In October of this year,
two acts of terrorism were committed on Canadian soil, one in
Montreal, one in Ottawa. In each case, a Canadian serviceman was
murdered by an individual identifying himself as a Muslim. In
response to these attacks, some in Canada have suggested that "our"
Canadian model of diversity, with its key-notes of pluralism,
multi-culturalism, tolerance, and inclusivity, has been
insufficiently taught to new immigrants, to our children, and in our
communities. It is thought that the men who committed those murders
had not been properly instructed in the importance of "Canadian
values" and had not properly understood what the core of
Canadian identity really is, namely, a deep commitment to diversity,
multi-culturalism, pluralism, tolerance, etc.
Some in Canada (for
example, Mr. Farid Rohani of the Laurier Institution) have therefore
called for a renewed emphasis on "Canadian diversity" and
for a new effort by those in authority to teach it in our schools and
communities. It has been suggested that religious schools should be
denied funding unless they teach pluralistic "values".
Usually included in the notion of diversity or pluralism will be the
following : freedom of choice (read abortion), gay rights, the
importance of celebrating different cultures and ethnicities, gender
equality, freedom of religion, and a separation of church and state
or religion and state. Again, this is assumed by many to form the
core of our Canadian identity.
Recently, however, a
survey was conducted by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. When
Canadian respondents were asked to list 10 values in order of
importance, multi-culturalism, defined as "respect for cultural
and religious differences", was not high on the list. But 64
percent of respondents did agree with the statement that "Canadian
multi-culturalism allows people to pursue certain cultural practices
that are incompatible with Canadian laws and norms". This
suggests that many Canadians are concerned that pluralism or
multi-culturalism is itself a problem, not that it has been
insufficiently taught to new immigrants, etc. This also calls into
question the assumption that it is pluralism, tolerance, and
inclusivity that make up the "core of our identity" as
Canadians. I suspect that a desire for peace, order, and good
government are more indicative of what is in that core.
More importantly, many
fail to realize what actually lies behind the constellation of ideas
that make up what is called "Canadian diversity". Again,
these ideas will include : freedom of choice, freedom of religion
(understood in a particular sense), respect for different cultures,
gay rights, equality of the sexes, a separation of church and state
(again understood in a particular sense). The last in this list is of
particular importance here. What needs to be recognized is that to
teach these things is to seek to impose a very definite world-view on
Canadians. And what also needs to be recognized is that they are
indicative of a world-view that is essentially atheistic. They
do not represent some safe, neutral, common ground existing in the
midst of a battle between competing cosmologies, such as, for
example, the Christian or the Muslim or the Marxist interpretation of
reality. They simply represent one more world-view competing for
dominance. They represent an atheistic view of reality. And I say so
because of what is generally understood by "separation of church
and state" : that with regard to the formation of Canadian
values, with regard to ethics and morals in Canada, with regard to
legislation and governance in Canada, God may NOT be considered
relevant. This is practical atheism : God and religion are not
allowed to have any influence in the development of our supposedly
shared world-view.
The problem for many
people, perhaps, is that the question "which God, which
religion?" seems to be unanswerable. Because it is assumed that
all religions are equal, and that Canadians should be free to be
Christians or Hindus or Buddhists or Satanists, it is thought
impossible to allow ANY religion to have any influence in guiding the
formation of our values, ethics, or laws. What is then assumed is
that the government must take up a neutral position. It is
further assumed that this is actually what has happened. But nothing
could be further from the truth. Neutrality is a myth. The
pluralism that exists in Canada (still a relatively recent
development) is not religiously neutral. It constitutes a real
world-view, a set of propositions or assumptions or beliefs about the
way the world really is, about reality. It involves an interpretation
of reality and that interpretation is atheistic.
Incidentally, as a
Christian, I do not believe that the cause of Christianity can be
advanced by the use of the iron or civil sword, that is, by coercion.
A forced conversion is no conversion at all. I therefore believe in
"freedom of religion" in that qualified sense but I do not
believe that all religions are equal or that the civil powers are
free from the obligation to uphold and protect true religion.
To return to my main
point, one has a world-view, one has an idea about the way the world
really is, when one assumes that a child can be aborted at any time
during a pregnancy. This is a materialistic, naturalistic world-view
which assumes that human beings have no soul or spirit, that there is
no life after death. The child is thought of merely as physical or
material ... as unwanted, inconvenient tissue. One has a world-view
when one believes that religion is a personal, private matter, which
can never have relevance for the public square. Such a position
assumes that all religions are essentially man-made and do not reveal
divine truth, which truth, if thought real, would certainly HAVE to
be relevant and authoritative in both private life AND the public
square. Even if one assumed that God had revealed a little of His
truth in each of the religions, it would then be reasonable to try to
gather up all that scattered truth and apply it to the formation of
our laws and customs. But the assumption is that religion is simply
irrelevant in public discourse, and that, therefore, no such divine
truth has ever been revealed. In the same way, one has a world-view
when one assumes that it is good for two men to marry and have sex
with one another. This is a world-view that denies a Creator God with
special ends and purposes for His creation, and specifically with His
own special purposes for man and woman. It denies a Creator God by
denying any purpose for the biological differences between male and
female and so it implies an atheistic, evolutionary understanding of
man and the universe.
As a Christian, I assume
that there should be a distinction made between church and state.
They are different spheres, with different purposes. But by that I do
not mean that God is to be separated from the state. Both church AND
state are under God's authority and both are answerable to Him. God's
law, as revealed in the Bible, is no less relevant in Ottawa than it
is in my home. It is no less relevant in the public square than it is
in my private life. Ottawa is obligated to obey God. The God of the
Bible is the God of the Universe and so He is the God of Ottawa, too,
and Washington, London, Moscow, Beijing, Riyadh, etc. In fact, I
assume that the powers that be in Canada, our elected leaders, our
civil magistrates or rulers, are appointed by God. That means that
they are responsible to Him and ought to enact laws that are in
harmony with His divine laws. I also assume that every human being is
likewise responsible to God, the God of the Bible, and will be judged
by Him according to His law, and so condemned, or saved by Him
according to His electing love and grace.
I realize that some may
now want to point out that not everyone in Canada shares my Christian
world-view. I am fully aware of that. But here in Canada, and
everywhere in the world, different world-views are at variance with
each other, in competition with each other, in conflict with each
other. What needs to be realized is that our so-called "Canadian
diversity", our so-called pluralism, is just another of those
competing world-views. It is not neutral ground, it is not a haven of
peace in the midst of a battle. It is one of the armies in the
battle, a world-view, and an essentially atheistic one, which is most
definitely at variance with the other world views ... and especially
with the Christian.
So, it is unrealistic to
expect Christians simply to abandon their world-view and acquiesce in
another, alien, God-denying one. It has been suggested recently that
all religious schools in Canada should be made to teach gay rights,
freedom of choice, etc. And it has been suggested that public
funding should be withheld from them unless they do. So be it. I
doubt that Christians are going to abandon the truths of their
religion just because the government refuses to fund their private
schools. If they did, they would not be Christian. But why would we
accept that the Christian world-view cannot be allowed to influence
Canadian values, or Canadian laws, but that an atheistic world-view
can and must be imposed upon Christian schools and Christian
children, by the civil authorities? Apparently, I am not allowed to
impose my world-view on anyone, but some clearly have every intention
of imposing theirs on me, and on my children and grandchildren.
Lastly, I should mention
that I also assume the following : that, in time, Canada will again
become a Christian nation, more truly Christian than it has ever been
in the past. I assume that God's dominion will truly be "from
sea to sea" as is implied in Canada's motto, taken from Psalm
72:8. I assume that His laws will be respected and obeyed, being
written not in stone but in the hearts of the majority of men. At
that time the preamble of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
will become true, where it says that "Canada is founded upon
principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law".
Someone involved in the creation of that charter had the sense to
realize, as recently as 1982, that those two things stand or fall
together. I also assume that, in time, the battle between the various
world-views will end, not only in Canada, but all over the world, and
that the Christian world-view will be triumphant, even before the
restitution of all things. In the meantime, it is of the greatest
import that, as Canadians, we be very aware of what is actually being
said when we are talking about "Canadian diversity", and
what it is that some are actually wanting to do, namely, impose an
atheistic world-view on a whole nation and on people who are not
atheists.
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