Spirituality
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Meaning in a Murky Context
“the seeming destruction of context is the modus operandi of a more inclusive background which could provide both meaning and beauty to our lives.” Continue reading
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The Sickness Before the Infection, Part 1: Urgently Stopping the Sniffles.
In other words, there is no identifiable locus of the virus. It doesn’t matter whether the virus is transmitted among the community, or brought in on a plane or train. It doesn’t matter whether we have been globally exposed or locally situated, the virus is all around, and it could be transmitted by any of… Continue reading
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Hints and Allegations
“the overlooked habits in human beings’ interactions with one another will also rear their ugly, destructive, and malicious effects on the world around us and within us. Unconscious habits will emerge because we have too often overlooked them, and they will appear and be treated as hints and allegations that exist on the periphery of… Continue reading
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From Doing to Being: What Stories do we tell Ourselves?
Message preached at Fellowship Christian Reformed Church, Edmonton, AB, Canada, October 14, 2018. (Please note that the biblical passages this is based on come after the text of the sermon.) In the Gospel of Mark, we find recorded a story about a rich man, who by his own account, is law-abiding. Surely, measured by every… Continue reading
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Basketball and how Comfortable we are with Ourselves
How comfortable are you with yourself? Like many of my peers, I have to admit I grew up with a significant amount of discomfort. Some of the discomfort can be explained by my inability to harmonize my sinful and lethargic self and the expectation I would be a church minister and a successful academic. Some… Continue reading
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Truthiness
I had a recent conversation about “truthiness,” if you believe me. The word truthiness never came up, but I am using this word to name the topic of our conversation which, after all, was beginning to explore the the ability to teach the “great books” of philosophy in an introductory philosophy course. The awareness both… Continue reading
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Ephesians 4: The Fullness of Christ
(This blog post is a sermon that was preached at Fellowship Christian Reformed Church on April 29th, 2018. It is the first of a two-part sermon that belongs in a group of 6 sermons preached on a book study of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, generally under the theme of a post-Easter challenge to Christians. … Continue reading
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Jephthah’s Daughter: a Heroine of Sacrifice and Faith
This is the second of two blogs on the story of Jephthah and his daughter found in Judges 11. This was preached at Fellowship Christian Reformed Church on February 18th, 2018. Judges 11: 34-40 34 Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah; and there was his daughter coming out to meet him with timbrels… Continue reading
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The Coffee Shop
The Coffee Shop in Bangkok Teaching conversational English, or any subject for that matter, requires great peace of mind. In the case of conversational English, I feel like I am in a unique position to be a teacher. I live in Bangkok, a city in a land with people who are phenomenally skilled in the… Continue reading
About me: I am a career educator and traveler at heart. My written work includes academic writing in philosophy and linguistics, English acquisition, and most intently in the areas of spiritual engagement with reality and what that means for our public lives.
My education is a mixture of formal study in philosophy, political theory, Biblical studies, and history, along with professional teaching certification in TESOL and in cognitive testing, and international teaching.
My travel experiences include a range of countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. I have lived in Canada, the United States, Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Thailand. From those places I have traveled to many others besides.
I am a child of the 70’s and a “family man.” That means I have two wonderful kids who have been round the world with me.
Lastly, I am married to a wonderful woman since 2004. She is my partner, my friend, and my muse.
Thanks again for stopping by,
Raymond Klassen - Ideals and Identities 