Taking A Stand in Canadian Public Life
by Brian C. Stiller
Though in 1967 Christianity was still a shadow of Canadian life, by 1999 it has become little more than a memory. While we can be certain that Canada never has acted Christianly (indeed no nation has), it would be a misreading of Canadian history not to understand the profound influence Christian faith has had on the shaping of Canadian values, traditions and vision.
Indeed as the ink on the 1867 Confederation papers was drying, church leaders saw the opening of Canada as an enormous challenge. They viewed it as an opportunity to reach into the newly enlarged Canada making it "a genuinely Christian nation," observes historian Grant.
What happened? First, the prime carrier of biblical faith - the mainline Protestants - were caught up with scientific reasoning and second, evangelicals avoided taking a place of leadership in society.
At the heart of these factors was the powerful and absorbing current of secularization. In this process, Christian values and a Christian world-view slowly receded, as churches played less of a role in public life. Not that Christian institutions disappeared, nor was it that people no longer believed in Jesus Christ or people stopped attending church. (Even though, in the 1990s, mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic churches have seen a decrease in attendance, and most evangelical churches are increasing, Canadians continued to affirm their faith in the Bible, in Jesus Christ, and in spiritual values. In a secularized society, the Christian message continues to change people personally and to influence human social movements.) Faith was pushed from public life so that it was no longer a primary force shaping the fabric of intellectual, social, and cultural life.
What is important for us to see is the way God is today moving among his people at we turn from one millennium into another. We realize that it is useless to long for a return to the past. We can never return to Eden; we are always on the way to the City of God. It’s time for us to pray and plan strategically, exercising faith so that the presence of the Gospel pushes back darkness.
As the Congregational churches - along with other Christians - move toward the new millennium, let’s live by faith in the pervading presence of Christ in Canada. The metaphor of “the gates of hell is striking.” I had once thought this meant that the gates of the Kingdom held back the onslaught of darkness. How wrong! It’s the opposite. It’s people of faith advancing, refusing to let untruth rule. It takes an offensive to strategically target those gates and take them off their hinges.
There is a new force at work. Christians more that ever are praying and working together to transform Canada. We believe it is time to empower the people of God to shake up public institutions so that mercy and truth will flow with energy and life.
Indeed as the ink on the 1867 Confederation papers was drying, church leaders saw the opening of Canada as an enormous challenge. They viewed it as an opportunity to reach into the newly enlarged Canada making it "a genuinely Christian nation," observes historian Grant.
What happened? First, the prime carrier of biblical faith - the mainline Protestants - were caught up with scientific reasoning and second, evangelicals avoided taking a place of leadership in society.
At the heart of these factors was the powerful and absorbing current of secularization. In this process, Christian values and a Christian world-view slowly receded, as churches played less of a role in public life. Not that Christian institutions disappeared, nor was it that people no longer believed in Jesus Christ or people stopped attending church. (Even though, in the 1990s, mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic churches have seen a decrease in attendance, and most evangelical churches are increasing, Canadians continued to affirm their faith in the Bible, in Jesus Christ, and in spiritual values. In a secularized society, the Christian message continues to change people personally and to influence human social movements.) Faith was pushed from public life so that it was no longer a primary force shaping the fabric of intellectual, social, and cultural life.
What is important for us to see is the way God is today moving among his people at we turn from one millennium into another. We realize that it is useless to long for a return to the past. We can never return to Eden; we are always on the way to the City of God. It’s time for us to pray and plan strategically, exercising faith so that the presence of the Gospel pushes back darkness.
As the Congregational churches - along with other Christians - move toward the new millennium, let’s live by faith in the pervading presence of Christ in Canada. The metaphor of “the gates of hell is striking.” I had once thought this meant that the gates of the Kingdom held back the onslaught of darkness. How wrong! It’s the opposite. It’s people of faith advancing, refusing to let untruth rule. It takes an offensive to strategically target those gates and take them off their hinges.
There is a new force at work. Christians more that ever are praying and working together to transform Canada. We believe it is time to empower the people of God to shake up public institutions so that mercy and truth will flow with energy and life.
