I have purposely not written a column expressing my opinion on the 2022 Christian Reformed Synod’s Human Sexuality Report, and specifically not about the report’s recommendations concerning same sex relations. My reason is that, from the outset, I judged the entire process to be disingenuous. Handcuffing the committee members with a mandate that forced it…
“The angels explained things to Joseph after he’d talked to Mary, not before. Be patient when you don’t understand.” – Bob Goff, Live in Grace, Walk in Love (389) He’s usually in the background. If the kids in your church are putting on a nativity play, it’s one of the minor roles. He might lead…
Many years ago, when teaching in a small Christian elementary school, I had my first encounter with a parent adamant about removing a novel from the language arts curriculum. The novel was A Wrinkle in Time by Christian author Madeleine L’Engle. It won the 1963 Newberry Medal for best children’s book of that year and…
As a child, I found preachers’ talk about being the body of Christ more disturbing than comforting. Frightening fantasies of strange bodies danced in my head while the minister droned on. Children’s songs about being hands and feet for Jesus and “Be Careful, Little Eyes What You See”, used body images to teach me to…
Genesis begins in wonder and mystery. We learn of God’s creation and provision for this world. We discover his care for the creatures he made, especially humans. And we hear how sin entered the Garden of Eden. These events frame our understanding of the rest of Scripture. But there are other stories we tend to…
The Pope is coming to Canada next week, with stops planned for Edmonton, Quebec and Iqaluit. He will visit Indigenous, Inuit and Métis communities to speak with and listen to elders, church leaders and survivors of residential schools. This comes on the heels of the Pope’s meeting with Indigenous and Métis leaders in the Vatican,…
Kiara wondered what she had gotten herself into. She came to the group at the invitation of her friend John. She sat with her Bible and Discover Genesis study guide. Where was Genesis? What is the difference between a chapter and verse? Was she supposed to know this? She kept her eyes down. Maybe if…
As pundits and pew quarterbacks are struggling to find descriptions for what transpired at the Christian Reformed Church’s Synod 2022, I’m at a bit of a loss. Most descriptions are two-sided, fitting our bifurcated partisan day and age. When it comes to human sexuality, almost everyone seems to be either affirming or confessional. But I…
As religion writer for the Edmonton Journal, I visited Ukraine in 1988, the 1,000th anniversary of the baptism of Vladimir the Great. Edmonton has the largest Ukrainian population of any city in Canada, and Canada has the most Ukrainians of any country outside of Russia and Ukraine itself. On my journey through Ukraine, I could…
“When I boil these leftover bones / to loosen the flesh and eke out / every bit of gelatinous goodness…”
“One of my lifelong dreams is to visit the Holy Land!” My wife Karen and I often hear those words when people learn that we lead guided group tours to Israel. For most individuals a visit will be a once in a lifetime experience, and many approach such a trip with a singular purpose in…
“[God] desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:4). Having been brought up in a Calvinist home and listened all my life to sermons in Reformed churches, I have grown to believe that only a chosen few will be saved from eternal damnation by the grace…
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