John G. Stackhouse Jr.'s Blog, page 15

Larry W. Hurtado Is Gone

This is the 30th year of my friendship with Larry Hurtado, Professor of New Testament Language, Literature & Theology at New College, the University of Edinburgh. Larry died at home from cancer this past Monday. It was, indeed, in the … Continued

Do Appearances Matter?

Politicians know—or they should—that appearances matter. Rachel Notley, former premier of Alberta, recently got herself tossed out of the Legislature for accusing a cabinet member of lying. And over what? Over the government’s firing a senior civil servant who was investigating apparent … Continued

Prayer Breakfasts Are No Big Deal—Right?

Calgary Herald columnist Catherine Ford recently wrote a spooky column invoking the spectre of William “Bible Bill” Aberhart to scare her readers into antipathy toward, of all things, the upcoming Provincial Prayer Breakfast, to be held in Edmonton later this month. Ford is fair-minded … Continued

White American Evangelicals and Trump: Canadians Keep Wondering…

Neil Macdonald of the CBC recently bemoaned the continuing support of white evangelicals for American president Donald Trump. To his credit, Macdonald was careful to say that they “are utterly unlike most Christians you’ll encounter in this country”—a refreshing refusal to engage … Continued

What the World—and Canada—Needs Now

Choristers in full military uniform celebrating the People’s Liberation Army of China—in Toronto? The National Post recently reported that 40 or so veterans of the PLA put on such a concert in Richmond Hill, a prosperous suburb of Canada’s urban centre. They belong … Continued

Canadian Political Leaders Watch a Soccer Video

Good morning, Prime Minister, and congratulations. Please just take a seat over there. Mr. Scheer—good to see you. Ms. May, welcome. Mr. Singh, so glad you could come. Ah, Monsieur Blanchet—bienvenue! Please, all of you, take any seat. Now, then. … Continued

As You Consider Voting, a Minimal Consideration

We Canadians are about to vote in the imminent national election, and many of us are rather desperate to find leaders and parties to support with anything like enthusiasm. A lot of us seem to be clearer about whom and … Continued

Should We Vote “Pro-Life” in this Election?

Some people are forcefully exhorting the rest of us to make “pro-life” our chief, or even sole, concern in this Canadian election. To this advice, I reply with firm equivocation. Yes, we should. And no, we shouldn’t. On the yes … Continued

Evangelicals in Canada versus Evangelicals in the USA

I’m only going to say this one more time. Canadian evangelicals are not identical with our American cousins and not all aligned with the political right. Along with a couple of others, I’ve been saying this publicly now for almost thirty … Continued

Embarrassments in the Campaign—but So What?

In one of the classic scenes from the classic movie “Casablanca,” French police captain Louis Renault kowtows to Nazi pressure and closes his friend’s nightclub on the most hypocritical of pretexts. He professes to be shocked—shocked!—to learn that there is gambling going … Continued