Blessed are the Undone: Testimonies of the Quiet Deconstruction of Faith in Canada,

Blessed are the Undone: Testimonies of the Quiet Deconstruction of Faith in Canada, Angela Reitsma Bick & Peter Schuurman. Foreword by Neal DeRoo. New Leaf Press, 2024.

Available at: New Leaf Press

Publisher's Overview:

Canadian Christians frustrated with the Church have come ‘Undone’ and are leaving politely, almost apologetically, in what this book dubs a Quiet Deconstruction. Blessed are the Undone asks: what aspects of faith are being questioned, and why?

Weaving in church history, cultural analysis and their personal stories, Bick and Schuurman use canoe camping to illustrate the twists and turns of the spiritual journey. Whether you feel like you’re up the creek without a paddle when it comes to faith, or if people you love have lost their bearings, this book is for you.

This book neither condemns nor condones the trend of those deconstructing their faith. It seeks to describe and document the Canadian “deconstructing faith” scene while also providing a theological and sociological frame through which to understand it. Provocative, critical, fair, and focused on Canadian concerns, this book opens a window of well-researched appraisal.

Nature and Grace: The Spirituality of Existence

Nicholas Ansell, Nature and Grace: The Spirituality of Existence" (Chapter 22), in T&T Clark Handbook of the Doctrine of Creation. Jason Goroncy, ed. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024.

Available at: Bloomsbury Publishing Inc.


Publisher's Overview:

The T&T Clark Handbook of the Doctrine of Creation provides an expansive range of resources introducing the doctrine of creation as understood in Christian traditions. It offers an examination of: how the Bible and various Christian traditions have imagined creation; how the doctrine of creation informs and is informed by various dogmatic commitments; and how the doctrine of creation relates to a range of human concerns and activities.

The Handbook represents a celebration of, fascination with, bewilderment at, lament about, and hope for all that is, and serves as a scholarly, innovative, and constructive reference for those interested in attending to what Christian belief has to contribute to thinking about and living with the mysterious existence named 'creation'.

Catching the Fire of Love: On the Vital Role of Emotional Connection

James H. Olthuis,"Catching the Fire of Love: On the Vital Role of Emotional Connection," Journal of Psychology and Christianity 43, no.1 (Spring 2024): pp. 50-57.

Available through: Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) membership, or at your academic library

Excerpt:

Love is at work in us and with us as we seek to catch and be caught by the fire of God’s love. Caught by the fire of God’s love, we can undergo a transformation that clears a space of healing and forgiveness so that we are no longer hampered, burdened, or victimized by the traumas we have suffered. We are enabled to develop healthy, mutually satisfying relationships with others, encouraged to join in socio-economic projects for the good of society at large—reforming structures of injustice, opposing all forms of violence, caretaking the planet, and becoming agents of change and renewal—co-partners with God in the ministry of healing, for it is to that mission that we were created and recreated in Jesus Christ. (56)

Participating in God’s redemptive work: A cyclical model for learning and assessment

"Participating in God’s redemptive work: A cyclical model for learning and assessment." Edith van der Boom. In International Journal of Christianity and Education. Calvin University. March 2024. 28(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20569971241231583

Find it at: Sage Journals 

Abstract

With the goal of working towards decolonizing educational practices, this article considers the Indigenous medicine wheel as inspiration for a cyclical model for learning and assessment. Many current assessment practices highlight individual achievement rather than ongoing and relational learning. This article suggests using a Learning Wheel as a tool to engage students in conversation about learning and assessment. The purpose of assessment would be to inform students’ learning. The goal of learning would in turn equip students to be mindful of learning that engages in real-world issues to partner in God’s redemptive work.