Critical Faith

Reading the Bible with Nik Ansell: Where Do We Go from Here?

Can the Bible continue to speak to us today?

In this final episode of our series on reading the Bible with ICS Senior Member in theology Nik Ansell, special guest Mike Wagenman joins us to ask Nik some lingering questions. Join us as we dig deeper into a consideration of Genesis 1 and evolution, the ramifications of fear and possibilities of wisdom, the pursuit of friendship with God in Job, and more! 

If you'd like to hear more from Nik, you can find more information about some of his upcoming courses (including Biblical Foundations which will be starting in the fall) now available remotely. Join him and start reading the Bible differently for yourselves!

Here are some links to influential Reformational resources that Nik mentions in this episode: 

• How to Read the Bible to Hear God Speak: A Study in Numbers 22-24 (reprint, Wipf and Stock, 2019) by Calvin Seerveld
• Setting Our Sights by the Morning Star (The Patmos Press, 1989) by Hendrik Hart
• A Hermeneutics of Ultimacy: Peril or Promise? (University of America Press, 1987) by James Olthuis, Donald G. Bloesch, Clark H. Pinnock, and Gerald T. Sheppard

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.

Reading the Bible with Nik Ansell: What About Bodies?

How is our agenda for theology related to our gender?

This is the third episode in our series on reading the Bible with ICS Senior Member in theology Nik Ansell. This week, Danielle invites Nik to explore in more detail some of the topics of one of his current courses, God/Sex/Word/Flesh. So have a listen to dig deeper into some of the implications our embodiment, gender, and sexualities have on our understandings of God.

If you're keen to see the Bible in a new light, you'll want to start this series at the beginning and stick with us for the final episode of this series where we'll tackle some lingering questions from our conversations with Nik.

You could read more about God/Sex/Word/Flesh and also join some of Nik's other upcoming courses, including Biblical Foundations which will be starting in the fall, now available remotely. 

Here are some links to resources Nik mentions in this episode: 

• All We're Meant to Be: Biblical Feminism for Today (third edition, Abingdon Press, 1986) by Letha Dawson Scanzoni and Nancy A. Hardesty
• Sexism and God-Talk: Toward a Feminist Theology (Beacon Press, 1983) by Rosemary Radford Ruether
• The Woman Will Overcome the Warrior: a Dialogue With the Christian/Feminist Theology of Rosemary Redford Ruether (University Press of America, 1994) by Nicholas John Ansell

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.

Reading the Bible with Nik Ansell: What is Freedom?

"For freedom Christ has set us free..." but what is freedom for? 

We're continuing our series on reading the Bible with ICS Senior Member in theology Nik Ansell. So for the next few weeks, we'll keep tackling some hot topics and burning questions. This week, Héctor joins Nik to discern some dynamics of law and liberation in the Bible, and to consider the stakes of freedom. 

If you're keen to see the Bible in a new light, you'll want to have a listen to our first episode and stick with us for the rest of this series. You could also join for yourself some of Nik's upcoming courses, including Biblical Foundations which will be starting in the fall, now available remotely. 

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.

Reading the Bible with Nik Ansell: Where to Begin?

In the beginning... where to begin?

We're excited here at Critical Faith to begin a new year with a new series on reading the Bible with resident ICS Senior Member in theology Nik Ansell. For the next few weeks, we'll tackle some hot topics and burning questions. We pack a lot into this episode, all by first asking the vital question: How do we even start?

If you're keen to see the Bible in a new light, you'll want to join us for this series. You could also keep an eye out for some of Nik's upcoming courses, now available remotely.

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.

Facing the Darkness with Nik Ansell

As summer draws to a close and we start gearing up for the start of the semester at ICS, we're going to spend a few weeks with some of our Senior Members as they prepare for their upcoming online courses in the fall.

 

Today, we're welcoming Nik Ansell, ICS Senior Member in theology, back onto the podcast to talk about one of the two courses he'll be teaching online. On Monday evenings, he’ll be teaching his Biblical Foundations course, and on Thursday afternoons he’ll be teaching the course that provides the topic of today’s conversation: Facing the Darkness: The (Human) Nature of Evil. 

 

If you'd like to find out more about the course, to register, or to learn more about our discounts for first-time auditors and ICS alumni, you can visit the course page on our website or send our Registrar an email at academic-registrar@icscanada.edu!

 

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.

Breathing Life into Practice with Emily Briggson and Nik Ansell

To jump into the new year, this week's episode is a change of pace and a chance to highlight some voices of the broader ICS community.

For the first portion of this episode, we're taking a moment to express our thanks to those who came to our Open House in December by featuring some vignettes of their hopes for the future of ICS. And in the second portion, we're joined by Senior Member in theology Nik Ansell and friend of ICS and yoga instructor-in-training Emily Briggson for a conversation about the connections and differences between their studies and practices. 

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.

Apocalypse New with Nik Ansell

What's up with the apocalypse?

This week, Junior Member hosts Danielle and Mark talk about their undergraduate years, mystery, and the hope of apocalypse with guest Senior Member in theology Nik Ansell.

We want Critical Faith to give you a glimpse into the everyday life of ICS. So we're talking with Senior Members, Junior Members, and friends of the Institute to hear about what got them here, what they're working on, and why it matters for them. 

Links to this week's Don't Miss This! items:

ICS Open House and Advent Concert

Sad Boys Literary Society poetry reading event page

Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada published by Canadian Geographic

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

Music by Matt Bernico.