Opinion Articles

  • On International Nelson Mandela Day, South Africans long for a rekindling of Mandela's vision of reconciliation

    On International Nelson Mandela Day, South Africans long for a rekindling of Mandela's vision of reconciliation

    Thirty years ago, Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years as a political prisoner, took the oath of office at the Union Buildings in Pretoria – an act that declared to his country and the world that white minority rule had ended in South Africa. On that autumn Tuesday, all South Africans were finally free and equal before the law. Apartheid was over, the transition to democracy was peaceful, and now we could boldly look at the future.

  • Emissaries of the way

    Emissaries of the way

    The people for whom Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors have their own responsibilities and privileges. All of which are fulfilled in Jesus, whom they must recognise as their Messiah in order to find satisfaction for their millennia of yearning. As I noted in my previous blog post, we Gentiles are settlers to a well-established faith, the Jews (the blood line of Israel) are indigenous. We are grafted into their story. By Jesus’ blood, which has become our blood by faith, securing our

  • Freedom from fear

    Freedom from fear

    We Westerners, who have only known the seventy years of peace sustained by the international order ushered in after World War Two, know little of the anxiety and fear Ukrainians and others in war zones experience daily.

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  • How Canadians are harmed by illegal sexually explicit material online

    How Canadians are harmed by illegal sexually explicit material online

    With any quick Google search, Canadians of any age can access sexually explicit material. Simple, often innocent search terms can bring up websites with sexually explicit content, much of it violent and dehumanizing. It is extremely easy to access in Canada, and we are seeing the devastating consequences of this on our population, especially children and youth.  

  • Hidden seed

    Hidden seed

    Russian propaganda that Vladimir Putin is ‘protecting Christianity’ against Satanism and neo-Nazism flies in the face of reliable reports from numerous sources of the brutal and ruthless persecution of Christians in the occupied Ukrainian territories. 

  • Does Christian education matter anymore?

    Does Christian education matter anymore?

    In a secular society where ‘faith-based’ learning institutions are often viewed as fossils of a bygone age, education today is widely considered the rightful domain of secular governments. Should governments even allow ‘special’ religious-based education anymore? Hasn’t religion caused so many conflicts in the past? Shouldn’t education be based on scientific facts, not ‘superstitious’ beliefs? Even believers have to ask themselves, does Christian education matter anymore?

  • World Refugee Sunday on June 16 & 23 reminds us of God's heart for the forcibly displaced:

    World Refugee Sunday on June 16 & 23 reminds us of God's heart for the forcibly displaced: "For I was hungry, and you fed me"

    Forced displacement goes hand in hand with acute food insecurity. The 59 countries/territories with food crises account for 90 million individuals forcibly displaced from their homes. Most are internally displaced in their own countries (64 million), and the rest are refugees, asylum seekers and migrants seeking resettlement elsewhere. Behind these huge numbers are human beings – men, women and children made in the image of God. The Bible is filled with stories of welcoming and caring for those

  • Co-creating safety

    Co-creating safety

    Safety is central to our wellbeing. Our sense of safety has an immediate impact on our physical health, emotional stability, social harmony, economic viability, psychological growth, as well as our spiritual maturity. Even the slightest glance at the news or social media today reveals a dramatic increase in instability resulting in a corresponding decrease in a sense of safety, psychologically if not physically.