Engaging the World with Dr. John Martens

About this episode

A reflective conversation with Dr. John Martens about faith, public life, and hope in a fractured world.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. John Martens, Director of the Centre for Christian Engagement at St. Mark’s College at UBC, for a reflective conversation about faith, public life, and hope in a fractured world. Drawing on his Mennonite roots, his journey into the Catholic tradition, and years of teaching and scholarship, John reflects on how theology is shaped through lived experience, relationships, and place. Together, we explore what Christian engagement might look like in a secular, pluralistic city like Vancouver, where many feel distant from institutional religion yet remain open to questions of meaning and belonging. The conversation also names the tensions facing contemporary Christianity, particularly the pull of nationalism and political power, while pointing toward practices of listening, humility, and presence as faithful ways forward. At its heart, this episode asks a simple but demanding question: what does it mean to live faithfully now? Resources referenced in this episode: Books and Articles The Uses of Idolatry, William Cavanaugh, 2024 Ivan Illich: An Intellectual Journey, David Cayley, 2021 Night of the Confessor: Christian Faith in an Age of Uncertainty…

People in this episode

Guest: Dr. John Martens

Topics covered

• faith
• public life
• hope
• Christian engagement
• secularism
• pluralism
• contemporary Christianity

Keywords

• Christianity
• theology
• Mennonite
• Catholic tradition
• Vancouver
• nationalism
• political power
• listening
• humility
• presence

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Centre for Christian Engagement, St. Mark’s College, Friendly Atheist

Books & works: The Uses of Idolatry, Ivan Illich: An Intellectual Journey, Night of the Confessor: Christian Faith in an Age of Uncertainty, The Afternoon of Christianity: The Courage to Change, Court rules against anti-trans Christian teacher who demanded right to misgender students, The Pitt Riot, Women, Father Brown

Places: Vancouver

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