Tokusan (780 – 865) was a tough and cantankerous Chinese Zen master. He wielded a menacing bamboo stick. His Zen pedagogy was known as ‘Tokusan’s thirty blows’. Tokusan would say to his disciples: “If you speak rightly I will give you thirty blows. If you speak wrongly, I will also Read more
RealityBites’ lively new theatre-in-education project plans to bring Christian perspectives and a focus on worldviews to GCSE and A-Level Philosophy, Ethics and Religious Studies students. Building on the rich resources Mark Roques has developed over many years, we aim to take actors and workshop leaders into schools and colleges to Read more
So far in our journey through Herman Dooyeweerd’s book In the Twilight of Western Thought, we have explored key concepts related to the development of a distinctly Christian philosophy. But, because Dooyeweerd intends to develop a philosophy that is radically (literally, from the root) Christian, the question he comes to in chapters Read more
We’re continuing our discussion of Herman Dooyeweerd’s little book, In the Twilight of Western Thought. In this month’s post, I’d like to do two things: 1) summarize Dooyeweerd’s explanation of the historical mode of human existence and 2) use his explanation to suggest some reflections for what’s going on currently in our Read more
One of the fruitful ideas I keep returning to in my life and scholarship is how stories or narratives or dramas shape us. They form our imaginations and – even when we’re not conscious of it – they influence how we live. The Scottish philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre (1929- ) says Read more
This is the second installment of my series of reflections on Herman Dooyeweerd’s little book, In the Twilight of Western Thought. If you’re following along in this series or you’re part of the Kirby Laing Centre’s Junior Scholars Hub, welcome back! This week I’m reflecting on chapter 2: “The Concentric Character Read more
Mike offered some advice for navigating scholarly disagreement a few weeks ago, and today I want to ask some questions about what may be the most prominent rift among Christians in our day, evident in scholarly writing as well as campaigning and, dare I say, in a large chunk of the discussions I see among Read more
For some time I’ve been thinking a lot about how to reach sixth formers with the Christian faith. We are talking about 17 and 18 year olds who dislike ‘religion’. I am reflecting on what I learned when I taught Religious Education (RE) and Philosophy A level in a high Read more
Sumo wrestling is a Japanese form of wrestling that challenges many aspects of Christian discipleship. Here are some of the reasons why I could never become a rikishi (sumo wrestler). Firstly I am not fat enough. Good friends tell me that I am potbellied but you have to be gargantuan Read more
I am currently working on a course for RealityBites on how slavery and trafficking can help us in both evangelism and discipleship so I wanted to blog about ‘Tarzan’. In a debate with atheists I once met an American entrepreneur who told me that Tarzan is a rational guy who Read more