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Canadian Books Archive
Canadian Books Archive
| March 2009 |
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John G. Stackhouse: Can God Be Trusted? (IVP, 2009) In a world riddled with disappointment, malice and tragedy, what rationale do we have for believing in a benevolent God? Regent College professor John Stackhouse explores how great thinkers - from Buddha, Confucius, Augustine, Hume and Luther to C.S. Lewis - have grappled with this question.
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Paul H. Boge: The Chicago Healer (Castle Quay Books, 2004) A Canadian-born pharmaceutical executive who made his fortune in Chicago discovers the gift of supernatural healing and begins to heal people, but he must contend with his boss, who becomes psychotically enraged when sales start dropping. As well as being a novelist and filmmaker, Paul Boge is a practicing professional engineer in Winnipeg.
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Douglas Todd: Cascadia (Ronsdale Press, 2008) This collection explores the unique spirituality and culture of Cascadia, which includes British Columbia, Washington and Oregon. The region's 14 million people are not keen on institutional religion, but still feel deeply 'spiritual.' Vancouver Sun religion/spirituality writer Douglas Todd brings together 15 writers to discuss the phenomenon.
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| February 2009 |
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Peter Kazmaier: The Halcyon Dislocation (Wolfsburg Imprints, 2009) Peter Kazmaier is a man of many parts: a research scientist in industry and an adjunct professor of chemistry at Queen's University, he also has patents on more than 100 inventions. Now he has written a science fiction novel which deals with power struggles at a university community which has been transported to a new world.
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Steven Bouma-Prediger & Brian J. Walsh: Beyond Homelessness (Eerdmans, 2008) Beginning with an examination of the word 'home,' this book moves on to consider the meaning of homelessness in our culture. Among the themes discussed: From Housing to Homemaking, Ecological Homelessness and Postmodern Homelessness. Brian Walsh is campus minister at the University of Toronto.
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David Bergen: The Time in Between (McClelland & Stewart, 2005) In search of love, absolution or forgiveness, Charles Boatman leaves the Fraser Valley of B.C. and returns mysteriously to Vietnam, the country where he fought 29 years earlier. But his new encounters seem irreconcilable with his memories. The author is a Giller Prize winner who will teach at Canadian Mennonite University this spring.
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Karen A. Hamilton: The Acceptable Year of the Lord (Novalis, 2008) The head of the Canadian Council of Churches offers insights into the meaning of Old Testament texts that appear in the three-year Lectionary cycle. She challenges preachers to proclaim "how God is speaking, how the Word is revealed, how the Holy One is present in these texts."
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| January 2009 |
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Ann-Margaret Hovsepian: The One Year Designer Genes Devo (Tyndale, 2007) Is your pre-teen obsessed with fitting in? This daily devotional, which can be started any day during the year, shows girls that their self-worth goes beyond what type of jeans they wear. The author was born and raised in Montreal, and has worked in children's and youth ministry for many years.
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Paul Estabrooks: Night of a Million Miracles (Open Doors International, 2008) Following the widespread devastation of China's Cultural Revolution arose a purified and fast-growing church. This book tells the dramatic story of Project Pearl, which led to one million Bibles being smuggled in to those believers. The author is a minister-at-large for Open Doors based in Ontario.
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Robert J. Moore & Gerald T. Rayner: Audacious Anglicans (Bluejay Publishing, 2008) Subtitled 'Heroes of the Anglican Communion,' this book profiles impressive Anglicans from William Wilberforce to Desmond Tutu who have made a significant difference in their culture. It will provide a lift for those tired of the ongoing infighting in the Anglican world. The authors are Canadian Anglicans.
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Tim Huff: Bent Hope - A Street Journal (Castle Quay, 2008) This book grew out of Tim Hugg's first 20 years of work with homeless and street-involved youth and adults in Toronto. He said Bent Hope was written not for anti-poverty activists, but for "parents of young children who wait responsibly in schoolyards every afternoon."
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| December 2008 |
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James R. Payton Jr.: Light From the Christian East (IVP Academic, 2007) James Payton, who teaches at Redeemer University College in Ancaster Ontario, has written 'an introduction to the Orthodox Tradition' which is highly recommended by Orthodox and Protestant scholars alike.
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Paul Bramadat & David Seljak, editors: Christianity and Ethnicity in Canada (University of Toronto Press, 2008) Eleven scholars explore the complex relationships between religious and ethnic identity within nine major Christian traditions in Canada. They discuss the ways in which changes in the ethnic composition of these traditions influence religious practice and identity. This book complements Religion and Ethnicity in Canada.
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Don Ranney & Ray Wiseman: When Cobras Laugh (Capstone, 2008) A compelling tale of mission life in the trenches of India and South Africa: cultural prejudices, racist attitudes, political manoeuverings and grace and forgiveness in the midst of human weakness. Will the journey be more about helping others or changing themselves? This is fiction with a message.
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Paul C. Burns, editor: Jesus in Twentieth Century Literature, Art and Movies (Continuum, 2007) This first volume in 'UBC Studies in Religion' gathers several scholars to highlight some intriguing links between several different portraits of Jesus throughout the twentieth century; they show how the artists in question offer a creative response to the realities of the human condition of our time.
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Donna Dawson: Vengeance (Word Alive Press, 2008) When FBI agent James Benedict sets off on a cruise to Hawaii, he is hoping for two weeks of relaxation, but when passengers begin to die of horrendous boils he is forced to seek the connection between the victims. Dawson's local paper, The Kitchener-Waterloo Record, says Vengeance "has a plot that's the equal of those in bestselling thrillers."
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James Cantelon: When God Stood Up (Wiley, 2007) Dave Toycen, president of World Vision Canada rightly says that "Jim Cantelon's book captures dramatically the desperation and urgency of the AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa." Cantelon is founder and president of VisionLedd, a Christian charity based in Toronto.
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| November 2008 |
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Sigmund Brouwer: Thunderbird Spirit (Orca Books, 2008) Canadian author Sigmund Brouwer has written several youth-oriented sports novels for the general market, published by Orca Books, based in Victoria, B.C. Thunderbird Spirit deals with racial issues and a life-threatening situation in the midst of a hockey championship. Brouwer has also written a number of Christian books.
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Paul Chamberlain: Talking About Good and Bad Without Getting Ugly (IVP, 2005) Subtitled 'a guide to moral persuasion,' this books offers a guide to discussing issues such as abortion, gay marriage and euthanasia in a pluralistic society. Chamberlain, who teaches at Trinity Western University in Langley, BC, encourages Christians not to miss the opportunities to influence others that come our way every day.
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Elizabeth Elbourne: Blood Ground (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2008) Elizabeth Elbourne of McGill University in Montreal examines the complex relationship between the Khoekhoe people, the British Empire and the London Missionary Society in southern Africa at a time of intense conflict - when disparate groups competed to mobilize Christianity for their own political ends.
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| October 2008 |
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Christopher Page: Spirit Life (Path Books, 2007) "What will a truly and deeply human life look like?" Christopher Page, an Anglican rector in Victoria, B.C., offers intimate and practical reflections on this passage: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23)
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Craig A. Evans: Fabricating Jesus (IVP, 2006) Craig Evans, a professor of New Testament at Acadia Divinity College in Nova Scotia, takes a hard look (to considerable acclaim) "at some of the sloppy scholarship and misguided theories that have been advanced in recent years about Jesus," noting he's "appalled at much of this work."
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Herbert O'Driscoll: Prayer Among Friends (Path Books, 2008) "If we [acknowledge] that everything is part of God's creation and that our entire human experience is indeed entheos - in God - then almost everything we say and do is in some sense prayer." So says Herbert O'Driscoll, an Anglican minister now retired in Victoria, BC.
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Byron Rempel-Burkholder & Dora Dueck: Northern Lights (Wiley, 2008) The 46 contributors to this new anthology of Christian writing in Canada showcase their faith through memoir, poetry, fiction and meditation. Among the remarkably diverse group are Bruce Cockburn, Joy Kogawa, Brian Stiller, Rudy Wiebe, Lorna Dueck, Maxine Hancock, Preston Manning, Mary Jo Leddy and Mark Buchanan.
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| September 2008 |
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Margo Swiss, editor: Poetry as Liturgy (St. Thomas Poetry Series, 2007). Remembering Gerald Manley Hopkins' proclamation that "the world is charged with the grandeur of God," editor Margo Swiss says Christian poets (14 of whom - all Canadians - are represented in this anthology), "in the practice of their art, may be said to perform a liturgical service to God and for their audience."
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John Redekop: Politics Under God (Herald Press, 2007). Described by Bruce Clemenger, president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, as "a timely and passionate primer on politics . . . from a Christian perspective," Politics Under God is an ideal pre-election read. Redekop is a retired professor of political science at Wilfrid Laurier University and Trinity Western University.
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Deborah Gyapong: The Defilers (Castle Quay, 2006). An RCMP officer in Nova Scotia finds redemption, aided by a pastor she suspects of murder. She decides she must find God's help, despite having run from faith after being seduced by a priest when she was a teenager. Deborah Gyapong was a producer for the CBC for 12 years and now writes on religion and politics for Christian publications.
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Kathy Bousquet, editor: This is My Story (Castle Quay, 2008) . These 'stories from the front lines' celebrate 100 years of Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada missions. Dozens of missionaries tell of their experiences all over the world; the editor hopes readers will develop a "passion to see God's kingdom fulfilled on earth."
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| August 2008 |
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Douglas Farrow: Nation of Bastards (BPS Books, 2007). Subtitled 'Essays on the end of marriage,' this blunt, impassioned work by an associate professor of Christian Thought at McGill University in Montreal offers an "expose" of the implications of same-sex marriage. Farrow says the title "is meant to be prophetic: a warning of disenfranchisement, of loss of birthright."
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Mike Stewart: No Crowds Present (Fresh Wind Press, 2007) These 'reflections on contemplation and divine friendship' are based on sermons delivered at St. Matthew's Anglican Church in Abbotsford, B.C. Mike Stewart explores how we can come away from the crowds and become more aware of Jesus in our daily lives.
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| July 2008 |
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Nancy Reeves: Spirituality for Extroverts (Abingdon Press, 2008). Does prayer have to be silent? Does meditation have to be solemn? If I'm an extrovert, can I worship God? These are the questions addressed by Victoria, B.C. clinical psychologist, spiritual director, poet and author Nancy Reeves - and her answers are no, no and yes. She offers tips for those who love extroverts.
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Barbara Nickel: Domain (Anansi, 2007). Barbara Nickel's poetry explores how and where the boundary lines of our domains are drawn, how our homes are built, loved and lost. An award-winning author of children's books, she lives in Yarrow, B.C. with her family. Her poetry was also featured in Half in the Sun, an anthology of Mennonite writing in B.C.
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Sonya Grypma: Healing Henan ( UBC, 2008).Subtitled 'Canadian Nurses and the North China Mission, 1888 - 1947, this book remedies a lack of coverage of nurses and nursing in the many books about Protestant missions in China. Sonya Grypma is an associate professor of nursing at Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C.
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Richard Blackaby: Unlimiting God (Multnomah, 2008). Chancellor of Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary and co-author of numerous books with his father Henry (including 'Experiencing God Day-by-Day'), Richard Blackaby encourages readers to "increase your capacity to experience the divine." He examines scripture, tells stirring stories about believers around the world and offers probing questions for further sudy.
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Jean Vanier: Becoming Human (Anansi, 2008). In this 10th anniversary edition of his CBC Massey Lecture Series, Jean Vanier proposes that by opening ourselves to outsiders - those we perceive as being weak, different or inferior - we can achieve true personal and societal freedom. Vanier is the founder of L'Arche, an international network of communities for people with intellectual disabilities.
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| January 2008 |
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Mark Buchanan is a pastor on Vancouver Island, but he has managed to write five acclaimed books. His latest, Hidden in Plain Sight, is built around this hint: ̉The life you want is already at hand: Right now.
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Eric E. Wright spent 16 years in Pakistan, and now lives in Ontario. Both settings are featured in The Lightning Fire, a suspense novel in which a freelance writer for a major Toronto paper stumbles upon a file proving a link between a group of terrorists, laundered drug money and a plot to attack U.S. Interests from Canadian soil.
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| December 2007 |
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Distinguished federal politician David Kilgour served in Parliament for 26 years, including stints as Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa and Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific. Noted for his strong Christian faith, he has joined with retired U.S. Senior foreign service officer David Jones to write Uneasy Neighbo(u)rs: Canada, the USA and the Dynamics of State, Industry and Culture.
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N.J. Lindquist has worked tirelessly to develop Canadian Christian writing through The Word Guild, but she has still found time to produce several books of her own. The latest is Glitter of Diamonds, her second mystery in the classic style, featuring Toronto police detective Paul Manziuk and his partner Jacqueline Ryan.
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| November 2007 |
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Bruxy Cavey is pastor of a "church for people who aren't into church" in the Greater Toronto area. Now The End of Religion has collected admiring comments from the likes of Brian McLaren. Cavey states "truth seekers. . . are moving toward spirituality as quickly as they are moving away from religion." He has lots of thoughts on how to address that trend.
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Using stained glass, award-winning Toronto artist Sarah Hall explores the religious imagery found in the catacombs of Rome, where persecuted early Christians used simple illustrations to depict their faith. Lutheran pastor Bob Shantz provides meditations to accompany the art. The catacomb windows have been installed at St. Rose of Lima Parish in Toronto.
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To quote Mark Buchanan, author of The Rest of God and Hidden in Plain Sight, "One Smooth Stone is one taut thriller. Marcia Laycock tells a crackling good tale of crime and punishment, damnation and redemption that is at once grimly real and deeply hopeful."
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Partners & Friends
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