All posts by Robert Dean

The Future is Now

“The next wave of American “conservatism” is not likely to base its appeal on such unsuccessful slogans as the Constitution and free enterprise.  Its leader will not be a gentleman who truly cares about his country’s past.  It will concentrate directly on such questions as “order in the streets” which are likely to become crucial in the years ahead.  The battle will be between democratic tyrants and the authoritarians of the right.  If the past is a teacher to the present, it surely says that democratic Caesarism is likely to be successful.  In the fight between Sulla and Marius, it was the descendants of the latter who established the Julian line of emperors.”1 Continue reading The Future is Now

  1. George Grant, Lament for a Nation: The Defeat of Canadian Nationalism, 40th anniversary edition (Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2005), 66n.23.

Living According to the Lord’s Day (Video Resource)

My colleague Joshua Coutts, Assistant Professor of New Testament at Providence Theological Seminary, delivered a lecture this week as part of Regent College’s Summer Lecture Series.  The title of his address was:  “Living According to the Lord’s Day: The Formative Role of Worship in Early Christianity.”  You can watch the lecture below:

Claimed by Costly Grace (Video Resource)

This spring I was scheduled to deliver a series of lectures as part of the Xplore program at Canadian Mennonite University entitled, “Theological Resistance in Troubled Times:  The Compelling Witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.”  Unfortunately, COVID had other ideas.  I was only able to give two of the planned six lectures.  Because I was teaching an intensive course on Bonhoeffer at Providence Theological Seminary the week that Xplore was scheduled to start, I had to record my first lecture:  “Claimed by Costly Grace: The Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.”  You can watch that recording below: Continue reading Claimed by Costly Grace (Video Resource)

“God’s Unpredictable Plans”

The following is a response I was invited to recently give to chapter 1 of Matt Brough’s forthcoming book Let God Send: Crossing Boundaries and Serving in Christ’s Name.  Matt is the Minister of Word and Sacraments at Prairie Presbyterian Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  He also serves as the Program Coordinator for the New Worshiping Communities Initiative of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Continue reading “God’s Unpredictable Plans”