The Evangelical Sanhedrin and Republicanism

Written By: sthompson
Date: 2006-08-09 09:08:19
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Fuller Theological Seminary was named after Charles Fuller, and Fuller’s ‘The Old Fashioned Revival Hour’ was listened to by many in the 1940s. It is important to note that Fuller was a Presbyterian, and he had been part of the clashes of the 1920s between liberals and conservatives. But, the Calvinism that underwrote and undergirded the thinking of Fuller, Henry and Ockenga is important to recognize here. Calvinism became, for the New Evangelicals, the theological ideology and password that purchased entrance into the club and clan. Those who dared to differ or deviate from such a position, as did Clark Pinnock in the 1980s-1990s, felt the wrath of the Sanhedrin for doing so.

The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) was formed in 1942 to draw together a variety of those with evangelical leanings. Youth for Christ was formed in 1945, and Billy Graham was hired as their first full time
evangelist. Needless to say, Billy Graham was a key member of this New
Evangelical Sanhedrin. And, Fuller Theological Seminary was founded in 1947 with Ockenga as captain of the ship. Fuller Evangelical Seminary attempted to be sensitive to the evangelical and revival tradition of Charles Fuller and the emerging popularity of Billy Graham. Carl Henry was on staff at Fuller for a season, also. Dots do need to be connected to bring the picture into focus.

There were three obvious tensions in the New Evangelical coalition, though, and these had to be dealt with and sorted out. First, many of the older fundamentalists turned evangelical were committed to a dispensational and premillennial theology. Such an approach tended to have a rather negative view of history and culture. Time was winding down, and things were getting worse, so why bother to get involved with larger political and cultural issues? The task was to save souls and assist them from living through the dark days of the final dispensation. The dispensational and premillennial ideology had to be doubted and dispensed with. A turn to Augustine and Calvin was the best way to make such a move. Second, there were those who still pitted faith against serious thought and good education. The intellectual Sanhedrin made it clear this would not do. The pietistic heritage that tended to oppose the ethos of thinking, university and seminary life against faith, belief and a retreat from the world of thought into Bible schools and missions had to be bridged. Augustine and Calvin, once again, offered a way to both honour and interpret the Bible in a more integrated, consistent and organic manner. Third, many of the older fundamentalists tended to retreat, turtle like, under their shells, far from the world of politics, economics, social issues and the arts. The New Evangelicals would have none of this, and Augustine and Calvin remained mentors and guides.

The fact that the more soul saving, born again, emotive and heart driven Billy Graham and the more public oriented and rigorous intellectual stance of Carl Henry could and did work together did signal a new ecumenical and evangelical way of doing things. The feisty, confrontational and oppositional mentality of Carl McIntyre was considered inappropriate for the New Evangelicals. In short, the Reformed tradition of Calvin and the more pietistic and Evangelical tradition of Fuller and Graham met and merged in a healthy way and set the standard for many, banner held high. The Sanhedrin, in short, was carving out a middle way with much finesse, soundness and clarity. The fact that the old separatist and purist fundamentalists would not back Billy Graham in his more ecumenical New York campaign in 1957 signaled an obvious cleavage between the New Evangelicals and the older fundamentalists of the McIntyre type. So, it is important to realize that the Evangelical tradition in the USA and the Fundamentalist tradition cannot be equated. There are distinctive and substantive differences in style and content, and these do need to be recognized. Sadly so, the popular media often merges these two traditions.

There were some important and deeper things to ponder in this New Evangelical coalition, though. It is true that Billy Graham supported the birth of Christianity Today, and it is significant to note that Carl Henry was the first editor and Ockenga was the chair of the board. But, who financed such a magazine, and what were the practical leanings of such a patron? This might tell us much about the Sanhedrin and where their bread was buttered and why. J. Howard Pew of Sun Oil was the economic backbone that facilitated much of the work of Henry, Graham and Ockenga, and Pew had definite republican and capitalist leanings. This essential reality does need to
be noted for a variety of reasons. The fact that the New Evangelical Sanhedrin, consciously so, broke from much of the simplistic reductionism of their predecessors does need to be applauded. The turn from something presupposes a turn to something. Such a turn by the Sanhedrin had some worrisome aspects to it. God, capitalism and the republican way became the new trinity that many in the Sanhedrin bowed and genuflected before. The USA became, for them, the great and good place, the bastion against unions, communism and secular humanism. The Neo-Constantinian tradition was now back in place, and the New Evangelical Sanhedrin of Fuller, Henry, Ockenga, Graham and Pew insisted that this was the way to interpret the Bible, Augustine and Calvin.

The 1960s raised some hard questions for the New Evangelicals. American involvement in Vietnam did not go unnoticed. The treatment of the blacks was a source of much concern. Poverty could not be missed. The American military and its growing arsenal was questioned by many. And, for Christians who did not retreat from the fray, the dominating question was this: how should the Bible be interpreted to address such pressing issues as militarism, economics, politics and social issues? Pietism had been found wanting by the New Evangelicals, but the position of the New Evangelical Sanhedrin was now questioned and found wanting. Was it truly Biblical to interpret the Bible and life-teachings of Jesus in such a way that it squared with American republican and patriotic issues? A new generation was afoot and on the move that chose to differ with the elders in the Sanhedrin. J. Howard Pew was committed to the American nationalist and republican way, and those he backed, although not so extreme, towed the republican line. Billy Graham was a good friend and supporter of republican presidents, and Henry was a republican Calvinist. Was it, possible, though, to interpret the Christian faith in either a more democratic or a more radical way? These were questions that were being forcefully posed to the Sanhedrin. Democrats such as Mark Hatfield and radicals such as Jim Wallis and Sojourners begged to differ, and did so in articulate ways, with the Calvinist Sanhedrin
that dominated much of the New Evangelical American way.

Carl Henry was dethroned as editor of Christianity Today in 1968, for the simple reason that he was not as hawkish as Pew demanded. Harold Lindsell, much more the aggressive patriot, was offered the crown and editorial throne. Lindsell’s The Battle for the Bible (1976) drove a wedge in the New Evangelical clan that fragmented the club in many substantive ways. The Sanhedrin was being threatened by both democrats and radicals, and such a Sanhedrin saw that concessions to either group offered a slippery slope to unions, socialism and communism.

The challenge to the elders of the New Evangelical Sanhedrin grew and intensified in the 1970s-1980s. The tale is well told and ably recounted in Fowler’s A New Engagement: Evangelical Political Thought, 1966-1976 (1983) and Gay’s With Liberty and Justice for Whom? The Recent Evangelical Debate over Capitalism (1991). There is no doubt battle lines were being drawn in the Evangelical sand, and the republican, democratic and radical clans were lining up with their different interpretations of the Bible and the meaning of Christ and the Holy Spirit for the hard issues of the 1970s-1980s.

One of the dominant hot button issues in the 1970s was abortion, and this became a lightning rod issue for many (as it is today). It was the prolife-prochoice debate that brought another prominent evangelical into the fray.
Francis Schaeffer and the many scattered L’Abri communities in Europe and North America had played a significant role in the 1960s-1970s in highlighting, in word and deed, the fact that faith had to engage larger cultural questions and had to do so in a loving, articulate and well reasoned manner. Schaeffer became an ikon and mentor for many, and his many missives, books and films drew a generation of the young to an organic and integrated faith vision. Schaeffer, like Fuller, Henry and Ockenga had Calvinist commitments, and Schaeffer and Ockenga were fans of Gresham Machen (the elder dean of the clash with liberalism). Much of Schaeffer’s work in the 1960s-1979s was of a higher cultural nature (at a more popular level), but with the coming to be of the abortion issue in the 1970s, Schaeffer could no more be silent. The publication of Christian Manifesto (1981) made it abundantly clear where and why Schaeffer stood on the abortion question. Schaeffer had become, thoughout the 1960s-1970s, a darling of the New Evangelical Sanhedrin, and Christian Manifesto consolidated his place. Charles Colson, the well known republican of the Watergate fiasco, became a fan of Schaeffer, and very much part of the New Evangelical Sanhedrin, also.

It is significant to note that as the elders of the Sanhedrin of the New Evangelical clan were feeling the challenges from the democrats and radicals, the emergence of the New Fundamentalism of Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority offered them some hope. The irony is this. The New Evangelicals had walked the extra mile to distance themselves from the fundamentalist past, and now, the New Fundamentalists and the old guard Sanhedrin of the New Evangelicals both concured that faith and the republican way had much in common. In short, as Evangelicals of the democratic and radical bent moved off to the social liberal left, the New Fundamentalists and the old guard Sanhedrin joined hands to support the republican vision of Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. It was this merging and affinity between the republican Roman Catholic tradition of Richard John Neuhaus, George Weigel, Michael Novak of First Things, the New Fundamentalism of Falwell and the Moral Majority and the New Evangelical Sanhedrin that made for a heady mix. New paths were being carved out, and such trails had much to do with social and political issues. The more sophisticated Neoconservatives of the Roman Catholic and New Evangelical clans were not sure what to make of Falwell and tribe on a variety of issues, but common causes were made with this more populist brand of republican patriotism on substantive political issues. God, republicanism and the USA were almost one, and republican presidents did well the work of the Holy Spirit in domestic and foreign policy.

Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority represented the more staid and solid Baptist approach to faith and republicanism, but the rise of the charismatic and Pentecostal traditions did much, on the political right, to buttress the American patriotic cause. TV evangelists such as Oral Roberts, Jimmy Swaggart, Pat Robertson and Jim/Tammy Baker blended faith and republicanism in an emotional and active way. The old Sanhedrin, certainly, had little in common with the theology, populism and emotivism of Falwell and the TV evangelists, but all agreed (whether sophisticated, popular or crude) that the American neo-conservative way was under attack, and Christian republicanism was the definite and defiant answer to secular humanism, wobbly liberalism and communism.

It is important to note here that Hal Lindsay’s popular The Late Great Planet Earth (1970) was a bumper crop seller, and Lindsay did much, with the sale of this book to bring Israel back into focus as a site of doomsday theology. The upshot of Lindsay’s book was to further link, for the populist evangelicals, the connection between American foreign policy and Zionism.
This tradition is still very much with us today. The fact that the ‘Last Times’ series by Tim LaHaye are some of the best sellers in North American makes it clear that there is a form of the evangelical right that has both strong republican leanings and is pro-Zionist. The Lindsay-Lahaye USA-Israel connection has had an impact on many. Again, the more sophisticated New Evangelicals and Roman Catholic conservatives would be wary of Lindsay and Lahaye, but all three groups, at voting time, turn to the republican tradition as their great and good place. LaHaye, like Chuck Colson, has been quite a fan and supporter of Francis Schaeffer.

It was short step from the 1980s into the 1990s. George Bush Sr. was brought to power by a coalition of Christian republicans of the Pentecostal, charismatic, fundamentalist, Roman Catholic and Evangelical clans. The battle over the Bible or denominations was subordinated to larger questions of American patriotism, military, economic and social issues such as family values, abortion, death penalty, gay rights, crime and punishment, drugs and the ‘clash of civilizations’. Books such as Evangelicals and Catholics Together: Toward a Common Mission (1995) and Reclaiming the Great Tradition: Evangelicals, Catholics & Orthodox in Dialogue (1997) brought together many in the old republican Sanhedrin and the New republican right. Such a common mission in dialogue brought together republican Evangelicals, Roman Catholics and those from the Orthodox traditions. Members of the old and new Sanhedrin were finding their seats lining up well. Those who signed the Evangelicals and Catholics (ECT) manifesto and contributed essays to the book tell us much about how the Sanhedrin continues to grow and unfold: Charles Colson, Francis Schaeffer, Richard John Neuhaus. George Weigel, Peter Kreeft, Thomas Oden and others signed this timely ecumenical republican text.

The publication of Why the Left Is Not Right: The Religious Left: Who They Are and What They Believe (1996), by Ronald Nash, yet another Calvinist,
makes it quite clear that the evangelical left of Jim Wallis, Ron Sider and Tony Campolo are outside the camp. Clark Pinnock is drawn in as an example to illustrate the folly of the evangelical left. Pinnock was once drawn to and committed to such a cause. He has seen the light, and is now a good evangelical republican. Nash very much stands within the Reformed-Evangelical Sanhedrin that links faith to capitalism, republicanism and patriotism. Nash had edited an earlier book, Liberation Theology(1984) in which he brought together Christian intellectuals of committed republican tendencies: Harold Brown, Michael Novak, James Schall, Clark Pinnock, Edward Norman, Robert Walton, Carl Henry, Dale Vree and Richard John Neuhaus. In short, Ronald Nash, like other members of the republican Sanhedrin have so merged faith with a right of centre perspective that it is hard for them to think outside such an ideology and limited envelop.

It is significant to note that J. I. Packer (who has taught in Canada at Regent College since that late 1970s) contributed articles to both Evangelicals and Catholics Together and Reclaiming the Great Tradition. Packer is, without much doubt, one of the most important Calvinists of the 20th-21st century, and the fact he has contributed to such books speaks volumes about the way a form of both Evangelical and Calvinist thought blend and interpret the Bible and the Great Tradition to serve and suit a republican agenda.

J.I. Packer and Clark Pinnock are prominent members of the Canadian Evangelical Sanhedrin (even though there are obvious tensions between them). Pinnock, like Packer, has a great deal of affinity with the American republican way. The fact that both Packer and Pinnock, as Canadians, and Canadians of substantive influence in the Evangelical ethos, have turned to American models and the American republican way, does speak much about the Canadian Evangelical tradition, also. There is more to the Canadian tale and drama than this, though. It is to Canada and the Canadian Sanhedrin we now turn.

II
The Canadian Evangelical Sanhedrin

Canada is a much smaller country, numerically, than the USA, hence the Evangelical tradition is not played out on as large a landscape. But, there are important points of convergence and divergence between the New Evangelicals in Canada and the USA. Needless to say, more work has been done on the New Evangelicals in the USA than in Canada, but, gratefully so,
some solid thought and fine research is being done on the New Evangelicals in Canada. Some of this research is done in a way that is generous to the Evangelical denomination, whereas other books have been less kind and gracious.

The publication of Canadian Evangelicalism in the Twentieth Century: An Introduction to its Character (1993), by John Stackhouse (Regent College) and Pilgrims in Lotus Land: Conservative Protestants in British Columbia, 1917-1981 (1995), by Robert Burkinshaw (Trinity Western University), set some fine standards in describing aspects of the Evangelical tradition in Canada in the 20th century. Both books are must reads for those with a deeper interest in the Canadian Evangelical way and heritage. There is a breadth to Stackhouse’s tome lacking in Burkinshaw, but there is an intricate depth to Burkinshaw’s tome lacking in Stackhouse. Both books, when read together, offer the reader a fine insight into the Canadian Evangelical ethos.
And, to mention again, distinctions do need to be made between the complex nature of Evangelicals and Fundamentalists on a variety of issues. But, it is
important to note, that both clans, for the most part, lean towards the American republican way, and the Sanhedrin does a fine job in pointing in such an alluring direction.

Canadian Evangelicalism in the Twentieth Century is neatly divided into four parts: 1) The Eccentrics: T.T. Shields and Aberhart, 2) The Mainstream of Canadian Evangelicalism to the 1960s, 3) The Mainstream Broadens and Coalesces: Canadian Evangelicalism to the Early 1990s, and 4) The Character of Canadian Evangelicalism in the Twentieth Century. Each of these parts is yet further broken down into smaller units. Stackhouse tends to focus, to his credit, on major formal and informal educational institutions, and how such institutions embody various strands of the Evangelical way. Hence, in part two, Toronto Bible College (1894-1968), Prairie Bible Institute (1922-1977) and Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (1929-1970) are covered, and in part three, Sermons for Science at Expo 67, Ontario Bible College and Ontario Theological Seminary, Prairie Bible Institute, Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, Trinity Western University, Regent College and The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada are dealt with in some depth and detail. Canadian Evangelicalism in the Twentieth Century has walked the extra mile to clarify both the breadth of the Canadian Evangelical tradition via formal and informal Evangelical educational institutions such as Bible Schools, Universities and Seminaries and groups like Inter-Varsity and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. Many of the tensions between Fundamentalists and Evangelicals are probed and unpacked in this well crafted book.

We might wonder whether the ‘eccentrics’ that Stackhouse mentions have not become more mainstream in the last decade. Preston Manning, for example, was the son of E.C. Manning, and both, as Albertans, are children of the Aberhartian republican tradition. The fact that our present Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, is also a child of the Albertan republican way does make it rather obvious that the ‘eccentrics’ have moved more to the centre of mainstream Evangelical and Canadian life. In short, the fact that Canada has, in the last few decades, been drawn more into the American
gravitational field means that what might have been on the fringes and rather eccentric has become more mainstream. E.C. Manning (Preston Manning’s father, an evangelical and premier of Alberta for many years) made it clear in Political Realignment: A Challenge to Thoughtful Canadians (1967) why he thought Christianity equaled republicanism. Preston Manning did most of the research for this missive. The Canadian Evangelical Sanhedrin of Aberhart, the Manning dynasty, Stockwell Day and Stephen Harper do speak much about a way of being evangelical and republican. This does need to be noted, and compared with the older Canadian Tory tradition of George Grant and Stephen Leacock. Needless to say, Grant and Leacock would be ill at ease with the likes of Aberhart, Ernest/Preston Manning, Stockwell Day and Stephen Harper. In fact, Leacock penned a book, My Discovery of the West (1937), in which he clearly spelled out his differences with the republican conservatism of Aberhart and the Social credit movement in Alberta.

Canadian Evangelicalism in the Twentieth Century tends to focus on institutional Sanhedrins, and the various actors who serve or challenge such Sanhedrins. Stackhouse has made it plain in Canadian Evangelicalism that there are differences within the Canadian Evangelical Sanhedrin (just as there was between the Pharisees and Sadducees in the Jewish Sanhedrin), but those amongst the ruling and power elite do share many things in common, also.

I mentioned above that J.I Packer and Clark Pinnock have dominated, at an intellectual and theological level, much thought in the New Evangelical Sanhedrin. Stackhouse, given his institutional approach, lights but does not land much on the work of Pinnock and Packer. It is important to linger longer with Packer and Pinnock. ‘Clark Pinnock has been one of the most prominent and provocative theological voices in North Atlantic evangelical Christianity since the 1960s’ (Clark Pinnock: Journey Toward Renewal: An Intellectual Biography: foreward), and, as I mentioned above, Packer has played, perhaps an even greater role because he is more predictable and much more the establishment man. The biography of Packer, J. I. Packer: A Biography (1997), makes it quite clear why Packer is a leading light in the evangelical Sanhedrin. Those who ignore Packer and Pinnock while studying the American and Canadian Evangelical Sanhedrin miss the towering peaks of the movement and denomination. I will return to these two men later in the paper for the simple reason that they are the Mount Waddington and Mount Robson of the Canadian Evangelical tradition.

Pilgrims in Lotus Land is more focused than Canadian Evangelicalism, but there is a convincing depth to it that needs pondering. The book is divided into eleven chapters: 1) Protestantism in British Columbia before 1917, 2) Polarization in Vancouver, 1917, 3) Mainline Conservatives, 1917-1927, 4) The Separatist Solution: Fundamentalist Baptists, 1917-1928, 5) The Supernatural Solution: The Pentecostals, 1917-1928, 6) The Broadening of the Institutional Base, 1928-1941, 7) Period of Transition, 1941-1961: Developments among the Original Conservative Groups,

Period of Transition, 1941-1961: Immigrant Groups, 9) The Worshipping Majority
in Protestantism, 1961-1981, 10) Components of Growth, and 11) Epilogue.
Burkinshaw has, like Stackhouse, done a superb institutional job of clarifying the tensions and struggles of the Evangelical clan.

It is interesting to note that, as in the USA, the charismatic and Pentecostal traditions tend to lean towards the political right. This can be aptly and clearly seen, for example, by three illustrations. First, 100 Huntley Street has been at the forefront in Canada of promoting a view of Christianity that is both populist and right of centre. Pat Robertson was often on 100 Huntley Street, and David Mainse has made it clear where he leans on a variety of issues and why. 100 Huntley Street (1979), by Mainse, tells the tale well. The populist evangelical way of Mainse has some affinity, in a toned down way, with many American TV evangelists. Second, the populist tradition on the west coast is embodied in those like Bernice Gerard and Bob Birch. A Statesman of Prayer for Canada: Pastor Bob (2003), by Beth Carson and Bernice Gerard: Today and for Life (1988), by Bernice Gerard, make it clear that those who are open to the Holy Spirit will lean towards the political right. Issues such as abortion, gay rights, traditional family values and other hot button issues on the ideological right often dominate such an agenda. Again, support of Israel often factors large in such a clan. Grant Jeffries, in Canada, plays the same role as Hal Lindsay did, and Jack Van Impe and LaHaye now do in the USA. Merv/Merla Watson, more than most in Canada, have merged the evangelical way with Jewish Zionism. Merv/Merla Watson go back to the Jesus People of the 1960s-1970s. I live in Abbotsford, and this intimate connection between Bible prophecy and the politics of the end times is embodied by 2 local authors: William Goetz in Apocalypse Next (1980) and Jake Friesen and The Seer (2003). The connections between Mainse, Birch, Gerard, Goetz, Friesen, Jeffries and Merv/Merla Watson are easy to track and trace at a variety of levels and on a variety of issues on the Chistianity-Zionist-republican connection. Third, such a tradition has been called into question and exposed by Judith Haiven in Faith, Hope, No Charity: An Inside Look at the Born Again Movement in Canada and the United States (1984). Haiven can be overly critical and unfair at times to the Christian right, but she does raise some hard questions, also. Faith, Hope, No Charity is somewhat dated a this point, and it tends to probe more the thin edge between right wing evangelicals and fundamentalists, but, the point to be noted is that such tribes, regardless of many of their different nuances tend to be republican when day is done.

What, though, does the more populist evangelical tradition of Mainse, Gerard, Birch and Jeffries have to do with the more centrist Sanhedrin of institutions like Regent College, Trinity Western University and Evangelical Fellowship of Canada? This same question was raised in regards to the USA. What has Henry, Schaeffer, Ockenga, Colson, Neuhaus and clan to do with Falwell, the Moral Majority, Pat Robertson and the TV evangelists? Obviously, on one level, not very much. But, on a variety of political, economic, social issues and American foreign policy a great deal. There are differences on how the Bible is to be interpreted for personal experience and ecclesial questions, but when it comes to public moral and political questions, there is often convergence and concord.

Trinity Western University, Regent College and many Prairie Bible Schools do have right of centre leanings. Preston Manning, for example, has been on the board of Regent College, and Trinity Western University has had Manning speak at many of their events. The well known right of centre politician, Robert N. Thompson, has a building named after him at Trinity Western University, and Paul Chamberlain (formerly in the philosophy department at Trinity) has published important books that appeal to the social conservative tradition. Robert N. Thompson, interestingly enough,
worked with Ernest Manning in the 1968 election to merge the Progressive Conservative and Social Credit parties. It failed at the time, but Manning’s son, Preston, following in his father’s footsteps, worked towards such an end, and the task was accomplished by McKay and Harper.

It is hard to imagine a union president or NDP MP/MLA offered frontstage honors at institutions such as Trinity Western University or Regent College. Why is this the case? What does this say about a way of interpreting the Bible and the Christian tradition? Some of the MPs in the Reform/Alliance parties and the Conservative party are graduates of TWU. There are obvious connections between many educational evangelical institutions and American republican and Canadian conservative thought. It is a quick transition from James Dobson, Focus on the Family and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada to George Bush Jr., the Republican Party in the USA, or Harper and the Conservative Party in Canada. The Constantinian merging of faith, state and military is an obvious trinity for those who connect the intricate dots on the page.

James Dobson and Focus in the Family has played a significant role in defining, in the USA and Canada, what social issues evangelicals should priorize and why. There is, of course, a larger political agenda at work in his pronounced republican leanings. In Canada, Tristan Emmanuel and Equipping Christians for the Public Square (ECP) has done much to both further the tradition of Dobson and make it clear that genuine Christianity will enter the public square with a concern for a few select social issues like abortion, gay rights and traditional family values. Emmanuel’s thinking, though, has some important Canadian connections. Ken Campbell, who was a significant right of centre Canadian evangelical in the 1980s of the Falwell variety, has had his impact on Emmanuel. Both Campbell and Emmanuel see God working at His best through a republican and conservative ethos and party. There is no doubt the eccentrics are much less on the margins these days. There are some important points of convergence between ECP and the 4myCanada socially conservative youth group. 4myCanada has sponsored two large rallies at Parliament Hill. In 2002, more than 5,000 turned out in Ottawa to make it known that MPs should be concerned about the moral and social decline in Canada, and on July 15/2006, more than 5,000 were in attendance again at Parliament Hill to urge MPs to halt the moral decline in Canada on a variety of predictable social issues. The event was called Cry2Him, and it was organized by 4myCanada. 4myCanada was inspired by Bob Birch’s organization (another socially conservative organization) Watchmen for the Nations. Although Watchmen for the Nations and 4myCanada claim to be concerned, primarily, about prayer and worship, the fact is prayer and worship are linked to a republican social agenda. Many who are supporters of 4myCanada are between the ages under 30 years of age (BC Christian News: August 2006).

Equipping Christians for the Public Square, Watchmen for the Nations and 4myCanada are more popular versions of the much more sophisticated think tank, Centre for Cultural Renewal. Iain Benson has taken heroic stands on a variety of issues, and he has attempted, in a wise and judicious way, to carve out a more sophisticated Canadian conservatism via Centre for Cultural Renewal. The more populist and reactionary perspective of Tristan Emmanuel, Equipping Christians for the Public Square, Watchmen for the Nations and 4myCanada and the more sophisticated approach of Benson and Centre for Cultural Renewal do need to be watched if any serious understanding of evangelicals and republicanism is to be pondered and why.
There is, obviously, more than evangelicals in Centre for Cultural Renewal, but there are important Canadian evangelicals that support the think tank. The last decade has seen a merging of Roman Catholics, Orthodox and Evangelicals on a variety of social issues, and it is in this coming together that a right of centre republicanism has taken hold in Canada.

An important Canadian that is often ignored in this discussion is John Redekop. Redekop taught political science for many years in Ontario, and he has retired in the Abbotsford area in BC. He very much stands and works within the Mennonite and Evangelical Sanhedrin. He is prolific writer, and a thoughtful and incisive commentator and has been at the centre of much evangelical life in Canada in the last 50 years. Redekop’s PH. D. thesis, The American Far Right: A Case Study of Billy James Hargis and Christian Crusade (1968), is a trenchant examination of the far right in American religious and political thought. Redekop had, when younger, been an active voice in the CCF, and an earlier book of his, The Star Spangled Beaver (1971), did a fine job of unraveling the differences between Canada and the USA, and the dilemmas Canadians have living so close to the USA. But, Redekop, in the last few years, has tended to move, in a thoughtful and critical manner, to the political right. Why is this? We see the same thing
in many Evangelical think tanks, educational institutions and leading theologians. Redekop, like Pinnock and Packer, tend to see the republican way as the closest to the Christian way, and they have pointed out such a way to many.

I mentioned above the book by Craig Gay, With Liberty and Justice for Whom? The Recent Evangelical Debate over Capitalism (1991). Gay teaches at Regent College, as does J. I. Packer (and as did Clark Pinnock in the 1970s). With Liberty and Justice for Whom? is an interesting book. The book was Gay’s Ph.D. thesis, and Peter Berger (another well known American republican) was Gay’s advisor, and wrote the foreward to the book. The thesis/book is about the debate about capitalism, within the evangelical tribe in the USA. The thesis argument is somewhat disturbing and worrisome. Gay argues, and wrongly so, I think, that there is the evangelical left, the populist right and the sensible centre. The sensible centre for Gay, when translated into political reality, is American republicanism. Again, we can see the link between evangelicals and republicans, and such republicans are seen as the sensible centre between two extremes. Does such a model fit the Canadian context, though? Has, in Canada, the sensible centre been defined as American republicanism? Hardly! But, Gay, teaching at Regent College, does bring such a perspective to a bastion and mecca of evangelical educational thought.

The connection between Regent College and the right of centre tradition is reflected in a graphic way in the debate between Tom Harpur and Maxine Hancock. Hancock has taught at Regent for many a year, and Harpur vs. Hancock (1994) highlights the stubborn ideology of both clans in the liberal-conservative clash of civilizations.

I return to John Redekop. Redekop had worked with Brian Stiller and Gerald Vandezande when he was in Ontario. Stiller was the head of Evangelical Fellowship of Canada at the time, and Vandezande was the chair of Citizens for Public Justice. The combination of Redekop, Stiller and Vandezande was important. All three men represented variations of the Calvinist and Evangelical traditions. Vandezande and CPJ stood on the soft liberal left, whereas Stiller and the EFC tended to lean to the soft and far right. Vandezande was a left of centre Calvinist who had learned, in an ecumenical fashion, to work with the centre and right of centre evangelical clan, but this is not where he rested his head by day’s end. Books such as Christians in the Crises: Toward Responsible Citizenship(1983) and Justice: Not Just Us: Faith Perspectives and National Priorities (1999) make it clear that there is a way of articulating Christian public responsibility that is not republican.

The left of centre reformed tradition in Canada that CPJ tends to represent and Vandezande embodied has been carried on by such writers as Brian Walsh. Walsh has worked with Inter-Varsity, CPJ and the Institute of Christian Studies in Toronto. In many ways, the centrist and left of centre
Evangelical tradition in Canada goes back to the pioneering work of Wilbur Sutherland. Sutherland was the head of Inter-Varsity in Canada for almost 25 years after WW II. He moved the organization from a pietistic and centrist-right organization to a centrist-left organization. The pressures on him were strong to halt such a direction and path breaking trail, hence he resigned in the early 1970s to begin Imago. Imago, now guided by John Franklin, represents a centrist and soft left of centre way of being evangelical (although Imago tends now to be more philosophical and focus more on the arts than serious politics). Sutherland and Vandezande worked closely together from the 1970s-1990s, and such a left of centre Calvinism and Evangelicalism prepared the path for those like Walsh and clan.

The left of centre evangelical tradition in Canada that we find in the well known church historian George Rawlyk (with strong NDP leanings) does not find a comfortable seat in the halls of power and the Sanhedrin, though. Those like Stiller, Packer, Pinnock and Redekop have the final word in many ways.

I have mentioned The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. They have contributed some significant articles to public debate in Canada. Shaping A Christian Vision for Canada: Discussion Paper’s on Canada’s Future (1992) brought together some of the Sanhedrin: Paul Marshall, Don Page ( 2 articles) Janet Epp Buckingham, Joseph Jolly, Peter Jervis, Darrel Reid & Bran Stiller (2 articles). Many of these thinkers have strong republican leanings of a sophisticated sort, and all of them have been quite involved in serious public debates about faith and politics. It is significant to note that the dean of the American reformed-evangelical way, Carl Henry, was active in Canada in assisting the work of Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

The life and writings of Brian Stiller, more than most in the Canadian Evangelical Sanhedrin, tells the tale of a journey through the ranks to the top. Stiller is not of the same intellectual caliber as Redekop, Pinnock or Packer, but his audience has not asked as much of him; he is more the popularizer of the evangelical way. Stiller began as a Pentecostal, became head of Youth for Christ in Canada, then moved onto provide leadership in the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada in the 1980s-1990s. He is now president of Tyndale Seminary in Toronto. Tyndale University College & Seminary, in Toronto, has recently purchased the 56 acre Morrow Park from the Catholic sisters of St. Joseph. This is the largest acquisition in Canadian Evangelical history, and Stiller is at the helm of the ship. Tyndale and Trinity Western University are now the largest Evangelical educational institutions in Canada. Stiller has never flinched from facing the political questions, and in From the Tower of Babel to Parliament (1997) to Jesus and Caesar: Christians in the Public Square (2003) he clearly outlines a moderate evangelical stance that leans towards the soft right.

I mentioned earlier in this paper that Calvinism in the USA set the agenda for how the New Evangelicals would define themselves. Those who dared to deviate would be punished, shunned or marginalized. Clark Pinnock began as a rising star in the evangelical world in the 1960s-1970s. He was deeply imbued with the Calvinist way, and many saw him as the future king of the movement. Those like Carl Henry and J.I. Packer were more than pleased with the things Pinnock was saying, writing and doing. Pinnock wrote thoughtful and cogent apologetics, and he was grounded in the proper line and lineage. He did veer off, momentarily, to the anarchist left in the 1970s, but he turned, by the late 1970s, as Reagan came to power, to the republican right. He seemed to have learned that the anarchist left and the New Evangelical Sanhedrin got along as well as cats and dogs. I have tracked Pinnock’s political journey in 2 essays (‘Clark Pinnock and Political Theology: A Test Case’ and ‘Clark Pinnock: Canadian Theologian of the Empire’: www. clarion-journal.ca). But, by the 1980s-1990s Pinnock was questioning the excessive reliance of the New Evangelical Sanhedrin on Augustine and Calvin. There were other evangelical traditions, equally true to the Bible and the Christian tradition, Pinnock argued that dared to differ with Augustine and Calvin’s rather extreme views of grace and human depravity and sinfulness. The Sanhedrin, of course, like yaks in the winter, gathered round, conversed and realized Pinnock and followers had to be dealt with. The Evangelical tent was getting too big, and Augustine-Calvin were not the masters they once were. Arminius, Wesley and the Methodist tradition were brought forward as true to a more complex evangelical way.

The Sanhedrin pondered what to do with Pinnock. He had dared to disturb decades of hard work. The fact that Pinnock broadened the evangelical tent on a variety of issues has often obscured the fact that when questions of high theology are translated into practical political, economic and social issues, Pinnock is very much on the republican ship. Pinnock, when day is done, is still very much part of the club. Where would Pinnock be if he pushed his Wesleyan theology into a social liberal or Canadian Red Tory way? I suspect the Sanhedrin would not know what to do with him. Packer and Pinnock do differ on the Calvinist-Wesleyan debate, but both tilt their heads in the republican directions when political issues are raised. Pinnock’s transition from an a-political pietism to the anarchist left to the political right has been well articulated his essay, ‘A Pilgrimage in Political Theology’. He made his republican commitments even clearer in The Untapped Power
Of Sheer Christianity (1985). The Untapped Power of Sheer Christianity was dedicated to Francis Schaeffer. The circle does come full circle. American and Canadian Evangelicals do link warm and affectionate hands to support that republican and conservative way.

III
Conclusion

The New Evangelical Sanhedrin in the USA and Canada, and its think tanks, institutions and intellectuals, for the most part, have strong conservative and republican leanings. There are exceptions to the rule, but the exceptions are just that. Those who ever expect to be welcomed into the clan do need to bow and genuflect before a certain theological, political and ideological agenda. If this is not done, the door will be closed.

Few are the authors, activists and institutions that have clearly separated the Evangelical notion of faith from American republican and Canadian conservative values and political parties. Such a task does need to be done, and such a task does not mean a turn to liberalism and modernity is the answer. It is this deeper third way that needs to be thought through and lived forth.

Canadians, of course, do need to dig deep into their resources and dip their buckets into their wells. There is little point in turning to other traditions.
This is the mark of a colonial, and we do not need more colonial theology and political thought in Canada. We have been overwhelmed by such an
approach for decades, and there is an eager comprador class in Canada that is quite willing to rob us of our national heritage. It is to such a heritage and tradition we need to turn for real reform and renewal of the True North. This is the deeper conservatism we must turn to if the fool’s gold of neo-conservatism or neo-liberalism is to be exposed and found wanting.

RSD

[Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on August 10, 2006]

I am really interested to know have you personaly had any real firsthand experiences with Evangelical Christians and their church for any prolonged period of time or are you still just a pretentious bookworm, and your knowledge and experiences is third hand, from others.. for that seems to be the way most people, even many Christians approach the Bible.. they really do not know what it says firsthand. In reality real Christians are still a minority in Canada. I certainly agree with you with your labeling of the Canadian evangelicals as a Sanhedrin for they are the hypocritical, farcical religious persons of our century for a start. This is evident by their clear lack of love towards others, especialy the poor persons, but also by the fact they tend to practice both sexual infidelity, pastors included now, and also marital and relational divorce. Wvangelcials too quickly ignore, shut ip, ostracize anyone who does not go along with them . In reality about 15 percent of the Christians in catholic, evangelical churches are real Christians for a start. Still stereotype labeling of Evangelicals really does not tell the whole truth.. it rather distorts.. There are many Christians groups in Canada not just Christian Evangelicals and they are loosely united.. .. there are also the Catholics, Mennonite, Brethren churches and many others, and some are left and some are right leaning. What firstly unites mots of this professing Christian people is not the American Conservative Republican right but firstly rather the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Bible. But it is true that the US Moody Bible College and Dallas Theological seminary firstly had a great undue influence on the fundamental Christians in Canada. But one thing is also true the so called Christians Pastors and priests do have a greater political influence than even triple the size of the members and adherents for a start. You also forgot to mention that it was specially the Alberta Christians Evangelicals who were the originators of Preston Manning Reform party even though he got his financial support from the gun lobbyists and they managed to help to defeat the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives. Both Paul Martin and Brian Mulroney had underestimated falsely the strength of the evangelicals, Catholics, Christians in Canada.. the are stronger in strength than the Canadian Jews and the Canadians Muslims, the liberal Anglicans, United church too for sure, Canada wide. You say the relate with American Christians, of course this is natural for a start.. they are the closes ones too. If the Canadian Pastors do lie, why would I not expect the Canadian evangelical party the Conservatives to do so as well 50% of Sermons Are Not Biblical <A href="http://www.sliceoflaodicea.com/archives/2006/02/_50_of_modern_s.php">http://www.sliceoflaodicea.com/archives/2006/02/_50_of_modern_s.php</A> "Preaching the Gospel is not acceptable to living it. All pastors still do need to read the Bible for one hour a day at least, and pray for one hour a day at least. Almost 80 % of them do not. At least 50 percent of Church and TV, Internet sermons thus are unbiblical because most pastors do not use or read the Bible itself. Great, big Church pastors even steal their sermons from others as I have witnessed firsthand too. I interviewed personally 45 evangelical pastors in one city, Calgary Alberta, and none of them even used the Bible in their counseling ministry with their members and adherents. We have too many impostors, hirelings in the Ministry, bad persons not directly called by God to minister and that is why they also do cheat, lie, steal, commit adultery, tax evasions and abuse others, slander as well. April 16, 2006 05:24 AM" You might find this more applicable to read. <A href="http://groups.msn.com/CanadaToday4/unholywars.msnw">http://groups.msn.com/CanadaToday4/unholywars.msnw</A> (Mat 21:19 KJV) And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away (Jer 29:28 KJV) For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. What you need to know about the Nation Of Israel today... Jews and Arabs have common ancestry. Both trace back to the Biblical family leader Abraham. Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. Isaac also had two sons, Esau and Jacob Jews today live in nearly every nation on earth as a result of the Babylonian captivity and the Roman expulsion. And there is absolutely not one New Testament verse, justification for "Zionism", the Jews returning to their ancient homeland, the Zionist movement that eventually resulted in the re-establishment of a nation of Israel in 1948. Neither Jesus or any of the Apostles of Jesus had ever promised, or discussed, confirmed the re- establishment of the Nation of Israel. There will be no peace In Israel until the Prince of Peace is accepted by the jews.. (Mat 23:38 KJV) Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. (Hosea 7:13 KJV) Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me. (Jer 2:8 KJV) The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. (Jer 10:21 KJV) For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered. (Jer 22:22 KJV) The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness. The evangelicals liars who quote old testament verses to try to falsely support Israel's land grab are still just liars, for they have no valid direct New Testament basis for it and never will! Both Jews and Palestinians allows. continually do have a right to self existence, to have their own lands, and both they do even have the same, equal human rights now too here on earth today. And yet people try to have us all now take sides .. wrongfully too and why? (Psalm 133:1 KJV) Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (Mat 5:43 KJV) Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; It is God's clear will that these brothers, all of the sons of Abraham, both the Jews and Palestinians do always live together in peace in the same land as well... or anywhere else too and none of that cannot be denied as not being now God's will too I support rightfully today still neither of these groups , especially not their unholy wars or even in their separate Holy wars , promised land claims now too, and I would also ask all to rightfully still that even both sides to show some love, decency, restraints towards each other now too and always. This is not an option. The New Testament Israel, which is clearly identified in the new Testament as the body of Christ, all of the Church, and this Church has no present territorial land ambitions on earth rightfully still... not even in the present, or the near future. Jesus himself clearly said my Kingdom is not of this world... but of the next. Israel as being supposedly the Chosen group today is rather also a clearly distorted emphasis too, for do note this there is not one New Testament verse, by Jesus himself or the Apostles, there are rather many contradictory ones, there are no verses confirming the present restoration of the land of Israel, or Israel's rebuilding of it's temple, or note this also especially a separate means of Salvation for the Jews outside of accepting Jesus Christ as their personal savior individually like everyone else has to as well. Divine sovereignty is the way out of the tangled mess that is the Arab-Israeli conflict, but attempting to bring this about by human means will turn out to be a costly error. Rather than a sincere attempt to acknowledge God as sovereign over all, most of the "players" in the Middle East peace process see this proposal merely as a symbolic gesture to diffuse a potentially explosive situation. God, however, repeatedly declares that the only way to resolve the contention over Jerusalem is the return of Jesus Christ to establish His just rule over it and all the earth: » The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool." The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! . . . The Lord is at Your right hand; he shall execute kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the nations, he shall fill the places with dead bodies, he shall execute the heads of many countries. (<A href="http://bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Bible.show/sVerseID/15788/eVerseID/15789">Psalm 110:1-2</A>, 5-6) » O Zion, you who bring good tidings, get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!" Behold the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. (<A href="http://bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Bible.show/sVerseID/18430/eVerseID/18431">Isaiah 40:9-10</A>) » "Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah: In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. . . ." (<A href="http://bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Bible.show/sVerseID/19790/eVerseID/19792">Jeremiah 33:14-16</A>) » Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. . . The LORD also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but the LORD will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again. (<A href="http://bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Bible.show/sVerseID/22358/eVerseID/22358">Joel 3:14</A>, 16-17) » Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall see disaster no more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: "Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak. The LORD your God is in your midst, the Mighty One, will save. . . ." (<A href="http://bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Bible.show/sVerseID/22835/eVerseID/22838">Zephaniah 3:14-17</A>) » "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. . . . It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem." . . . Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem. . . . Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. . . . Thus the LORD my God will come. . . . And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. . . . The people shall dwell in [Jerusalem]; and no longer shall there be utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. (<A href="http://bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Bible.show/sVerseID/23048/eVerseID/23048">Zechariah 12:2</A>, 9; 14:1-5, 9, 11) see also <A href="http://pkbulow.tripod.com/unholy.htm">http://pkbulow.tripod.com/unholy.htm</A> The citizens' anti wars sentiments clearly have a major effect on politicians, their popularity and their polices. While key Ontario Liberal Jewish community figure Senator Jerry Grafstein says he likes what Stephen Harper is saying about the war in Lebanon a lot more than what he has been hearing from his own party the Conservative PM Stephen Harper is now himself getting back on the Liberal fence.. how ironic.. and Stephen Harper already has now a political reputation of backtracking.. Our PM Harper has now announced Tuesday that he's appointed Wajid Khan the Muslim Liberal MP for Mississauga as his special adviser on South Asia and the Middle East. Harper is trying to get back some of the many lost political supporters ehh.. It should be also clearly noted that six years after he was the Democratic vice presidential nominee, the 3 times Jewish US senator Joseph Lieberman. known to be too close to George Bush. has lost his Democratic Party senatorial nomination to a relative unknown new comer businessman Ned Lamont , an anti war advocate. On Tuesday Joseph Lieberman lost under a tide of voter anger over his support for the war in Iraq and his support of President George W. Bush. Joseph Lieberman is only the fourth incumbent senator to lose a primary since 1980.

I could not help but notice you deliberately using the term Sanhedrin".. so do many others but in an Unchristian different context. 
 
"The Sanhedrin consisted of seventy Pharisees - a ruling elite over the Jewish people. By their twisted "Traditions of the Elders," they turned upside down God's law. Naturally, the Sanhedrin hated Christ. 
 
For publicly preaching the good news of salvation, the Sanhedrin, like the "thought police" of Philadelphia, convinced the Roman government to exact against Christ a wildly disproportionate penalty: death by crucifixion. 
 
After Christ's resurrection, the Book of Acts describes how the Sanhedrin continued to authorize ruthless persecution of the church. Finally in 132 A.D., the Jews were driven from Palestine by the Emperor Hadrian. The Sanhedrin reassembled in Babylon, codifying their twisted traditions into the Babylonian Talmud, the greatest religious authority to observant Jews today. 
 
During the 20th century, a New Sanhedrin emerged, called B'Nai B'Rith. This international Jewish religious, educational, fraternal and charitable organization includes all divisions of modern Jewry under its influence. One out of thirty Jews is a member of B'Nai B'Rith. The Anti-Defamation League of B'Nai B'Rith is the "civil liberties" arm of B'Nai B'Rith. Ostensibly, its mission is to combat anti-semitism. 
 
B'Nai B'Rith: Architect of Hate Laws Worldwide 
 
During the last 50 years, B'Nai B'Rith and the ADL invented "anti-hate" laws. They persuaded most nations of Europe, as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and 48 American states to adopt some version of their model anti-hate law. All B'Nai B'Rith hate laws have one thing in common. They define "hate" as bias against federally protected groups, especially homosexuals. 
 
Because the Bible is outspokenly "biased" against homosexuality, calling it an abomination, the Bible becomes "hate speech" under B'Nai B'Rith's hate laws. Evangelical Christians, adhering to the biblical standard, become "haters" - already half-guilty of being "hate criminals." 
 
It was a band of such Christian "haters" that Lynn Abraham, District Attorney for the City of Philadelphia and member of the National Executive Board of the ADL, had in her sights on the afternoon of Oct. 10, 2004. As a member of ADL's ruling elite, Lynn Abraham knew exactly what the "New Sanhedrin" had in mind: a bold, first step forward in the systematic, legal persecution of Christians. 
 
Lynn Abraham and the ADL doubtless believed that conviction of the Christians would be quick and easy during a national news blackout. Following that, the New Sanhedrin could strike again and again all over the country. Utilizing its state "anti-intimidation" laws, the ADL could pile up indictments and legal precedents so fast that Christians would not be able to resist. Under the massive authority and armed power of the ADL's new federal "anti-hate" law - the "Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2005" - the federal government, under ADL guidance, would outlaw free speech to pastors, pro-lifers, free-speech talk show hosts, etc. America would be locked into a "Big Brother" thought-police state. 
 
That is what Lynn Abraham and the ADL's New Sanhedrin undoubtedly thought they were setting in motion. Yet things didn't turn out that way"" 
 
US Federal "anti-hate" legislation which would lead to an end of free speech has nearly passed five times since 1998. Incredibly, no consistent education against hate laws has been offered by large national Christian/conservative organizations. 
 
"Why does the new right not tell us the whole truth? Omitting the role of ADL/B'nai B'rith as inventors of hate laws is a little like writing a history of aviation and neglecting to mention the Wright brothers. 
 
The truth is, while avowing passionate love for Jews, evangelical leaders are terrified of ADL's legendary ability to defame and ruin their critics. Also, as Christian pro-Zionists, they labor under the false idea that "blessing" Israel and "seeking the peace of Jerusalem" means suppressing dark truths about Israel and her leaders. They fear these truths might stimulate anti-Semitism, incurring God's curse upon them. 
 
In reality, shielding B'nai B'rith from criticism only increases peril for the Jewish people. The anti-Christianity and freedom-stealing hate laws of ADL/B'nai B'rith fuel mounting anti-Jewish sentiment. Protecting ADL/B'nai B'rith from exposure and restraint does not bless the Jewish people. It curses them!" 
 
Although defeated for the fifth time, ADL has vowed it will never give up until it has made America into a hate crimes bureaucracy like Canada, effectively ending free speech. Rev. Ted Pike 
 
<a href="http://www.hatelawsexposed.org/">http://www.hatelawsexposed.org/</a>

>RE:The Evangelical Sanhedrin and Republicanism Promises and Perils by Ron Dart 
>American and Canadian Evangelicals do link warm and affectionate hands to support that republican and conservative way. <a href="http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article.php/20060808140819982">http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article.php/20060808140819982</a> 
 
So is that a sin ? 
 
Mr Ron Dart, I am still really interested to know have you personally had any real firsthand experiences with Evangelical Christians and their church for any prolonged period of time or are you still just a pretentious bookworm, and your knowledge and experiences is third hand, from others.. for that seems to be the way most people, even many Christians approach the Bible.. they really do not know what it says firsthand. 
 
What do you think about Gays? and the Jewish Sanhedrin as well? 
 
 
..

>RE:The Evangelical Sanhedrin and Republicanism Promises and Perils by Ron Dart 
>American and Canadian Evangelicals do link warm and affectionate hands to support that republican and conservative way. <a href="http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article.php/20060808140819982">http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article.php/20060808140819982</a> 
 
So is that now an unacceptable sin ? and who has the right to say so? 
 
Mr. Ron Dart I still am not certain as to what your overall point kin writing this was is for under Canada's Charter of rights and the related freedom of speech and free of religion now as well is now being a Canadian Christian, a Canadian evangelical any more wrong than being gay, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, an evolutionist, or a Liberal? 
 
where was my reply?

GeeZUS! Mary lou
How much bait do you need for your trolling exposition?

---
We have met the enemy and he is us
Pogo
A mind is a fire to be kindled, not a vessel to be filled.
Plutarch

"Mr. Ron Dart in regard to your use of the "Evangelical" Label.. 
 
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. (Prov 15:1 KJV) " Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye." (Luke 6:42 KJV) And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it does not profit me or others. (1 Cor 13:3 KJV) 
 
Too many persons they do even unacceptably learn about being bullies in our Canadian news media.. the adults themselves, not the kids, are the major source for bullying. Just cause any person also does not support gay marriages or even the Unholy wars of the Jews and Palestinians, Muslims is still not justifiable reason now next to bash him by the liberal news reporter, or elsewhere, and we often see this now wrongfully too.. "IN-YOUR FACE" BULLYING BY THE NEWS MEDIA MEMBERS NOW TOO. "The best defense is an offense", OR " whoever shouts the loudest wins" are still not the right or always a valid approach.. and if you personally now can’t find a solution to your defined problem, it’s also still quite possible that you personally, wrongfully haven’t been able to understood the problem in full. Bullying is just another false approach, a Power struggle. The immoral, narrow minded short term approach of forcing other persons out of any discussions, driving out dissenters may to the bullying person seem like a good solution, approach but it is still a violation of their human rights, including their right themselves to be heard and to express, freedom of speech, freedom of religion too, now as well. 
 
"Putting words in other people's mouth, " Distorting" what they have supposedly said, "'making unsubstantiated accusations", or stating "Coalition of idiots", " Coalition of the wise" , "Labeling" and "Name calling" such as the " Religious Christian Conservatives", "Fundamental Christian Conservatives", "Evangelical rights", "Evangelical right" ,"Religious Christian right", " Jesus Land", "Bible belt" " Religious Right" or the " God-fearing gay-haters" now is generally STILL just old fashioned unacceptable "Bullying", really often a false put down of the born gain Christians, all part of the immoral divide and conquer management, political approach too. Name calling and bulling may give temporary stress relief to the users, it seldom brings about any lasting, overall positive changes. Furthermore the person doing the bullying tend to go on to engage in more serious antisocial behaviors as Inflammatory, unrestrained verbal abuses normally leads, encourages real, negative physical abuse of others as well because bullies do want BLIND acceptance to their immoral views even. Verbal Hostility and aggression directed toward a victim who is perceived, described as mentally or emotionally weaker than the bully are more unacceptable acts, signs of bullying . BULLING is commonly defined as intentional, repeated hurtful acts, words or other behavior, such as name-calling, threatening and/or shunning committed by one against another. Clearly a childish approach too. And the adults are supposed to be example to the children and wonder why some of the children do next bully others. Verbal bullying often accompanies the physical behavior and can, does include name calling, spreading lies and exaggerations, distortions, persistent teasing and gossip. Public exposure and prosecution of the guilty persons here too serves everyone's best interest, 
 
ALL BULLIES CLEARLY SHOW THAT THEY PERSONALLY STILL DO HAVE NO LOVE AND CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS, A DISRESPECT FOR THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS, BULLYING IS A SERIOUS MANNER AND SHOULDN'T BE TAKEN LIGHTLY. NAME CALLING IS ALSO A BIG PART OF BULLYING AND IS A FALSE ATTEMPT TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE WHO DO NOT AGREE WITH YOU FEEL LIKE THERE WORTHLESS AND STUPID 
 
News media Alert, if you "insert the word Jew everywhere you've put Christian" how would the others like it? 
" If reporters who write about Christian fundamentalists taking over his party were to "insert the word Jew everywhere you've put Christian, do you think they would let you print it?" he asked. "I doubt it John Reynolds, Conservative MP 
 
Tell our Justice Ministers to Stop being so hypocritical now.. it is clear that targeting even by member of the news media, or politicians now too hatred towards a specific group such as God fearing persons, Evangelical(s), Christians Republicans, by even anyone even in Canada's news media is still an unacceptable immoral act .. so now do something rightfully now about this as well.. even if the clearly abused persons now are Christians and are not gays or Jews or Muslims.. And are the bad Muslims, bad Jews, and bad gays supporters going to try to bully, verbally abuse the others still? then all of these same persons should also be prosecuted then. Even All Canadian Muslims clerics who have propagated hatred towards the infidels should be tried as terrorists too. 
 
"Your say. What must the Liberal Party of Canada do to regain Quebecers’ confidence? What do you think?" Forum rules. The Liberal Party of Canada (Quebec) desires a full exchange of ideas and opinions to be done in a manner that respects all participants irrespective of whatever opinions they express, as well as the fundamental principles that guide us. Before we begin, a set of rules have been established, which we believe favor the respect and integrity of each participant as well as their opinions and positions. It is formally forbidden to express opinions that might indicate prejudice against others. By prejudicial comments, we mean vulgarities, words that degrade others, obscenities, or written attacks that deliberately and maliciously attack individuals or groups. It is also strictly forbidden to discriminate based upon sex, ethnic origin, religion, social status, or sexual orientation. In a case where these rules are not respected, the moderators will be instructed to omit such comments from the forum. The Liberal Party of Canada (Quebec) will not tolerate any harassment of one participant by another, nor is it allowed to repeatedly target another individual with harassing messages. In this regard, The Liberal Party of Canada (Quebec) is utilizing technology that will allow us to take note of the opinions expressed before they are published. We encourage contrary opinions, and healthy exchanges, as long as they are expressed in a respectful manner. The opinions and ideas expressed in the Liberal Party of Canada (Quebec) forum belong to their authors and do not represent those of The Liberal Party of Canada (Quebec). If you feel that you have been the victim of actions that contravene these rules, do not hesitate to communicate with us immediately : [email protected] Thank you for your cooperation. <a href="http://qc.liberal.ca/en/action/question.aspx?ID=1">http://qc.liberal.ca/en/action/question.aspx?ID=1</a> " 
 
I too am still really seriously, rightfully expect, demand of even Canada security Minister, Justice Minister, Revenue Minister, Immigration Minister, Heritage Minister that the existing laws be fairly applied to all Canadians, to all personal, individual, organized, religious, ethnic groups in Canada without worrying about the costs too ( not just to mostly the blacks or natives now too) and that now still includes all private and charitable organizations, incorporation's, groups churches, religious groups, Christian, Jewish and Muslim ones as well, without any false partially, and without dual standards, and that includes any of the professional self regulating societies, civil and public services, medical groups as well. Real, exemplary prosecution and public exposure of the persons doing wrong still best serves everyone's best interest in Canada. Prosecute all of the bullies, abusers, liars, thieves, racial discriminators, criminals, drug users and pushers, tax evaders too now. While the governments save money by not prosecuting the bad guys with their slap on the wrist programs they thus won't cure anyone of anything.. The federal and the provincial Governments themselves are the critical force in reducing racial discrimination by their prosecuting in reality not merely by words, of all of the guilty persons practicing racial discrimination now. 
 
Real Public exposure and prosecution of the guilty persons here too serves everyone's best interest. Jail and firings now too are still some of the best prevention programs now too. " 
 
<a href="http://thenonconformer.blogspot.com/">http://thenonconformer.blogspot.com/</a>

another joy of canada and many other places is having choice NOT to read long
diatribes of imposition of belief.

Pretentious bookworm is right, particularly when you realize that, under all that dense prose, everything he says boils down to...

"If you're not an statist Red Tory Anglican, you suck! And if you're an American or are from Alberta, you doubly suck!"

At least he didn't find a way to work in his hero worship of Robin Mathews in this one.

Actually, I found it an interesting analysis - though a bit on the dense side - of how the evangelical movement was broad-sided by authoritarian wacos. We have to remember that once upon a time, Methodists, Baptists and Presbytarians were the Social Gospel movement, which gave us a lot of populist-progressive social reform, as well as that ultimate Canadian, Tommy Douglas. The sociopathic hate cults which people now equate with "born again" or "fundamentalist/evangelical" certainly have little in common with this early Protestant movement. Christians should stand up and distance themselves from the haters, liars, war-mongers and mammon-worshippers, whose real god it would seem, has a name that begins with an "S" and not a "J".

Your writing style is classic crackpot, if you don't realize it. (Not to mention the content) Maybe you should consider getting some professional help...

Considering that Fuller is also in the forefront of teaching the heresy of Dominionism, their involvement with the nutjobs trying to force the return of Christ at a time most convienient to their schedule as opposed to God Almighty's does NOT surprise me.

These people's motives are about as truly Christian as a 10 kilo bucket of bacon grease is "fat free".

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"and the knowledge they fear is a weapon to be used against them"

"The Weapon" - Rush

"If you're not an statist Red Tory Anglican, you suck! And if you're an American or are from Alberta, you doubly suck!"
and the problem with that is...?

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We have met the enemy and he is us
Pogo
A mind is a fire to be kindled, not a vessel to be filled.
Plutarch

I know you're a statist, but are you a Red Tory or an Anglican?

It's divisive, especially if your American, or Albertan.

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"I think it's important to always carry enough technology to restart civilization, should it be necessary." Mark Tilden