Critical Faith

Philosophy as a Spiritual Exercise with Julia Henderson and Joe Watson

Junior Member Julia Henderson joins the Critical Faith team to start a new series on philosophy as a spiritual exercise. In this series she'll be talking with folks about how philosophy, faith, and our everyday lives intersect with one another in meaningful ways.

This first episode is a conversation with Junior Member, teacher, and coffee roaster Joe Watson about how he first got into philosophy, finding God amid suffering, and what coffee has to teach us about modal aspects.

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Critical Faith is sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics (CPRSE) at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. For more, visit www.icscanada.edu.

Music by Matt Bernico.

To Be Faithful to the Truth: A Conversation with Jeffrey Dudiak

Back in the spring, we talked with Dr. Jeffrey Dudiak, ICS alum and Professor of Philosophy at The King's University in Edmonton, while he was enjoying a sabbatical. We walked, chapter by chapter, through some of the guiding questions of his short book Post-Truth? Facts and Faithfulness (Currents in Reformational Thought Series, Wipf and Stock, 2022) and got a bit of a glimpse into his forthcoming sabbatical project: an interactive forum on wisdom and polarization called Of Serpents and Doves: Explorations in Christian Wisdom.

In this episode, Jeff explores a more enriched understanding of truth, compares worldviews vs. ideologies, considers the role of relevance in one's approach to teaching, and exhorts us to learn how to “do wisdom Christianly.” Have a listen!

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Critical Faith is sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics (CPRSE) at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. For more, visit www.icscanada.edu.

Music by Matt Bernico.

Navigating Difficult Conversations in Community with Jennifer Bowen

In today's episode, Héctor Acero Ferrer recently spent some time in conversation with Executive Director of Shalem Mental Health Network, Jennifer Bowen. You'll hear them reflect on the shared history and institutional connections between the Institute for Christian Studies and Shalem, as well as on the topic of how to navigate difficult conversations.

On the occasion of Shalem celebrating their 60th anniversary as an organization this month, we are so glad we could talk with Jennifer, we congratulate Shalem on this milestone, and we wish them many more years of service in the community!

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Critical Faith is sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics (CPRSE) at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. For more, visit www.icscanada.edu.

Music by Matt Bernico.

Inhabiting Tradition with Bob Sweetman

In today's episode, we welcome new member of the Critical Faith team, Jimmy Ronald! Jimmy had a chance to chat with ICS Senior Member Bob Sweetman about some of his thoughts on tradition as authority or a "right place to start," story vs. argument, and some of the writing projects Bob has on the horizon.

Have a listen to this and other episodes with Bob from the Critical Faith archive!

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Critical Faith is sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics (CPRSE) at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. For more, visit www.icscanada.edu.

Music by Matt Bernico.

Created Beautiful: On LGBTQ Christians in the Church with Eric Van Giessen

After an extended break, we're back! And we're planning to bring you some more regular content again in the new year.

In today's episode, ICS President Ronald A. Kuipers talks with our guest Eric Van Giessen about their respective histories in the Christian Reformed Church and their responses to the CRC's recent synod vote to affirm the 2016 Human Sexuality Report. Along the way, they explore alternative avenues of Biblical interpretation, Eric's autoethnographic research into Queer faith communities, and some tools for having more productive conversations on difficult topics. 

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• You can find more about Eric's research and other projects on his website at www.ericvangiessen.com.
• You can also check out the original Queerly Faithful Zine, which contains the poem Eric read among many other creative contributions, at www.queerlyfaithfulpress.ca/zine.
• You can also find the article mentioned in this episode published this past June on Broadview magazine’s website at www.broadview.org.

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Critical Faith is sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics (CPRSE) at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. For more, visit www.icscanada.edu.

Music by Matt Bernico.

The Wake of 2020: A Final Look Back

In this series finale, Andrew asks a handful of Critical Faith crew members, ICS Junior Members, alums, and colleagues to respond to the previous interviews in the series. So this episode features guest responses from Theoren Tolsma, Samir Gassanov, Abbi Hofstede, Kevin Huinink, Danielle Yett, Mark Standish, Hector Acero Ferrer, and Andrew himself.

Thanks for following along as we thought -- and continue to think -- through the lingering effects of 2020.

Also, Critical Faith will be taking a break for the next few months. During this time, feel free to revisit some of our past episodes or send us suggestions for topics you'd like to hear us discuss or folks you'd like us to chat with in the future!

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Critical Faith is sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics (CPRSE) at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. For more, visit www.icscanada.edu.

Music by Matt Bernico.

The Wake of 2020: Truth, Reconciliation & Uncomfortable Transformation with Jonathan Hamilton-Diabo

How can Indigenous peoples and their histories not simply be seen as "additions" to society but rather help to transform its very structures?

Recently, Jonathan Hamilton-Diabo joined Andrew to reflect on what the past year has brought to light for him about Indigenous experiences.

Jonathan knows well the long work of truth-telling, open-hearted listening, and deep community transformation. He is a member of the Mohawk nation, and is the June Callwood Professor in Social Justice and Special Advisor on Indigenous Issues at Emmanuel College at Victoria University in Toronto. He was also an integral part of the Steering Committee for the University of Toronto’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

In this episode, Jonathan considers the ongoing calls to action of the TRC, some dynamics of "making space" and changing the narrative, and how the history of residential schools impacts all of us. In light of the recent tragic findings of the unmarked graves of hundreds of children at residential school sites across Canada, we are especially grateful that Jonathan shared his wisdom on these matters and his time with us.

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At Emmanuel College, Jonathan will be teaching the following courses this year: “Residential Schools: Enactment, Responses and Calls to Action” in Fall 2021, and “Engaging the Spirit: Indigenous Theological Worldviews” in Winter 2022. If you'd like to learn more about these courses, you can visit Emmanuel's website: www.emmanuel.utoronto.ca.

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Critical Faith is sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics (CPRSE) at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. For more, visit www.icscanada.edu.

Music by Matt Bernico.

The Wake of 2020: Inclusivity Begins in the Classroom

Our series on some of the challenges facing philosophy and faith in the wake of 2020 continues.

Recently, Andrew was joined by Edith van der Boom, Associate Professor of Philosophy of Education and Practice of Pedagogy at ICS and the Director of MA-EL Program. Here, Edith shares some of her experiences both as a learner and a teacher working toward more inclusive and growth-oriented classroom environments.

This August, Edith will be teaching Finding Joy in Learning, and in the fall she will be teaching Cultivating Learning Communities of Grace (registration deadline: September 17). Both of these courses can be taken as part of the MA-EL program at ICS, for credit toward a Christian School Teacher Certificate, or toward other educational professional development ends. Email the ICS Registrar if you have any questions: academic-registrar@icscanada.edu.

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Critical Faith is sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics (CPRSE) at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. For more, visit www.icscanada.edu.

Music by Matt Bernico.

The Wake of 2020: Labour of Love & Resistance with Cheri DiNovo

Rev. Dr. Cheri DiNovo, CM joins Andrew for the next instalment in our series on some of the challenges facing philosophy and Christian faith in the wake of 2020.

Cheri is the author of the book Qu(e)erying Evangelism: Growing a Community from the Outside In (Pilgrim Press, 2005) and, most recently, her memoir The Queer Evangelist: A Socialist Clergy's Radically Honest Tale (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2021). As a minister, activist, and former MPP, Cheri has advocated extensively for LGBTQ2+ rights and dedicated much of her life to creating radically welcoming spiritual communities.

Today, she reflects on her experiences as a queer activist, on some of the political fault lines that became apparent to her over the past year, and what this means for communities of faith.

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Cheri is also an organizer of the second Christian Left Conference taking place online this July 23-4, 2021. ICS/CPRSE is co-sponsoring this year's conference alongside Emmanuel College’s Centre for Religion and Its Contexts, Trinity St. Paul's United Church, and the Toronto Mennonite Theological Centre. This year's theme is “Rethinking the Christian Left from the Belly of Empire: Charting New Paths Beyond Colonization” -- register today to join!

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Critical Faith is sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics (CPRSE) at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. For more, visit www.icscanada.edu.

Music by Matt Bernico.

The Wake of 2020: Heroes, Saviors & Problems with Power with Kristin Kobes Du Mez

How can Christians learn to acknowledge abuses of power?

Kristin Kobes Du Mez joins Andrew and ICS Junior Member cohost Abbi Hofstede for the next instalment in our series on some of the challenges facing philosophy and Christian faith in the wake of 2020.

Kristin is the author of the provocative book Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation (Liveright, 2020). In this episode, she reflects on her experience writing the book, traces the thread of militant masculinity and racism in evangelicalism's recent history; and invites alternative visions of Christian culture, politics, and power.  

Stay tuned for more conversations in this series.

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Study Online with ICS this Summer!

• The Soul of Soulless Conditions: Marxists on Christianity, Christians on Marxism with Dean Dettloff
  (April 20-May 27, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 7-9pm EDT)
  
  
• Fashion Theology with Robert Covolo
  (May 26-June 8, weekdays, 1-3pm EDT)
  
  
• Pragmatism, Race, and Religion: Du Bois, West, and Glaude with Ronald A. Kuipers
  (June 7-July 16, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10am-12pm EDT)
  
  
• Faith in Art: Spirituality and Lived Experience with Adrienne Dengerink Chaplin
  (June 15- July 22, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 1-3pm EDT)
  
  
• ... and more!

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Critical Faith is sponsored by the Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics (CPRSE) at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. For more, visit www.icscanada.edu.

Music by Matt Bernico.