You’ve probably seen the headlines, headlines such as: “Churches come tumbling down. . . . Canadian Christendom is destined for history’s sunset.” (Globe and Mail, Christmas 2007)
According to Canadian sociologist Reginald Bibby there is a perception, particularly among academics and the media that religion in Canada is a fossil, a vanishing holdover from an older [...]

If you were to hang out at a Christian bookstore at the edge of many Canadian cities, you might be surprised to see who is there.  Ditto if you drive past a packed church parking lot any day of the week, or a bustle of people leaving a newly planted church in an industrial area, [...]

The simplest definition of evangelism I ever heard is: “preaching the Gospel.” But that of course begs the question: What exactly is the Gospel?
A few years ago, I was leading a workshop on evangelism, and said something about “the Gospel.” An elderly gentleman in the front row spoke up and said, “I’ve been in church [...]

Book Cover
Many people love the Narnia stories. However, not all readers know the deep spirituality that underlies them. In some ways, the stories mirror Lewis’ own wrestling with his spiritual longings, and seek to help others on the same journey. He wants us to feel, as he himself came to feel, that what we long [...]

Some sermons I dislike more than others. One of them gets preached periodically at Easter (not in my present parish, I hasten to add). It is based on the story of Thomas, and it goes like something this. “Maybe you consider yourself a doubter. Well, so was Thomas in today’s reading. And clearly, Jesus accepted [...]

I don’t know if this strikes you as a funny title for a religious article. Isn’t it rather like the National Smokers Alliance (there is such a thing) sponsoring a lecture on How Smoking Can Damage Your Health—a lecture to be given by a long-term addict? Why would they do it?
If religious people know that [...]

FOR over two hundred years, most homes in western society would have owned two books. Even if they weren’t rich, even if they weren’t highly educated, they would have these two books, and (what’s more) they read them both. One was the Bible – no prizes for knowing that – and the other was . [...]

Why should anyone consider Christian faith today? The author offers an overview of Christian belief in a collection of five short essays, each shedding fresh light on a different aspect of the faith. It has been said that what the church needs today is not better arguments but better metaphors: this booklet offers startling [...]