Mom always used to say that we don’t discuss politics and religion in polite society. It is my intention to discuss religion and politics. But it’s OK, Mom, we’re Presbyterians.
Two National Post columnists recently commented on The Armageddon Factor, a book by Marci McDonald. about what she perceives, in Charles Lewis’ review, as the “dangerous rise in the religious right in this country and most good Canadians are sleepwalking into a political nightmare, much like she witnessed in the United States under Ronald Reagan.” Don Martin also mentioned militant evangelical Faytene Kryskow and her “growing clout in a politically-engaged constituency the Conservatives aim to capture as a voting block.”
It used to be that to comment on a news story or opinion piece you had to sit down, write a letter and mail it to an editor who decided whether or not to publish it with your name appended and, if so, clean up your English. One of the dubious blessings of the internet is that gatekeepers have thrown up their hands and opened the door to any and all. More than a hundred anonymous comments appeared on the National Post site in reaction to the two columns noted above.
Please fasten your seat belts, ladies and gentlemen. We are approaching an area of turbulence with flashes of bad grammar and spelling.
“The fundamentalist religious right … the same type of sound religious principles as Osama Bin Laden,” wrote one. “Canada isn’t being taken over by ‘fundamentalist’,” replied another. “After 40 years of being run by spoiled infants, the grown-ups are taking back control.”
“Religious people are completely nuts” was balanced by “The left are a group of morally bancrupt cowards.”
Jesus’ alleged political allegiances produced this flurry. “Christians should remember that Jesus refused to engage in the politics of his day. He shunned the political factions, refusing to be a member of any of them, whether Pharisees, Saducees or Zealots.” Not so, it seems to this guy: “I love it when non christains try to quote Christ,” he fired back. “Christ was infact highly political he had to be your people fed our people to the lions or did you leave that part out? He flipped the tables of the money exchangers in the temple. I have an idea I will not quote Che and you do not quote Jesus ok?”
It sounds like one of those late evenings with the in-laws. Such virulence suggests why I’m so hesitant to bring up the good news of our faith. It also raises questions about the role that faith can and should play on the political stage. We frequently forget that “the separation of church and state” is derived from the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and was written as much to protect churches from the state as vice-versa. Although the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms assures us that we can worship as we choose, the difficulty of defining that freedom in an increasingly diverse society often hits the headlines.
If both Tommy Douglas and Faytene Kryskow could find cover in the Christian tent, it’s obviously a very large piece of canvas that’s reflected in the Living Faith reminder that God calls us to “seek that justice in the world which reflects the divine righteousness” and “calls his followers to seek peace in the world.” That sounds as though it could appeal to everyone from the far left to the far right. The devil must be in the details and the harsh choices of big-league politics. Some recent prime ministers are reputed to have been men of deep faith but it’s hard to find much evidence in their political heritage. Maybe it will be enough if I try to live that challenge of justice and peace in my family and in my little neighbourhood. Maybe Mom was right after all.
