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C. S. Lewis, the Great War, and an Unwitting Canadian Connection

It’s July 8, 1917. The Great War rages on the Continent and an 18-year-old C. S. Lewis settles into his new life at the University of Oxford. Studies are on hold, the school nearly empty. Most his peers are on the battlefield, many already dead. He himself will reach the

Difficult Questions

I first read Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morality as an undergrad. I return to that book every few years, as it remains for me the biggest challenge to my Christian faith. In this work, Nietzsche tells a story of how morality as we know it today came into being,

Reframing Human

This is a short excerpt from a book that I am currently writing on the theological and political significance of witnessing to atrocity. The book is a theological dialogue with Italian philosopher, Giorgio Agamben, on the nature of remembering as a political and theological task. In his unforgettable Remnants of

Not “Like Trees, Walking”

In the Gospel of Mark the disciples are often depicted as perplexed by the meaning of Jesus’ parables and deeds. There are several miracles of transformation – represented by deafness to hearing or from blindness to sight. And there are two miracles of abundance – feeding 5,000 and then 4,000

Wisdom from the East

After the season of the Incarnation, the Church calendar turns to Epiphany, heralded on January 6 by the story of the Magi, wise ones from the East. It is a story of how Jesus comes to be perceived as One in whom the very nature of God is uniquely revealed,

Shared Pain: The Power of Jeremiah’s Laments

“You deceived me, LORD, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long.” ‒ Jeremiah 20:7-8

Division and Unification

Anglicans tend to be ambivalent about the Reformation. Are we a reformed church or not? I can already see the letters to the editor answering this question vehemently from both sides – and that very disagreement tells us something about the Anglican Church. Certainly the Church in England was caught

A Return to Allegorical Readings of Scripture

There are texts in scripture that present moral problems and, throughout history, the Church has found it difficult to come to terms with many of the teachings and stories in scripture. Today, the Church employs various approaches to these difficult texts: the more conservative voices usually place the importance of

Bob Dylan and the Theological Imagination

New York City was cold, muffled and mysterious, the capital of the world. On 7th Avenue I passed the building where Walt Whitman had lived and worked. I paused momentarily imagining him printing away and singing the true song of his soul. I had stood outside of Poe’s house on

CURRENT ISSUE

Fruits of the Spirit

What would a society based on the fruits of the spirit look like? What kind of vulnerability and courage would it take to let go of our selfishness, fears, and jealousy?

In this month’s Community Catechesis section, drawn from discussions at A Rocha Canada and St Margaret’s Anglican Church’s Be Not Afraid/Consider the Lillies conference, Deanna Zantigh responds to the question “Is the earth cursed?” and considers the interconnectedness of social and ecological disequilibrium, and the fruitfulness to be found in humble, cross-divisional respect and relationship with others.

In an interview with members of Black Anglicans, Diocese of Rupert’s Land Chapter, individuals speak about anti-black racism in the Anglican church and the need for real and meaningful representation in governing structures and in church life.

John Samson Fellows’ article considers the call felt by Quakers to the work of prison abolition. Responding to social problems by incarcerating people–often those already most marginalized in our society–is a form of social evil. Samson Fellows reflects on how our relations are only made worse when we isolate and punish those who trouble us.

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