Critical Faith

The Wake of 2020: Complicity and Complexity with Dean Dettloff and Matt Bernico

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

Today, Andrew is joined by The Magnificast cohosts Dean Dettloff (ICS PhD candidate and sessional lecturer) and Matt Bernico (independent journalist and scholar in media, politics, and religion). Together, Matt and Dean offer a constructive critique of Christianity and politics, inviting us to sit with and sift through some of the complex history and entanglements of Christianity and politics today.

Stay tuned for more conversations in this series.

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Upcoming Summer Courses at ICS

• The Soul of Soulless Conditions: Marxists on Christianity, Christians on Marxism (April 20-May 27, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 7-9pm EDT) with Dean Dettloff
• Pragmatism, Race, and Religion: Du Bois, West, and Glaude (June 7-July 16, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10am-12pm EDT) with Ronald A. Kuipers
• ... 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.

The Wake of 2020: Democracy's Lament with Ronald A. Kuipers & Gideon Strauss

We’re embarking on a new series about some of the challenges facing philosophy and Christian faith in the wake of 2020.

Today, series host Andrew Tebbutt starts close to home with guests Ronald A. Kuipers (Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion, Director of the CPRSE, and President of ICS) and Gideon Strauss (Associate Professor of Worldview Studies and Academic Dean at ICS). Together they reflect on global democracy and the role of lament. Stay tuned for more conversations in the coming weeks.

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Upcoming Summer Courses at ICS

• Pragmatism, Race, and Religion: Du Bois, West, and Glaude (June 7-July 16) with Ronald A. Kuipers
• Lead from Where You Are: Making a Difference in the Face of Tough Problems, Big Questions, and Organizational Politics (August 16-20) with Gideon Strauss
• ... 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.

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.

Capitalism(s) in the West with Michael DeMoor and Samir Gassanov

Want a better grasp of what the giant of capitalism means?

This winter semester, Dr. Michael DeMoor (Associate Professor of Social Philosophy in Politics, History, and Economics at The King's University and cross-appointed faculty at ICS) and Samir Gassanov (ICS PhD student) will be co-teaching a course called Capitalism(s) in the West: Intellectual History, Core Institutions, and Architectonic Critique. Starting January 14, the course will meet virtually every Thursday (11am-2pm EST).

ICS Junior Member Abbi Hofstede joined Michael and Samir on this episode to ask them all about what students like her can expect from this course.

Register today! Like all our upcoming winter courses, this one is accessible from all over the world for credit or audit, with a significant discount on course fees for first time auditors and ICS alums--only $400 CAD (plus registration). So if you'd like to find out more about the course or to register,  you can visit the course page on our website or send our Registrar an email at academic-registrar@icscanada.edu!

Some resources of interest on capitalism(s)

• Capital in the 21st Century (2019 documentary available on Netflix; based on the book by Thomas Piketty)
• The Big Short (2015 film based on the book by Michael Lewis)
• The Corporation (2003 documentary based on the book by Joel Bakan)
• punk rock music from the 1970s-80s (especially the career arc of The Clash) 

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.

Body, Language, Power with Dr. Andrew Tebbutt

Dr. Andrew Tebbutt, ICS sessional lecturer and Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics joins us to talk existential phenomenology and to tell us more about the course he'll be teaching this winter called Body, Language, Power: The Question of the Human in 20th Century French Philosophy. Starting January 13, the course will meet virtually every Wednesday afternoon (2-5pm EST).

Register today! Like our upcoming winter courses, this one is accessible from all over the world for credit or audit, with a significant discount on course fees for first time auditors and ICS alums--only $400 CAD (plus registration). So if you'd like to find out more about the course or to register,  you can visit the course page on our website or send our Registrar an email at academic-registrar@icscanada.edu!

Some resources of interest on existential phenomenology and phenomenology of race and gender: 

• Lewis R. Gordon: Being Human as a Relationship (YouTube video)
• Robert Bernasconi: Race, Slavery, and the Philosophers of the Enlightenment (YouTube video)
• Linda Martín Alcoff: Decolonizing Feminism in the Age of Intersectionality (lecture)
• Jean Paul Sartre: "Existentialism as a Humanism" in Existentialism and Human Emotions
• Maurice Merleau-Ponty: The World of Perception

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.

God of Solidarity with Dean Dettloff

We're back with a new season of Critical Faith! Before we dive into our new content for this season, we have one more Fall course you're going to want to check out.

Today, Dean Dettloff, sessional lecturer and ICS PhD candidate, and CPRSE Associate Director Hector Acero Ferrer join us to talk about Dean's upcoming online 6-week intensive course on liberation theology called God of Solidarity: Liberation Theology as Social Movement. Starting November 3, the course will meet virtually this fall, every Tuesday and Thursday evening.

Registration is open! Like our other fall courses, this one is accessible from all over the world for credit or audit, with a significant discount on course fees for first time auditors and ICS alums--only $400 CAD (plus registration). So if you'd like to find out more about the course or to register,  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.

Aesthetics of Compassion with Rebekah Smick

Summer's nearly over and we have one more fall course to feature on the podcast before the semester begins in mid-September!

Today, Rebekah Smick, Senior Member in Philosophy of Arts & Culture, joins us to talk about her course The Aesthetics of Compassion which reflects on the place of compassion in Western philosophy, theology, and art. Starting September 17, the course will meet virtually this fall, every Thursday from 10am-1pm EST.

This--and the rest of our fall courses--are all accessible from all over the world for credit or audit, with a significant discount on course fees for first time auditors and ICS alums--only $400 CAD (plus registration). So if you'd like to find out more about the course or to register,  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.