John G. Stackhouse Jr.'s Blog, page 22

The Bad News in the Bad News

Hurricane Florence is devastating America’s east coast while super-typhoon Mangkhut lays waste to the northern Philippines. Religious believers wonder where God is in all of this, while skeptics scoff that such calamities clearly prove the foolishness of belief in an … Continued

Advice for Students in Unsafe Places

“But, Professor, I learned in church that God wrote the Ten Commandments himself on stone tablets and gave them to Moses. Isn’t that what happened?” “It is unscientific and absurd to believe that God ever turned stone-mason and chiseled commandments … Continued

Scandals, Scandals Everywhere: What Can Be Done?

It’s been a bad season for Catholics and evangelicals. Catholics are embroiled in a global scandal about who knew and did what about multiple instances of sexual abuse, a scandal reaching the highest offices of that church. Meanwhile, evangelicals are … Continued

Body-Shaming? Or Education-Honouring?

It’s back-to-school time and, for many Canadian pupils, it’s back to the demands of school dress codes. Not just in private schools, but in many public schools, dress codes are in force. And you can bet that in a week … Continued

Due Process Is Boring . . . until Things Start Blowing Up

I once had a ruthless boss try to do me in… and due process, properly followed, rescued me. I was up for promotion from the rank of Associate Professor to the senior rank of Professor at the University of Manitoba. … Continued

Reality: What a Concept

“I prefer to think of my bank account as limitless.” “I prefer to think of myself as universally charming.” “I prefer to think of traffic laws as suggestions, meant to be followed by others but as mere recommendations to skilled … Continued

Why Christians Should Help Addicts Shoot Up…Safely

Two decades ago, a brilliant young nurse who was studying with us at Regent College asked me about the morality of offering harm reduction to addicts. In particular, she talked to me about where she worked: InSite, Vancouver’s innovative safe-injection … Continued

Hey, Have You Heard the Latest?

Here’s another good reason to read the Bible regularly and think about it hard: It will help you avoid succumbing to pleasantly written nonsense. Today’s example comes from that fine American magazine, The Atlantic. In this month’s number, a breezy … Continued

Why Is Social Media So…Disappointing?

Many posts in social media are cries not just for attention, but for sympathy—literally, for “feeling with.” I have had this good/bad experience and I want to share it, since it is so strong and meaningful to me. Sometimes, in … Continued

I’d Like to Have an Argument, Please

I recently tweeted the link to an article I found interesting. One of my followers shot back, however, this furious riposte: “This is a stupid article. In fact, that whole publication has gone badly downhill under its new editor. I … Continued