For some years, my wife and I lived in the United States while I was attending graduate school. Sometimes when we went to an International Students Banquet, we would be invited to say a few things about Canada. Our speech usually began with, “Did you know that Canadians invented the jolly jumper, duct tape, insulin, walkie-talkies, roller skates, Superman, air-conditioned vehicles, the paint-roller, radio, compass, snowmobiles, jet skis. . . AND the handles on cardboard beer cases?” Lots of cheering on the last one!
Then we would segue into Canadian language. Where else on the planet do they talk about . . . Scrunchins, Screech, Montreal Smoked Meat, Nanaimo Bars, Ogopogo, Poutine, Canadian Tire Money, Touque, Dory, Trawna, Sugar Pies, Loonies and Toonies, Rink Rats, Spudders and Herring-Chokers, a Two-Four, a Timmies double-double, or Red Rose Tea, Eh! Did you know that the Hudson Bay company once owned 1/11th of the Earth's surface?
Today is Canada Day, and so I have decided to wade into the shark-infested, murky waters of politics and religion – because somewhere along the line, we need to talk about the elephant in the room. Warning: Some of my words will be tough!
“Be a good citizen. All governments are under God . . . So live responsibly as a citizen. If you're irresponsible to the state, then you're irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you're trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.” [Romans 13:1-2; Message]
Whatever else we might think the passage here in Romans 13 is saying, the phrase is a pretty clear summary of the relationship between Christianity and secular authority . . . between God / Government. And “Yes” I do know that ... (a) a slim majority of Canadian adults (55%) say they are Christian [Pew Research, 2018] and (b) two-thirds of Canadians (67%) believe it is not necessary to believe in God in order to be moral [Pew Research, 2002, 2007, 2013]. My words are directed to practicing Christians within our country. I have tw0 thoughts:
(1) There is a God-given place for civil government.
“If you're irresponsible to the state, then you're irresponsible with God” (Romans 13:1).
Christians understand that God has ordained civil authorities to govern human society and we must show respect for that authority. Christians should be model citizens in their desire to obey and conform to the civil law. In fact, we should see it as a part of our obedience to God.
Christians are to live as law-abiding citizens, not criminals. We understand that it is wrong to steal, to bear false witness, to kill, or do harm to ones’ neighbour. There can be no gap between believing and doing, no separation between honour and obedience. We do this because we know that 'the authorities that exist are appointed by God'.
Because there is a God-given place for civil government, then this means:
A. Christians need to pray for their political leaders – at every level: Federally, Provincially, Municipally.
I know that at times it can be a stretch. Still, good government doesn’t just happen. In I Timothy 2, Paul the apostle writes, “I exhort, therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving thanks be made . . . for kings and all that are in authority.”
I find it interesting that the first specific topic for prayer is government. Not missionaries, not the sick, not better roads – but Government.
Do we want to live the good life?
Do we want our country to be free of the despotism of a Mugabe in Zimbabwe or a Bashar al-Assad of Syria?
Do we want to live above the doubts and fears so much a part of the fabric of other nations like the Sudan or Mali?
Then we must come to terms with the fact that there is a God-given place for civil government and our responsibilities as Canadians extends to praying for them because this is what God mandates!
B. The Government must be just because it has a divinely appointed role in restraining evil.
“Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God . . . . So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished.” (Romans 13:1-2; NLT)
Sorry, but we are not innately good; we are innately evil. We call this in theology ‘Original Sin’. That does not mean that every person is as evil as they could be, only that no person is as good as they should be ― Christians included. That is why justice is so important.
We cannot deprive another person of their life through robbery, murder or deceitful con games ― and the job of the government is to ensure that this doesn’t happen. And if a person is deprived of these things, then due process in a legally recognized court of law will determine the outcome. This is the civil government’s God-given responsibility. Romans 13:3-5:
“Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you'll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you're breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren't there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them to do it. That's why you must live responsibly—not just to avoid punishment but also because it's the right way to live.” (Message)
So when it comes to justice . . .
We need sufficient military forces to protect us from loss of life, freedoms, and property through foreign intervention, because of invasion by an enemy, blockade or terrorist attack. We need enough policing to protect us from the loss of life, freedoms, or property because of criminal activity within our borders. Oops! There goes defunding the police!
We need a fair legal system that ensures the innocent are protected and that the guilty are punished.
If the politicians cannot protect our lives and "bear the sword" (Romans 13:4 NIV), what makes us think they can protect our freedoms or our property? Criminals are to be punished, not slapped on the hand. Thieves should pay their debt and thugs and others who kill our citizens should be placed behind bars. Caesar's things are legitimate things, says Jesus – but be mindful that within this statement there is the clear understanding that Caesar's things also have limits.
For example, Canadians are expected to pay taxes. (Romans. 13:7 NIV “If you owe taxes, pay taxes”) Anyone confused about that? Anyone want to know what the Greek says? (BTW – Notice how quickly our fundamental right, “freedom of peaceful assembly” [Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Section 2 (c)] has been restricted by our government in the light of Covid-19. Freedoms can disappear!)
In addition to Income tax we have Property tax, Education tax, Sales tax (called PST), Goods and Services tax (called GST) Harmonized Sales tax (HST), Employer Health tax, Probate tax, Land Transfer tax, Airport tax, Gasoline tax ― never mind user fees, tariffs, duties, and highway tolls.
It is fundamentally immoral of a government to squander public money or pile up debt that consumes a greater and greater share of our national budget and the dollars Canadians work hard to earn. Our government needs to pay its debts and balance its budget – just like ordinary Canadians are supposed to. Forget COVID-19; I’m talking the ‘norm’. So when Romans 13:8 ESV says, “Owe no one anything”, Paul is not saying don’t “borrow from any one” because Scripture does make allowance for borrowing in other passages (Matthew 5:42 and Luke 6:34). Paul’s ban on owing relates to the inability to fulfill financial obligations. To be a good steward, you must be wise and plan well to avoid over extension – and that is true nationally and personally. There is a God-given place for civil government.
(2) There is within civil government a place for God.
“All governments are under God” – Romans 13:1
The work of justice and of government is not easy. It’s tough to steer a nation. It requires the making of complex, moral decisions and it will occasionally involve making mistakes. Thirty second sound bites on the Canadian news program ‘The National’ might convince some that governing is not that difficult . . . but the wise . . . the prudent . . . the informed Canadian understands that a fully functioning democratic society takes lots of work and vision.
Some folks would have you believe that Politics and Religion don’t go together. This is certainly new thinking, because our forefathers for sure believed otherwise and wrote the same into our Canadian Constitution.
In 1960, the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, John Diefenbaker introduced the Canadian Bill of Rights. The Preamble begins with, “The Parliament of Canada, affirming that the Canadian Nation is founded upon principles that acknowledge the supremacy of God.”
In 1981, our 15th Prime Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau signed his name to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter’s preamble indicates that Canada cannot be regarded as a strictly secular country.
“Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God [Religion] and the rule of the law” [Politics]
If my English teacher, Ms. Shaw was present, she would tell us that even a semi-literate student of English grammar knows that the location of a subordinate conjunction like 'Whereas' in such a document makes it a conditional statement
In other words, all sections of the Charter are to be read in light of that ‘Whereas’ (‘it being the case’) and the principles recognizing the rule of law . . . and supremacy of God.
Clearly there is a link between religion and politics, between God and the 'rule of Law' as far as the makers of our Constitution are concerned. If the Preamble is not good enough then let me drill deeper.
Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, a Father of Confederation, twice the Lt. Governor of New Brunswick, and a long time Sunday School teacher and Church Warden in the Anglican church rose each morning to start his day with prayer and Scripture reading. Convinced that Canada should be a nation under God, he suggested the words of Psalms 72:8 KJV "He shall have dominion from sea to sea" should be our motto. And when the other 32 founding fathers gathered in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in Sept. of 1864 – they all agreed.
Today, engraved in Parliament on the front face (South Arch) of the Peace Tower, is Psalm 72:1 KJV “Give the King thy judgments O God and thy righteousness unto the King's son.”
Over the East Arch of the Peace Tower is the scripture taken from Psalms 72:8 KJV “He (God) shall have dominion (politics) from sea to sea”?
On the West Arch of the Peace Tower is Proverbs 29:18 KJV “Where there is no vision, the people perish”
The motto “A Mare usque ad Mare” “from sea to sea” was first used officially in 1906 when it was engraved on the head of the mace of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, was later approved by the Canadian Cabinet in April of 1921 and by King George V in May of that same year. It now appears in our Coat of Arms.
Did you know that the Order of Canada, a six-petaled snowflake, has an inscription in Latin taken from Hebrews 11:16 NASB – “they desire a better country”.
Now the purpose of the motto, inscription and preamble in our documents is not to make Canada Christian through public policy. However, there is clearly a link between religion and politics as far as the makers of our Constitution are concerned. In spite of what revisionist historians would have you believe ― Canada was founded on the bedrock of Christianity.
The framers of our Canadian Constitution had their priorities straight. But what about separation of Church and State, you ask?
1st ― the metaphor of a 'wall of separation' originally came from a letter President Thomas Jefferson penned to a group of Baptists in Danbury, Connecticut—a dozen years after the Constitution and Bill of Rights were ratified. The phrase is not found in the Constitution or its founding documents.
2nd ― What the U.S. Constitution’s 1st. Amendment does say is that government will make no law “respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” It forbids an official establishment of religion – but that is because it was intended to provide freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion. The truth is, a strict separationist view would contradict other parts of the 1st Amendment which speaks about the 'free exercise' of religion. So, if the government walled out religious people from participating in public affairs, then it would be discriminating against religion.
Here in Canada the term 'Separation of Church and State' is not found in the Canadian Constitution either. There are no clauses in the Constitution Act of 1867 (the BNA Act to those born before 1982) that separate church and state. In fact, our Head of State, the Monarchy, is also the Head of the Church of England and Defender of the Faith.
Now I am sure that some would argue that 'Religion should not be forced into the public square', but I would offer that to not inject our personal morality is a practical absurdity. After all, our Canadian laws are by definition a codification of morality, and most of that morality is grounded in our earlier Judea-Christian tradition.
Canadians should not have to keep God and politics in separate water-tight containers, any more than the secularist are expected to keep their views out of politics. Said another way, Christians have as much right to apply their views to public matters as the secularist do. When it comes to a discussion of a nation’s morality, I agree with Canadian born author Richard Neuhaus. In his book, The Naked Public Square (p. 21) Neuhaus writes, "A public ethic cannot be reestablished unless it is informed by religiously grounded values".
It is the government’s job to protect the moral fabric of our country. You cannot be a-moral! There is no such thing as state or ethical neutrality. Someone’s values will be imposed; it is just a matter of whose ― because in the absence of Truth, power is the only game in town. Since all Canadians share public space — someone will have to determine the moral quality of that space.
Someone has to decide whether billboards can contain nudity;
Someone has to conclude if polygamy is acceptable in Canada — whether in Bountiful, British Columbia. or Nipper's Harbour, Newfoundland;
Someone has to establish if physician assisted suicide is within our norms as a society;
Someone has to settle on whether sending our troops to fight in Afghanistan is a just cause.
Certainly, someone decided that if you are pro-life then you need not run as a candidate for the Federal Liberal party.
Someone decided that Christians will have to betray their consciences if they want Federal grants for Student Summer employment from the reigning Liberal government of Canada.
Like many Canadians I have reason to distrust the media, with its fluffy reporting pattern of consistently carving up the faith-practicing Christian community. I speak from personal experience. Too often Christians are misrepresented by journalists as bigoted and intellectually deficient. I realize that this is too blunt for some but there is danger in codifying Bible-believing Christians as inept, intolerant of others and incapable of legitimate intellectual constructs; the insulting of Christians in the media has been going on for 20 years virtually unchecked; Christians seldom get a free-pass!
A Christian worldview is shaped by our understanding of the authority of the Bible and the esteem in which we should hold it. I understand the right of other people to hold differing beliefs and practices. Contrary views are fine! Still, Christians have no obligation to accept all beliefs, whether they touch politics, culture or faith. The freedom of religion, conscience and thought is as much the Christian’s inalienable right as anyone else’s.
Christians should not accept the left-leaning mush of the day that requires the absence of religious convictions, a kind of religious neutrality if you wish – a pervasive insistence that Christians are not permitted to hold to certain truth claims on the grounds that doing so is intolerant. The idea that all ideas and people are to be treated equally right -- except those who happen to disagree with this view of tolerance is intellectual junk, plain and simple. In an increasingly politically correct and pluralistic society where other salient view-points are off limits, anything less than full conformity to its ideology, especially by a counter-culture movement like the Christian Church, is going to meet with widespread disapproval. When freedom of religion is trimmed, it is only a matter of time before freedom is also progressively trimmed.
Frankly, I do not think God is calling Evangelicals to be the moral guardians of the culture they live in. However, I would say that it is the obligation of every Christian to cultivate virtue in government and in our Canadian society. This is one of the ways we function like salt (Matthew 5:13) in our country. We can either convert to the dominant view of the culture or strike a path that is faithful to the God who redeemed us and speak to power from outside the power structures.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, our 7th Prime Minister, said in 1877 that the only way to defend one's ideas and principles is to make them known. I could not agree more. While Christians should have no issue with Canada being an organic expression of a variety of distinct beliefs working side by side in caring for our Country, all Christians should exercise their right and responsibly and make their values know when opportunities present themselves.
The kingdom of God is not in jeopardy! The verdict of some who are for 'God-free zones' does not disturb God. The core strength of any nation is its righteousness – and if as Canadians we will seek our Creator then this righteousness will lead to national success in this country.
John Diefenbaker, Canada’s 13th Prime Minister once said, “I am so excited about Canadians ruling the world”. Now we know it was done tongue-in-cheek. But there was no missing the seriousness of his tone when he also said on July 1, 1960:
“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” John Diefenbaker (From the Canadian Bill of Rights, July 1, 1960.)
Today we Celebrate Canada! And though we do not equate our nation with the Kingdom of God, we understand that both Government and God play a close role in our future success as a nation. In my view, our country’s greatness; our country’s national character – comes from standing on the shoulders of and in the ‘God-fearing’ 1867 persuasion of our Fathers of Confederation who were devoted to ‘the supremacy of God’.
As we build this wonderful country may we entrust our lives and our future as Canadians not simply to the good men and women who serve our nation, at whatever level, in the corridors of power, but to the 'supremacy of God' as well. “Only Saying ...”
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