Christian Conservative Christian "Independent"

I'm an evangelical Christian, member of the CPC, but presently & unjustly exiled to wander the political wilderness.
All opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Friday, January 27, 2006

Still here... more to come

Some may have wondered if I was shutting the blog down now that the election is over. Nope, I'm still here, just taking time to catch up with other things and get back to real life. Will be posting more as we draw near to Feb. 6, the date of Prime Minister Harper's swearing in ceremony.

Looks like I'm not the only one who's sticking around either... Warren is back! Don't be so surprised at my support for ya Warren, I appreciate a good and reasoned debate/argument from the dark side... we get that from guys like you, but not from "The Board". Such debate and collaboration are what makes this nation great, right? Like I said, you write on this past election, (or any other political matter) and I'm buying the book.

posted by Christian Conservative @ 10:59 p.m.  

18 Comments:

  • At Fri Jan 27, 11:19:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Not that I have any problems with you being a Christian. I have a problem with the fact that you don't understand the fact that seperation between the Church and State is important, or you are not really different from Hamas who can seperate faith from the state.

    Comment on that man.

     

  • At Sat Jan 28, 09:11:00 a.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Yes Preacher, comment on that. Since the seperation of church and state was in its origin a statement of principle to guarantee freedom of religion.VF

     

  • At Sat Jan 28, 11:16:00 a.m. EST, Blogger Blake Kennedy said…

    To anonymous:

    You are mixing categories. The separation is between "Church" and "state", but I notice you entered in the category "faith" in place of "Church" in your second assertion. That doesn't follow.

    What is not a risk to individual liberties is having people of faith (whatever faith) entering into political discussion, dialogue, or even political office. Having people of faith enter political debate basing their arguments on their beliefs is certainly not a danger to any individual liberties. What menaces personal liberties is establishing a particular religion, or religious group, as the official or even preferred religion.

    Again, keep your categories straight, and these kind of errors will not haunt your work. ;)

     

  • At Sun Jan 29, 01:41:00 p.m. EST, Blogger Shawn Abigail said…

    I am reminded of the statement by Richard John Neuhaus, the Catholic social commentator, that he believes in the separation of church and state, but he doesn't believe in mutual ignorance. The more militantly secularist among us will be satisfied by nothing less than mutual ignorance and the complete exclusion of people of faith from the political process. They would have us to believe that a militantly secularist, materialistic and atheistic worldview is the default, and anyone with a different worldview is a threat and a dangerous extremist.

    Within Canada, you will not find too many Christians who want to set up a religious state and impose it on others. Most of us understand that real change in our nation will come through a change in people's hearts (i.e religious conversion), not in a new government. However the Christians I know cannot be schizophrenic about our faith. We cannot be one type of person in church and another type of person in public. Our religious faith is an integral part of who we are. And so we react to certain issues in a certain way, not because we have been told by religious leaders to act in a certain way, but because we are expressing what we really believe.

    I believe it is acceptable for Christians to be involved in the political process, and that our influence should be no greater and no less than the sum total of ballots we can deliver. We will support the candidates whose basic belief systems we agree with, because what a person believes will define how a person acts (unless he is a hypocrite). As for those on the political left who are campaigning for proportional representation, please remember that this would open up the door for religious political parties to play the kingmaker in Canadian elections. There’s a reason why the elevators in Israel don’t run on the Sabbath, and it’s not because the majority of Israelis want it that way.

    Finally, thanks for the comments on Hamas. The fact that you cannot distinguish between democratic participation in Canadian government by plain humble Christians, and the wild AK-47 ravings of a recognized terrorist organization demonstrates the logical strength of your argument.

     

  • At Sun Jan 29, 02:25:00 p.m. EST, Blogger Blake Kennedy said…

    "plain humble Christians"

    How many of those are there, Shawn? Really.

     

  • At Sun Jan 29, 03:33:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Just so you know, there are a couple of websites you should check out...

    http://www.fairvotecanada.org/fvc/Home/

    for proportional elections

    and

    http://www.rickmercer.blogspot.com/

    for a healthy political satire that truly shakes up all parties involved in politics.

    Enjoy!

     

  • At Sun Jan 29, 08:43:00 p.m. EST, Blogger Shawn Abigail said…

    How many "plain, humble Christians" are there? I don't suppose any Christian is really humble enough, if Christ is the example by which we are judged. Over the last 5 years, I've had a lot of arrogance squeezed out of me, but I'll admit I have a ways to go. But yes, I do know quite a lot of plain, humble Christians; people who are a good example of what a Christian should be like.

    Now the original question is, should these people be included in the political process, or should they be excluded? If it is acceptable in our nation for a person to have a certain political agenda because of his sexual orientation, why is it unacceptable for a person to have a political agenda because of his religious beliefs? Likewise, if it is acceptable for a person to vote based on her claim that unwanted pregnancy is a violation of her rights, why is it a danger to our society when other people believe life begins at conception and choose to vote in a manner consistent with that belief?

     

  • At Sun Jan 29, 10:05:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Blake...maybe as many plain humble Christians, as there are plain humble non-Christians.VF

     

  • At Mon Jan 30, 05:50:00 a.m. EST, Blogger Unknown said…

    The whole separation of Church and State idea has transmogrified beyond its intention as a rational defence against State-established religion into a justification for blatant anti-Christian bigotry.

    The notion that expressions of belief by politicians are anathema to good governance is outrageous. Only the weak-minded could imagine that contemporary, Westernized Christianity could countenance the establishment of a repressive theocracy. And only a fool could equate the guiding political philosophy of Hamas with that of any faith-based Canadian.

     

  • At Mon Jan 30, 10:36:00 a.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    j.s. kern....right on!! Preacher?....VF

     

  • At Mon Jan 30, 10:47:00 a.m. EST, Blogger Blake Kennedy said…

    Shawn -

    "But yes, I do know quite a lot of plain, humble Christians; people who are a good example of what a Christian should be like."

    But you're Brethren, and you expect me to believe this? ;) (I'm a Christian - and Brethren - myself, and I find "humility" outside the pale of most assemblies.)

    Shawn -

    "Now the original question is, should these people be included in the political process, or should they be excluded? If it is acceptable in our nation for a person to have a certain political agenda because of his sexual orientation, why is it unacceptable for a person to have a political agenda because of his religious beliefs? Likewise, if it is acceptable for a person to vote based on her claim that unwanted pregnancy is a violation of her rights, why is it a danger to our society when other people believe life begins at conception and choose to vote in a manner consistent with that belief?"

    What makes people think their religious beliefs somehow make their political beliefs relevant? That's what I'm struggling with. I have heard so many sermons from the pulpit that attempt to delve into political matters that flop horribly, simply because the preacher doesn't know jack about what he's speaking on.

    But then again, I'm Brethren, so I guess that's to be expected, too... ;)

     

  • At Mon Jan 30, 10:48:00 a.m. EST, Blogger Blake Kennedy said…

    "Blake...maybe as many plain humble Christians, as there are plain humble non-Christians.VF"

    I think when you use the categories "plain" and "humble" to describe yourself, you're neither. ;)

    Blake

     

  • At Tue Jan 31, 06:16:00 a.m. EST, Blogger Unknown said…

    VF: No, not a preacher; just a plain, humble Christian conservative writer. Although, for the record, in February I begin my Applied Theology degree....

     

  • At Tue Jan 31, 06:36:00 a.m. EST, Blogger Shawn Abigail said…

    Blake,

    You and I seem to be left with two choices then. We can stay in a "Brethren" church or we can leave.

    If we stay, let's take what's good and work to make it better. Let's work to make sure genuine humility is more common than arrogance. Let's work to make sure preachers not only know the Bible but know how to communicate it to a contemporary audience. Let's work to make sure we're growing through effective evangelism. And lets both, you and I, start with the work in our own hearts.

    On the other hand, if attending a "Brethren" church has become too much of a burden for us, let's leave without bitterness or hardness of heart, and throw our full energies into one of the other very fine Christian churches in our respective areas.

     

  • At Tue Jan 31, 01:11:00 p.m. EST, Blogger Christian Conservative said…

    Wow, started a firestorm did I?

    "I have a problem with the fact that you don't understand the fact that separation between the Church and State is important, or you are not really different from Hamas who can separate faith from the state."

    Amm, Hamas kills people, I believe in the “Thou shalt not kill” thing and the “turn the other cheek” concept. ;-) I can't separate my faith from who I am, because it MAKES me who I am. Therefore, due to my beliefs, I can't lie, cheat, steal, etc... I think we need more people like that, not less, in Federal politics... don't you?

    As for the Sep. of Church and State, I agree with others here that it was intended to keep the State out of the Church, NOT vice-versa. (ie - no official state religion) And don't forget, the Sep. of Church and State is a AMERICAN thing, not a Canadian one... so much for liberals not wanting to be like the USA!

    If you want to try and say that you can't be religions and be in politics, then let's throw out the Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, and, to be fair, let's keep those atheists out too, since Humanism is also a defined system of belief... whoops, now we're into anarchy... let's not go there, eh?

    I love the hypocrisy of the left... keep the Christians out of politics, but ensure that everyone else is diversely represented.

    Yea, like I thought... HYPOCRITES.

     

  • At Tue Jan 31, 02:23:00 p.m. EST, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    j.s.kern...sorry, :)...that was a reference to the blogger of this site...my nick name for him is Preacher and I was waiting patiently for him to respond to these comments.He has obliged. VF

     

  • At Tue Jan 31, 06:03:00 p.m. EST, Blogger Unknown said…

    Ahhh! Right, VF...cool...lol

     

  • At Thu Feb 02, 09:57:00 p.m. EST, Blogger Blake Kennedy said…

    Shawn -

    We're wandering somewhat off-topic here. My major question is, "What makes a Christian (of whatever stripe) think that his or her Christianity somehow makes their political view relevant?" I submit that the only thing that makes a person's political views the slightest bit relevant is their understanding of and appreciation for the difficulties and nuances of the major policy issues of the day, no matter what religious belief they confess, or do not confess.

    Do most Christians who deign to speak on political issues strike you as possessing those qualities? No? Me neither.

    I'm all for people having the right to speak their minds and vote according to their consciences. I'm just not impressed with some people who think others should care what they say when there's no real reason to.

     

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