Reading is (mostly) good
What is the most dangerous place in your community? The speaker at a large gathering of Christian university students queried us. “It is the library!” he answered. Not the power plant or the open construction sites or the places where nasty things happen? Libraries are full of books, the speaker explained. Books are full of…
What is learning?
Learning happens because learners do something, not because teachers teach. Education is not about teaching—it is about learning. Of course, we should value teachers! The best ones teach people how to learn. Still, learning is an ongoing process, happening inside, as the learner adapts existing understandings of the world to new experiences or information. Good…
What is enough?
“Who says they have enough money? We’ve never heard such a thing!” blurted the students at a Christian college at which I used to teach. I had just told them that I was going on an international human-rights delegation. After asking about funding, they vocalized their surprise that I was paying my own expenses. “I…
Is it moral to bike?
What is a bike to you: Exercise? A commuter vehicle? Opportunity for a family outing? Tool for close-by errands? A connection to simple living? Related to your spirituality? One day, when the kids were young, I came home really upset from a near-altercation with a car during the rush-hour commute from work. You know who…
Majority-world theology
It’s too bad Christianity became a European religion. At the beginning of the seventh century, only about a quarter of the world’s Christians were on that continent. The majority were strewn across vibrant communities in Africa and Asia. It’s that way again. The growth of Christianity in the non-European world over the past century is…
Vaccination colonialism
Some of us are getting vaccinated against COVID-19, and more are on lists, anxiously waiting for supplies to become more robust, and hoping dearly that the end of the pandemic is in sight. Imagine being the Indigenous people of a land where the government doesn’t provide for you to get vaccinated, but it provides for…
What does UN ‘peace’ mean?
“Making Peace with Nature” is the peculiar title of a scientific report recently tabled by the United Nations. That’s an attention-getting title for a peace-church eco-geek. My inquiring mind begs to know: How does the UN conceptualize “peace with nature” and how does its version compare with an Anabaptist understanding? Rooted in Scripture, Mennonites understand…
Don’t be like Jonah
Jonah suddenly became a favourite book of mine after I went to Iraq. Forget the fish! The book is a comedic satire against ethnocentrism, nationalism and a narrow-minded exclusivity regarding God. In the story, the whiny fellow is sent 900 kilometres to Nineveh, now the site of Mosul, the second-largest city of Iraq. Nineveh was…
The practice of Lent
I like Lent. I wonder how many Mennonites practise this season in the church calendar. And if so, what they do. For western Christians, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17 this year, and lasts for six weeks (just over 40 days, since Sundays are not included). For Roman Catholics, that is through Thursday of…
The practice of faith
The Buddhist nun looked across the table and asked me if Christians were taught how to practise faith. “Is Christian faith only beliefs that you try to internalize? Or do you do anything to help people more deeply develop themselves?” she asked. I knew what she meant. Buddhists—especially of the western tradition—engage in meditation and…
