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Dear
Pastor and colleague in ministry,
I
wish you and I could sit down for a coffee at Tim Horton's
and have a long chat. That's not possible, of course,
so please allow me to share with you some alarming news.
There is a good chance you haven't been told that some
of your basic free speech rights are threatened by Bill
C-415 which will soon return to Parliament for third and
final reading. I believe this is one of the most dangerous
bills for Christians to ever come before the House of
Commons.
We
all know that the normalization of homosexuality continues
to make alarming inroads into Canadian society. Gay marriage
is before the courts and could be a reality in two years
or less. But how many of us know that homosexual activists
are trying to use hate speech law to shut down all opposing
views of their lifestyle? Bill C-415 will add the category
of "sexual orientation" to sections 318 and
319 of the Criminal Code. The end result will be to criminalize
most public speech that opposes homosexuality (For more
information see: www.familyaction.org
and www.evangelicalfellowship.ca).
Pastor,
this proposed amendment may well be used against those
who preach the biblical position on homosexuality. Furthermore
it may be illegal to publicly read the portions of the
bible that deal with homosexual behavior. Bruce Clemenger
of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada says, "The
Bible may well be censored and the distribution of Bibles
threatened"(EFC letter, August, 02). Brian Rushfeldt
of Canada Family Action Coalition thinks that within six
months of its passage that some Christians will be charged,
convicted and sentenced to jail. Their ensuing criminal
record will affect their travel and employment for the
rest of their lives.
Please
don't write this off as something political and therefore
not our concern. For is not the preaching of the gospel
and the defining of biblical morality a major part of
our calling under God? And is it not clear to everyone
that homosexuality was a moral and theological issue long
before it became a political one?
I
am not unsympathetic with the demands and burdens of the
pastorate in our day. Nevertheless in the midst of many
pressing duties we must fulfill our role as watchmen"
(Ezekiel 33). For part of our mandate of mercy is to identify
and expose the sin of the culture so that precious people
can repent and turn to God. Can we then, in good conscience,
permit ourselves to be muted by an ungodly law that will
effectively censor the full preaching of the gospel?
You
may be convinced that the end is near and there is nothing
we can do to stop or slow down the spread of evil. Jesus
spoke a parable to some who thought the kingdom of God
would appear immediately (Luke 19:11ff). The main command
given by the nobleman to his servants was this, "Do
business until I come", or as another translation
puts it, "Occupy till I come". Even if the end
is near, we must not abandon any part of the work he has
given us, and that includes being salt and light in this
present moment.
In
Canada right now for whatever reason homosexuality has
become a pivotal issue for the church. How will we pastors
respond to the challenge? Some shepherds, to be sure,
in the name of prophetic ministry have crossed the line
and become overly aggressive and unnecessarily offensive.
But, as John Piper eloquently says, " For every
sick shepherd who offends unnecessarily, a hundred are
so frightened to offend that the sword of the Spirit has
become rubber in their mouths and the mighty biblical
mingling of severity and kindness has vanished from their
ministry" (Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, p.xii).
Let's all be clear that every biblical message on the
theme should start and end with love for the homosexual,
and God's offer of grace and reconciliation should be
graciously presented.
Pastor
I don't ask you to stand with a sign and demonstrate.
But I do urge you for the sake of the gospel and for freedom
to stand up and lead. Since most Canadians know nothing
about this bill I ask you first of all to inform your
people so they can actively resist this attack on the
gospel. Secondly, I ask you to preach and teach on the
biblical view of homosexuality while you still have that
freedom. Thirdly, I ask you to encourage your people to
write or telephone your local Member of Parliament to
demand that Bill C-415 be defeated since it is an attack
on freedom of religious speech in Canada. Finally, the
Prime Minister (pm@pm.gc.ca)
and the Minister of Justice, Martin Cauchon, (cauchm@parl.gc.ca)
should both be contacted.
In
the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Frodo laments that the
dark Lord is growing in power. He says, "I wish it
need not have happened in my time'. And Gandalf responds,
"So do I, and so do all who live to see such times.
But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide
is what to do with the time given us" (Book I, p.
78).
My
fellow pastors, in the time allotted to us-for the sake
of the gospel, and for the sake of freedom for all Canadians,
let us stand and lead. It is High Noon for the church
in Canada. And if I can use imagery from that movie with
the same title, a threat is barreling down the track towards
us. Years from now our own grandchildren may ask us, "Where
were you when they tried to muzzle the church in Canada?"
May history be kind to us. If we are remembered at all,
let us be remembered as faithful, unmuted, God-honoring,
church-protecting, grace-proclaiming, sin-exposing Watchmen
who by the power of God stood up to tyranny and backed
it down.
For the sake of the Name,
Rev.
Royal M. Hamel
Royal
Hamel served 23 years with the Christian and Missionary
Alliance Church in Canada, Argentina, and Mexico. At present
he works in pro-life, pro-family advocacy.
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