Public awareness that courts and the police don’t work like Law and Order shows on TV is a good thing. But loss of public confidence in our justice system is a serious issue, especially when it is deepest among groups who feel like they are on the margins.
Some Christians resolve the tension by arguing that religious freedom trumps all other rights. That is not the position in law and I don’t think it is biblical either. Basic tenants in human rights are universality – all people have equal rights – and indivisibility and interdependence – all areas of rights are interrelated. I work at the intersection of rights.
This year is a time for governments, opposition parties and the media to focus on substantive issues instead of “got-cha” personal attacks and hot-button issues. Christians can also help focus attention on the serious public policy issues that could contribute to the well-being of individual bodies and the social body in which we live.
Hopefully 2018 will be a year of tackling the very real challenges in the way we govern how we live together in Canada. It will take citizen power, focused on our common good, to get the quality of governance we need for Canada. I hope to explore how in coming articles.
On the political level, Conservatives found a way to damage the image of the Liberals; the Liberals are showing that Conservatives did the same thing, and New Democrats claim that both of the other parties are unethical. From a public perspective, the larger damage is further decline in the level of trust of all political leaders, which is already low. All political parties need to pay greater attention to that.
The 500 year anniversary of the Reformation is time for celebration. There are events, books, and, yes, T-shirts and mementos. It is also time for grieving the negative impacts. Thoughtful historians, such as Dr. Karin Magg at Calvin College, help us with a balanced look at history.
Gardening connects me to the Creator God as a communion service connects me to Christ.
With raw honesty about his internal struggles, D’Allaire helps readers understand what the term post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) means. His “cri de coeur” is a plea for understanding of fellow veterans, rethinking how the military is trained and deployed in modern conflicts, and improving both treatment and community support for those who suffer as a result of our wars.
Caring for our families and family well-being in general are without doubt high values in our church culture. A question from a non-Christian advocate for children prompted this second thought about how we promote family values. He asked me, “Why is your church so focused on ‘pelvic’ issues?”
Something similar might be said about the Reformational movement. Right now it seems to lack the focus needed to realize its potential to help develop a robust made-in-Canada pluralism. Something significant will be lost if it is absorbed into an evangelical or U.S. model of engagement in society.
Gender equality and empowerment of women and girls are the top priority in the new strategy for international development.
Resistance is also nothing new. After all, we are called Protestants and this year we remember the 500th anniversary of one of the largest social disruptions in history, the Reformation, in largely positive terms.
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