#community
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A Meaning of Otherness: Colossians 3
Whether it is Bible reading or living in a home, we metaphorically translate what is foreign into familiarity and move what is to what ought to be. That is, overcoming otherness is bringing our uniqueness to a situation not originally intended to accept it, and then translating and transforming the situation so the uniqueness can… Continue reading
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Changing Language; Changing Identity
If common sense and superstition are two extremes on a knowledge spectrum, then a hard distinction contained in the folkish idea of speakers and doers is cozying up to superstition. Continue reading
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A Private Life and Her Three Communities
Without that inner circle of significant others, we’re left with shallowness and a void: we’re “known of,” but never truly known, even to ourselves. Continue reading
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Charles Taylor: The Malaise of Modernity in the 21 Century
he Malaise of Modernity also provides a deeper account of self-fulfillment: the true realization of our gifts demands that we escape the citadel of selfishness and recognize the ethical demands that give real depths to ourselves. In doing so, there is more than some reason for optimism. Continue reading
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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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Naggingly Abstract Freedom: A Critical Review of “Three Cheers for Socialism”
Introduction It is due to my deep affinity to the historical heritages from which this discussion emerges from that I undertake it. My deep concern for my brothers and sisters who value both Chrisitian community and the experience of freedom is that they have become what they criticize. Not uncommonly, they criticize formations of “us Continue reading
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95% Authentic: “Be true to yourself,” whatever that means.
For most middle-class people, things are pretty good. We may be dissatisfied with the state of the world, but our personal lives are fairly in order. We have loving people around us; we belong to a fairly stable community composed of a stable job, workmates or church people who are harmless and generally beneficial. We Continue reading
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Cowboy Conservatism and Budgetary Madness
When I moved to Alberta, I thought that I would encounter a few “Cowboy Conservatives”. You know the type: white pick-up trucks, acreages, kind-hearted neighborliness, and an arms-length relationship with local aboriginal populations. They may be tied to oil-money. They may even feel a bit uneasy with vegetables and say an occasionally cruel comment about 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 