian Courier has posted my account of the late Tim Keller's life and witness, as well as the boost he gave to my first book. I owe a debt of gratitude to the man and trust that, by God's grace, he will share in the resurrection of the righteous.

Earlier this month, the final instalment of my series for the Politics Network of UCCF: The Christian Unions in the United Kingdom appeared: Beyond Liberalism. I did not address post-liberalism in either of my books, but I do so here. It's one thing to recognize the central defect of liberalism; it's quite another to settle on an appropriate alternative. Thus, like other ideologies, post-liberalism is a diverse phenomenon covering a lot of territory—some good and some not so good. The entire series can be found here.

Finally, I am putting the finishing touches on my book manuscript, provisionally titled, Citizenship Without Illusions. I am now circulating it amongst a very few colleagues for their responses and suggestions for improvement. Other activities over the past month can be found on my blog.

Thank you for your financial and prayer support for my work. Please consider a regular monthly contribution, as it makes it easier for Global Scholars to set an annual budget, including the modest salary I receive from the organization. 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.

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 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. Thank you!

Yours in God's service,

David Koyzis, Global Scholar