Convivium Magazine

Whenever we need to make statements of conclusion, we’re tempted to say, “mission accomplished.” We’ve done what we have set out to do, so the job is finished. As publisher of Convivium, I need to let you know that this will be the last Convivium column. Cardus, the think-tank that powers Convivium, will be discontinuing this platform. While this will be a disappointment to some, this isn’t the end. The mission and the work of Convivium will continue in other forms.

Philip Yancey has spent most of his writing career circling around the themes of pain and suffering with over 25 award-winning books, including titles like Where Is God When It Hurts, Disappointment with God, and The Question That Never Goes Away. Early in his career as a journalist, Yancey came across the works of John Donne, a pastor and poet serving in England at a time when the bubonic plagues swept across Europe, killing one-third of the continent’s population.

For Fawzia Shah, (not her real name), a middle-aged Hazara (Shia Muslim) woman from Central Afghanistan, the words “democracy”, “freedom,” and “women’s rights” mean nothing. Those were the stirring slogans with which political leaders in Canada, the US, and allied countries rallied the troops for a 20-year war. That war ended last summer when the Taliban—the dreaded fundamentalist group that Prime Minister Trudeau described as a “terrorist entity”—seized control of Kabul.

Christ wept over ancient Jerusalem for the people’s lack of faith, failing to recognize God in their midst in the Person of Christ. I wonder if Christ also weeps over our culture during this pandemic. Perhaps we too fail to recognize the presence of God among us and turn to Him for help. We can respond to this pandemic with both reason and faith. Through reason, we adopt all the necessary practical and precautionary measures to avoid contracting and spreading COVID.

“Where are you from?” When asked this common “get-to-know-you question,” I usually chuckle and offer this response: “It's a bit complicated.” My life has been defined by an odd collection of temporary homes, and half-finished houses sprinkled across various cities, states, and countries. With each packed suitcase, my understanding of home has morphed. The idyllic image of home is a popular theme woven throughout literature, film, and music.

For the next ten years, the work of this committee was gruelling. It ranged from meeting cabinet ministers and bureaucrats to speaking engagements across the country to raise awareness, and hosting fundraising events. It demanded countless hours of time and all the organizational skills that she and her colleagues could muster.

The original version of this article appeared in Le Verbe magazine. Pornography is not a new phenomenon, but it has enjoyed an ambivalent moral pass for a long time. This has helped it grow into a multi-billion-dollar global industry. In 2021, however, the international porn industry ran into some new checks on its growth – and that’s good news. Authorities in Canada and the U.S. took aim at Big Porn last year, finally calling it to account in several areas.

I’ve always felt at home in libraries. From the cozy West Vancouver Memorial Library across the street from my family home, to the great coliseum-like Vancouver Public Library, and the many university libraries I’ve been privileged to visit over the years, I always find immense pleasure in strolling down aisles and aisles of books, glancing at the titles collected across the decades.