Our duty to the public square

By David Daniels and ChristianWeek | March 1, 2010

Contending for biblically-informed moral values can be daunting for Christians in Canada's public square where religious values are increasingly shoved to the sidelines—to the realm of the private. But as John Redekop, then professor at Wilfred Laurier University, said some years ago: "Christians have a stewardship responsibility to be engaged in the political process of democracies."

Though I do not believe the Church's mandate is to "Christianize" society, I do believe that, as citizens of our country, we have the right and responsibility to make our voice heard in public discourse. Surely, along with the importance of proclaiming the gospel, Jesus had something like this in mind when He said His followers were "salt and light" in this dark world (Matthew 13-16).

The February 5 issue of Virtual House News, the weekly newsletter of Christianity.ca, contains a sharp reminder of our "stewardship responsibility" in advocating for moral uprightness in the public square. Three issues with profound moral implications for Canadians in general, and Christians in particular, were noted.

First, there is a link to a story published January 29, 2010 on "Holy Post," the religion blog of the National Post, regarding an investigation into whether or not Trinity Western University faculty have genuine academic freedom since they sign faith statements in order to teach there.

Charles Lewis reports that the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) has opened an investigation into the matter, claiming that TWU falls below acceptable standards. Lewis says three other universities are about to be investigated: Crandall University in Moncton, Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, and Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario. We ought to see red flags as CAUT questions the academic integrity of confessional schools.

Then there was notice of the growing move, in a noble attempt to stem the tide of cruelty to animals, to confer "personhood" on at least some animals. Margaret Somerville, the founding director of the Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law at McGill University, in a piece entitled, "We must protect humans' special status," warns of the danger implicit in a move of this sort.

Conferring "personhood" on an animal opens the door to treating both animals and humans in the same way. For example, if an "animal-person" can be euthanized, what stops us from euthanizing a "human-person?" If "human-persons" cannot be eaten, then why can we eat "animal-persons?" Somerville's article should be read and discussed widely, for it holds serious implications for the well-being of our culture.

And perhaps the most ominous item noted is the position paper authored by Douglas Farrow, professor of Christian thought at McGill University, provocatively titled: "The Government of Quebec Declares War on a 'homophobic' and 'heterosexist' populace." Farrow says the Quebec policy regarding homophobia, released in December, 2009, "diagrams a full-scale assault…against 'homophobic attitudes and behaviour patterns' and 'sets out the government's goal of removing all the obstacles' to full recognition of LGBT interests and modes of life." Discontented with created equality for LGBT-oriented persons, Farrow says the Quebec government intends to implement policies that are designed to eliminate the "twin evils" of homophobia and heterosexism. In doing so, Farrow contends, rightly in my view, that the Quebec government has "rejected heterosexuality as a social norm."

Farrow warns that should this new policy prevail, Quebecers would find themselves "in a society where it is not possible to enquire openly about the causes and consequences of sexual behaviour, or to make moral claims about sexual behaviour that do not suit the people in power." And I would add, if the Quebec-sponsored policy succeeds, then why would it not be exported to the rest of Canada? Every Christian ought to read this finely argued presentation of the tragic direction contemplated by the government in Quebec.

Canadian Christians do have a stewardship responsibility to be well-read, well-informed and well-ready to advocate for moral sanity in a chaotic culture where right becomes wrong and wrong becomes right.