It’s been great connecting with you and getting to know you over the past few months. For those who don’t know who you are, can you share with me a bit about who you are and what your passions are in life?
Thank you David. It has been a great pleasure getting to know you and your family over the last few months. One of the good things that have come out of this overreach of our current government. My name is Glen, I have been married to my lovely wife Emily since 2008, and we have three great little ones. I was born in Digby county, and at the young age of 7, God revealed my lost estate before Him. I am thankful that my cry to Him was answered, and at a young age, I realized that Christ’s death was for me. I’m thankful for my growth in understanding His word even more since then and His continual correcting me when I’m wrong on an issue. My passion in life is my faith and family. I also enjoy the outdoors, and the deep wood is often the best place to talk to God. Fishing, hunting and the bushcraft lifestyle are passions that consume some of my time all months of the year. We’ve chatted about a variety of subjects, but one subject that has intrigued me is the topic of government. Personally, I believe that the Bible touches on all areas of life, including politics. How does and should the scriptures inform us on government? I agree. The Bible does touch on all areas of our life, and as Christians, it should be our first place to go to understand what is happening around us and how to respond to it. Something I have learned, and revisit it with every new thing that arises in life, is that we need to understand something by allowing scripture to explain it to us. Too quick do we look at politics and then allow the political ideologies to interpret what Christ says on a topic. It’s important to remember that we must allow scripture to interpret scripture and then apply it to our lives. This should include our views on the role of government and how we treat each other. In past conversations, we have discussed various forms of government. One form that you advocate for is Voluntaryism. Can you explain what that is and what motivated you to embrace this form of government? I wasn’t aware of what Voluntaryism even was until a few years ago. The discovery of Voluntaryism arose after trying to properly understand my role in life when it comes to participating in political events and political parties. What really started the journey was a quote I heard by a provincial professed Christian NDP leader a few years ago. He commented that he ran for the NDP, and that he agrees with the NDP platform, because he sees so much of it in scripture in places such as Acts where they sold what they had and gave to others to help (Acts 2:45) and Hebrews 13:16, where it tells us to share what we have. This sparked my interest. I bought into it until I actually read what my Bible says and realized how scripture doesn’t at all say what he said. Political parties believe they can raise taxes and introduce regulations as they see fit and proclaim that they are doing it in the name of the interest of the people and for the safety of the people. They can proclaim this if they wish, but they can’t use scripture to defend this. Every passage we find that tells us to help others is talking about the individual Christian or the church, not the government. I could go deeper into this part of the discussion, but this was the beginning of my journey towards Voluntaryism. Two main principles of Voluntaryism is Self Ownership (… “the natural right of a person to have bodily integrity and be the exclusive controller of one’s own body and life”) and Non –Aggression (…aggression, defined as initiating or threatening any forceful interference with either an individual or their property, is inherently wrong.”) A man named Auberon Herbert, who lived from 1838 to 1906, is attributed with coming up with the term Voluntaryism. He was a significant proponent for a voluntary-funded government that was only in place to defend individual liberty and property. You see this in scripture in places such as Romans 13:1-7, where our rulers are not to be terror to good conduct but to bad and who carry out. They are those who are supposed to carry out God’s wrath on wrongdoers. Or in 1 Peter 3:13-17, where we can read, “governors sent by Him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.” Governments are not meant to be there to provide social programs and help people with food and bills. Throughout the New Testament, that was the responsibility of the individuals who make up the church. Another group who were originators of the voluntaryist ideology was a group who, while they had many faults (who doesn’t) called themselves the Levellers and existed around the 1650s. They preached ideas of equality, religious tolerance, suffrage and sovereignty. They debated topics such as forced tithing in the church as unscriptural, amongst other things. Voluntaryism, to me, is the idea that every action, whether with another person or with the governing body over the land, should be done on a voluntary basis. No one should be forced to do anything. Indeed we are told to pay our taxes in scripture. In Romans 13 again, you see that taxes were meant to pay for the defence that was being given by the government. In the political structure we are under today, though, you see our taxes being used for many sins that God spoke against. It is God’s responsibility, not ours, to hold our governments accountable for their misuse of money they demand from us. A Voluntary society would see our money only go towards programs we wished to fund. For example, if we wanted a police force, we could either volunteer funds towards a paid force, or we could operate a police force on a similar basis as our Volunteer Fire departments. Our Fire departments are often as well trained and equipped as paid departments. Our policing forces could operate the same way. Complete freedom without rulership typically leads to anarchy. We see this warning in the Bible, for instance, in Judges 21:25, “In those days there was no king [governing authority] in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” For Voluntaryism to work, what types of checks-and-balances would have to be established to avoid this pitfall? Voluntaryism doesn’t preach against a government in the same way most anarchists would. While a voluntaryist may see the need for a government, what we don’t see the need for is mandated programs. Programs put forth by the government that go beyond the defence of the innocent in their nation. Where the overreach of government happens, the lack of creativity also exists in the individual. Like everything in life, nothing works properly without Christ being at the forefront of it. This is why many of us who hold to Voluntaryism stick the term Christian in front of it. We use the Bible as our guide on checks and balances. But in a secular Voluntaryist society (as well as a Christian one) you would see private enterprise and the free market arise and thrive. This would lead to a number of checks and balances. Insurance companies would suddenly have their own checks and balances in place and their own inspectors. The more trustworthy and reputable insurance companies eventually would see their business grow. They would offer programs that provided oversight regarding homeownership, business ownership etc. You would also have community programs pop up to help with other things. A good example of Voluntaryist setups in our current system are things such as soup kitchens, search and rescue teams and many fire departments. They are completely run by volunteers and do very well in most areas recruiting willing participants eager to train and learn skills to help their neighbours. In relation to Judges 21:25 though, you see a look at how God felt about governments that ruled over us in 1 Samuel chapter 8. A very interesting read. God’s human government up to this point was often a person chosen by God to act as a judge before the people. By the time 1 Samuel arrived, the Jewish people wanted a king like that of other nations around them. A reading of the chapter will tell you what God thought of such an action. Everything we do ought to be in obedience to God’s Word. What do you think is God’s design for government? To answer this, I would point folks to the first seven verses of Romans 13. A government or authority figure should only be in place to be a terror to wicked things. So a punisher of those who do wicked things. Note also that these folks should be paid tribute to perform their duty. So what we would like to call a tax for a service the government is providing. Some would compare it to the role of national security - keeping the nation safe from evildoers looking to harm its citizens. Many Canadians are convinced that the role of government is to take care of our personal safety. What are your thoughts about that? This would depend on what you mean by our personal safety. While you do see in Romans 13 that there seems to be a role for government to protect the innocent from wrong doers, this doesn’t extend to the well being of individuals when it comes to work, health and overall well being. This is the responsibility of the home structure, the church and the community around us. One will be hard-pressed to find where scripture tells us governments are supposed to take care of their citizen's health, welfare or overall well-being. You see over and over again where the church, which is God’s people, is responsible for taking care of the weak - a duty we are not to give over to the government body (Galatians 6:2; 1 John 3:17; Romans 15:1; James 5:14-16.). “I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35 As we come to the end of the interview, I'd like to close by asking one final question. How does Voluntaryism reflect what you know about God? This is an excellent question to end this interview on. From the beginning of the Bible until the end, you see God behaving in this Voluntaryist style with His people and all of creation. You see this in Genesis when He provided a warning to Adam and Eve to not eat the forbidden fruit, but it was left to their decision to obey or not obey. In a number of places in scripture, we can read where we have options, and often those options are followed up with the consequences of the action we chose. For every action has a consequence to that action. For example, if you decide to keep summer tires on your vehicle in the middle of an ice storm, you’ll soon experience the consequence of this action. You see this throughout scripture. Think of Proverbs 13:20 when it says: “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Or when Joshua could say in chapter 24, “Chose this day whom you will serve….” Again, we can see this idea in 1 Corinthians 10:34 when Paul could say: “All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up.” At the beginning of Acts, you saw the act of many followers of Jesus selling what they had to help others. You then have Ananias in Acts 5. At the beginning of this chapter, Peter tells us that Ananias and his wife had the freedom to do as they wished with this land. They could have kept it. They also could have kept some of the money for themselves. Instead, they chose to lie and deal with the consequences. The point of this is that the Voluntary action of humans is something not discouraged by God, but then we must remember that He is God. The King of kings and Lord of lords, and there will be consequences to the actions we make before Him. Then finally, the words that have echoed throughout time since Christ could say them. That wonderful invitation: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)
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Today I want to chat with you about two topics - liberty and democracy. You are a proponent of libertarianism, which in my estimation seems to blend these two things together. What is libertarianism and how does it relate to democracy?
Thanks, David. Although not impossible, libertarianism and democracy rarely walk hand in hand, but let me first speak to libertarianism, as most know very little about it. Libertarianism holds that proper use of force is only justifiable in defence or retaliation, typically regarding individual property, including one’s body. Not because the value of property outweighs the individual, but because individuals contribute to and partly ensure their well-being by protecting their property. This seems straightforward enough, but sadly, society doesn’t reflect this thanks to increasing government size and coercion to enforce endless laws. It’s also important to note that “libertarianism” is an umbrella term that houses several different sub-philosophies regarding the legitimacy and scope of government – something I might be hard-pressed to elaborate on given this format. Moreover, some confuse the term with libertinism, akin to nihilism, an entirely self-serving existence free of any moral absolutes. This is not libertarianism. As for democracy, it’s merely a system of governance. Therefore, it’s possible to democratically elect leaders to govern by libertarian principles, but it has rarely transpired and is not required. The system of monarchy, for example, could be just as effective. Although un-elected, a ruler holding libertarian values could choose to respect each subject’s right to life, liberty and property. I’m not holding one system above another, just clarifying that it’s the respect for private property, proper usage of force, and little else, which grease libertarianism’s wheels. How would voting and government look in a truly libertarian country? This question brings us back to the differing philosophies I just mentioned. The method of governance and how society arrives there isn’t the issue; it’s whether or not elected, or un-elected authorities choose to respect individual property rights and how they engage in the use of force. Libertarian principles seemingly flourish best under the banners of classical liberalism, minarchism (or the night-watchman state) and anarchy. Anarchy is a highly charged word that conjures up much negative imagery but reduced means a voluntary society, absent of a state. Christians often struggle with this concept based on their understanding of human depravity, making it difficult to imagine a world strictly built on social trust and cooperation. Under anarchy, the free market provides all goods and services. Minarchism, a minor form of government, creates a state authority that offers policing, national defence and the courts to protect both individual property and the threat of foreign invasion: that’s it. Classical Liberalism goes one step further by including the provision of roads and fire services. But as the list of services grows, so does the size of government, burden of taxation and the state’s ability to coerce. In a libertarian society, personal responsibility and voluntary cooperation between individuals are a requirement for individual and collective flourishing. There is no redistributed wealth to fund social programs, little to no government services and, as a result, next to no taxation. Individuals, communities and enterprises are incentivized to become charitable in thought and deed to promote economic growth and ensure lasting peace. Governments are drastically reduced, and their opportunities to infringe on our lives significantly diminish. Liberty is a truly Christian principle. Can you share with me how libertarianism seeks to protect liberty? By seeking to protect every individual’s right to life, liberty and property via the most minimal form of government. The protection of life implies protection from bodily harm, and although some libertarians view it differently, many extend that right to the unborn. The right to liberty can also be expressed as the freedom to use our faculties. Faculties represent our skills and ability to make a living. This includes the freedom to move about and relocate if required. This is another point of tension within libertarian theory as some advocate completely open borders, while others advocate the right to refuse entry: an extension of property rights. Political ideas rarely bring people into a total agreement, which is also true of libertarianism. Lastly, the protection of property. This includes land, dwellings, and personal belongings–everything enabling us to grow in wealth and security while incentivizing free people to work hard as they reap the benefits from their labour. Libertarianism’s building blocks mirror countless scriptures. Verses speaking to the sanctity of life, loving one’s neighbour, the legitimacy of private property, and the requirement for personal responsibility and hard work, consequences of the garden event. Other political philosophies expand far beyond these arcs and trample our liberties in the process. A government professing to give us rights makes an illegitimate claim: fundamental rights are ours, to begin with. To act legitimately, and this is where some debate exists, the government merely exists to protect our freedoms. You have been writing about liberty and libertarianism over the last few years. What led you to first write about this topic? After holding politically conservative aligned views for many years, I experienced a philosophic change. While vacationing during the summer of 2018, I began reading the book “Called to Freedom,” which explores the intersection of Christian faith and political freedom. Before this, I had been one of the many Christians solely using Romans 13 to direct my political thinking. The second chapter of the book, written by Jason Hughey, completely dismantled my previous understanding of the relationship between church and state. As I read, I slowly began to lose my long-standing party affiliation, effectively leaving me politically homeless. A short time later, convinced that libertarianism represents the closest expression of Christian political thought, I began a blog, partly to organize my thoughts, grow, and spread the word about a primarily unknown political ideology. As you write, how does your knowledge of God influence or govern the way you understand the topic? Being made in the image of God, and sharing specific attributes with Him, demonstrates the importance of every individual. The government aims to protect minorities; however, they govern at the expense of the smallest minority: individuals themselves. It’s not selfish to desire personal liberty when that desire extends to include others. Unless someone behaves in a way that threatens life or property, I think they should be left alone to the extent that it's possible. I don't have to agree with their personal choices, but beyond me witnessing to them, that's ultimately between them and God. Government laws and their use of force extend far beyond the biblical mandate of punishing those who do evil. Suppose Jesus' ministry had taken place today. I'm sure He would have plenty to say about the levels of government coercion now present in many areas of our lives: the church included. It’s a vast overreach. Human beings will always look to forms of governance, so governments aren't likely to disappear. But a morally superior model might be establishing covenant communities and promoting voluntary interactions to safeguard personal and community welfare. This better respects the sanctity of every individual, allowing them to enact their God-given free will as they make personal choices. As we come to an end of the interview, from what you have seen and experienced in Canada how has democracy been corrupted and how can we as citizens protect liberty? We don't live in a liberal democracy. Democracy in this country only occurs on the days we head to the polls. Many will deem that a radical view, so let me unfurl it. The system itself doesn't function democratically. Members of Parliament (MP) are supposed to represent their constituents. Still, once they get to Ottawa, the Canadian political party system runs so that MPs merely toe their party line. They don't vote by their constituents will. If they vote against their party, their party whip (an actual position) disciplines them. If the MP feels compelled to un-align themselves with a particular party view, the MP is instructed to take a "long lunch" and abstain from the vote not to hurt their party's chances of carrying it. There is very little room to vote with conscience or represent your constituents' views. This is undemocratic and smells of oligarchy. Moreover, there is nothing "liberal" about our main federal parties. The word liberal comes from "liberalism," which has been steadily declining in the west for decades. Many think of the Liberal Party of Canada when they see or hear the word liberal, but the two are nothing alike. Federally speaking, the closest thing we have to Classic Liberalism in this country is the People's Party of Canada, although they also roll in aspects of Conservatism. Note - this is not an endorsement; I'm merely speaking to ideological differences. All of this to say, we have severe issues in this country. Sadly, if you’re a proponent of free speech, free markets, and individual property rights, including bodily integrity, things haven’t looked too good for some time. As for what we can do, great question. After many years of being highly political, I find myself in a different place these days. I’m abiding in Jesus more than ever, trying to develop more freedom in my life through personal choices and focusing heavily on educating our homeschooled children. It may take a generation or two before things get better, if at all. I’m not sure the global battle can be won, but that won’t deter me from teaching my children to stand on principle and God’s word, love their neighbour, and hopefully one day, we will all hear the words, “well done, good and faithful servant.” Who are you, where are you from, and what are your passions in life?
My name is Joshua. I am 31 years old, and I was born in Vancouver, BC, to a North African Father and Mennonite-Scottish Canadian Mother. I am a good old-fashioned Canadian “melting pot.” I moved to the Okanagan Valley of BC with my mom as a toddler and grew up here and mostly lived here from then on. I have also lived for short times in Ontario (GTA), Mexico, Scotland, and South America. My first and foremost passion in life is worshiping, exalting, and proclaiming the Holy name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who sovereignly rescued me while I was dead in my sins. After Him comes my beautiful and strong wife, Chantelle. We have been married since 2013. We have our 4-year-old daughter, Abigail, and our 3-year-old son, Jesse. I have a burning passion for loving my wife and children Biblically as I lead my family in submission to Christ and His Word. My other main points of interest are riding my motorcycle in the beautiful mountains of BC, hiking, swimming, playing baseball, snowboarding, and travelling. I have been blessed to have been able to travel to 40 countries so far in life, 36 of which were with my wife. You have gone through some suffering in your life related to injuries. Can you share with my readers a bit about that? I have always been into sports and exercise, but at the age of 19, I began to really get into weightlifting. It made me feel good mentally and physically. I continued to become more dedicated to it as I entered my 20’s. By the age of 25, it had become an obsession, or better said, I had become my obsession. I was very strong for my size and had built an attractive physique. My pride began to swell more and more until it was all that drove me. “Never big enough, never strong enough.” That was the theme of my thoughts. What had started as something good, as physical exercise in and of itself is not bad (1 Tim 4:8), had consumed my every waking thought and motivation. I was idolizing my physical prowess over others, and it felt VERY good. I would appear humble as others would praise my strength and looks, but inside it was feeding the fire with gasoline, so to speak. All this culminated to the point of hours a day spent in the gym, six days a week, worshiping. I pushed my limits as hard as I could, and I felt completely invincible doing so. One day, however, as I was at the end of my daily ritual at the gym in the oil sands camp I was working at in Northern Alberta, God’s sovereign plan was at work. As I was performing my last exercise of the day on the decline bench press, I felt and heard a loud pop from the area of my right shoulder. My arm quickly gave out, and I dropped the weight on the floor, knowing something bad had happened. I tried to play it off as no big deal, but I was in denial. Something major had happened. Somewhere around that time, I injured my back quite badly, to the point I could not do physical labour anymore or go to the gym. The Holy Spirit broke me and convicted me of my wicked pride and self-worship, but I wanted nothing to do with it. I became bitter, angry, entitled, and hard-hearted. This all stemmed from the false view of God I held at the time. I thought that He owed me. I threw my heart at other idols and became involved in folly and grievous sin to the point of almost losing my marriage and my family. All of this was my doing. Thank God that this is not how the story ends. Suffering of any kind is something that many try to avoid. Yet we are told that maturity comes through suffering well. How have you grown in your faith as a result? To say that I have grown in my faith as a result of physical suffering, which I still endure daily, by the way, would be a true statement indeed. However, it only begins to encompass the incredible work that the Holy Spirit has done in my heart and my mind as only He can do. I gave God every reason to leave me to my own devices and abandon me to my sin and eventual death because of it. But in His mercy and grace, He worked through my sin and wickedness to break me not just physically but spiritually as well. Through all this, God got ahold of me. I mean He really got ahold of me. To the point where I questioned everything, not about His existence, just like the demons I always believed He was real, but about my own life, my own salvation, my own future. Something my pastor said in the past has always stuck with me; “It doesn’t matter exactly when you started breathing, but that you are breathing now.” Whether I was actually saved before or not is beside the point but believe me when I say it was a major turning point. The seeker-sensitive emotionalism I had grown up in was no longer attractive. I was sick of milk, and I was craving something that would sustain me. All of a sudden, all I wanted to do was be obedient to Christ. Only a true work of the Holy Spirit revives a heart that is dead in sin (Eph 2, Ezekiel 37). In what way has your pastor and fellow Christians discipled you through your time of suffering? What did you find helpful? I can not say enough about my pastor and the small group of true brothers God has placed in my life. They had done nothing less than stand on the supremacy and sufficiency of Scripture (2 Tim 3:16-17), even when I did not, as they humbly gave of their time to pour into me the truth of God’s Word. About my pastor, specifically, words can not describe how grateful I am for him. He is a true disciple-maker and faithful servant of the Lord. As I look back on the past couple of years since meeting him and then joining the local church he pastors, I can not help but have tears well up. I have never had someone lead me in submission to the Word with such fire and passion, and truly cherish my heart as he does. I am forever grateful to God for Pastor Jordan. If I had to make the point form version to answer your question, the most helpful thing was bold men who pointed me to the Word, explaining and teaching while not spewing their own opinions, but standing on what God has clearly spoken through the Holy Scriptures and exhorting me to learn, believe, and submit to God’s perfect commands. A true work of the Holy Spirit through faithful men where Soli Deo Gloria is the only thing these men are concerned with. When we chatted last, you had mentioned that you hadn’t always had a sound view of suffering. Can you share with me how a poor theology of suffering impacts how people deal with it? I did not just have a terrible view of suffering. My self-entitled view on suffering I mentioned earlier was a symptom of a much deeper problem, an incorrect and unbiblical view of God. I thought that because I was smart enough to realize God was real, somehow He owed me something. I grew up being told essentially that “Jesus died for you cause you’re awesome and He needs you to be with Him.” Like it was me doing Him a favour by gracing Him with my presence. Now try and find that in the Bible! Some of the teaching I grew up in also taught that if you’re suffering in whatever way it may be, that means that you don’t have enough faith - because, of course, God “always wants to heal you.” Passages like Isaiah 53, which speak of healing from the deadly disease of sin, were twisted to mean that because of Jesus’s “stripes,” there is no reason why He wouldn’t heal you right here right now, every time. That is simply not the case (2 Tim 4:20, 2 Cor 12:7-9, 1 Tim 5:23), and it is a dangerous and false doctrine that hurts people who are in the midst of suffering. A quick look into Church history sees all the Apostles, apart from John, executed for their proclamation of Jesus Messiah, Christians sent to the coliseum to be torn apart by wild beasts for the sake of entertainment, Nero lighting Christians on fire as lamps, Reformers and Puritans being hunted down and executed by their governments. I could go on. Scripture and Church history tell a story of suffering for Christ that is antithetical to a lot of the mainstream teaching we have in the west. Philippians 4:13 has to be one of the most common verses that are taken out of context that I have seen. When Paul stated, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” he was not talking about “claiming his healing”; he was speaking of being content in all circumstances no matter what, which is clearly indicated by the context given in the preceding verses. Sin! Sin is what Jesus’ stripes ultimately heal. So whether we live our lives in perfect health or not, our ultimate purpose is to bring glory to the name of Jesus through our suffering. And to teach or believe that suffering and illness should not come our way if we are Christians is to grossly ignore what the Bible says. (John 16:33, 1 Peter 4:12, 1 John 3:13). Jesus, Himself said that anyone who wants to follow Him has to deny themselves and take up their cross daily (Matt 16:24). The cross is indeed a place of healing and victory, but not in the sense that we hear and see twisted in our evangelical culture. If we are in Christ, we have assured victory and everlasting healing because Jesus agreed to save us by being crushed under the full wrath of the Father! (John 10:17-18). As he drank every single drop of that cup and finally exclaimed, “It is finished,” our true healing was secured. We are healed from the death we deserve and ultimate poison of sin through the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, who accomplished what we never could, a life perfectly submitted to the Father’s will, without sin of any kind. So if you are in Christ, then no matter what happens to you on this side of eternity, you will be with Him in eternal life with no death, mourning, or pain! (Rev 21:4). That is true biblical healing! That’s Isaiah 53! Today many churches are willing to close and stop ministering to people in person because of the possibility of sickness. What does this indicate about the state of the church? Where is “God always wants to heal” now? I think we have seen the true colours of the lack of sound doctrine and theology in the majority of Churches in this country - forsaking the biblical to command to gather (Heb 10:25), giving lacklustre and weak exegetes of Romans 13, and wanting to look “nice” instead of standing for biblical truth and against blatant lies and tyrannical control being shoved down our throats by a demonic self-worshiping government. The church, for the majority, does seem to be in a sad state in this country, BUT, our Lord Himself said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt 16:18, emphasis added). The true church will flourish. Why? Because Jesus said so. As we come to the end of the interview, I want to focus on those who may be suffering today because of injury and sickness. What would you say to encourage them on their path to finding help? If you are in Christ and you are reading this, and you are suffering in any way at all, which I am sure you are (if not at this moment in time, just wait), God has not abandoned you. It is not due to your lack of faith (2 Tim 2:13). He humbled Himself and came to earth to live as a man, and He suffered immensely. He knows what it is like to suffer (Is 53:3). He loves you, and He died for you specifically (Eph 1). He was rejected and crushed, so you do not have to be, even though you deserve it. Your healing is secure, and even if you spend the rest of your life in pain, it will be but a blip on the radar in the face of eternity in the presence of the all-sufficient Son of God. Suffer well (1 Peter 3:17, James 1:2-4) and bring glory to the name above all names, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I will end with this, “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” - Romans 5:3-5 You have been blogging for 5 years and have been featured by a number of many ministries. What motivated you to start this ministry?
I actually developed an interest in blogging 13 years ago. I wrote a series of articles on Facebook Notes explaining why I left the prosperity gospel movement. The articles attracted attention from Christians all over the world. That helped me understand how impactful and helpful blogging can be. But it wasn’t till 6 years later in 2015—during the original Black Lives Matter riots in Fergusson, Missouri— that I created my blog. Just like I did with the prosperity gospel movement, I created SlowToWrite so I could explain why I reject the Black Lives Matter movement. Recently you have written a curriculum about the dangers of CRT. I want to focus on that, but before we dig into it, can you share a brief summary of what CRT is for those who may not be aware? The curriculum hasn’t been released yet. It will be released in a few months, Lord willing. Critical race theory is essentially a race-centric version of Marxism and post-modernism. Critical race theory suggests the essential conflict in society is racism. It suggests white people (and Western nations) oppress non-white people, especially black people. And the only possible way to limit or end that oppression is to change our legal system and cultures into an “anti-racist” system that would discriminate against white people in order to create “equity” (or equality of outcome) for non-white and especially black people. What are some practical ways we see the influence of CRT here in Canada? There are many examples. The most obvious is Canada’s relationship with its Indigenous people. Justin Trudeau has repeatedly said: “no relationship is more important to Canada than the relationship with Indigenous Peoples.” The Canadian government is committed to prioritizing Indigenous people at the expense of all Canadians, including Indigenous people. The federal government’s Black Entrepreneurship Program is also another example. The program promises up to 265 million dollars in investments for only black entrepreneurs in an attempt to produce “equity” for black Canadians. And last year, Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation in Halton Region changed their rules so that non-white union members would have their votes weighted more than white members. And then, of course, Ambrose University—a supposedly Christian school in Calgary—denounced me in a public letter last year for rejecting the concept of systemic racism in a talk about racism for black history month. From what you have learnt, what are the dangers that CRT poses and who is most vulnerable to its agenda? Though critical race theorists call themselves “antiracists”, they’re actually just anti-white racists. That’s one of the dangers of critical race theory. It’s fundamentally racist against white people. As Ibram Kendi says in How To Be Antiracist, racial discrimination against white people is good if it creates “equity”. But critical race theory isn’t just racist against white people, it’s racist against all people, including non-white and especially, black people. By categorizing all black people as members of an oppressed group, critical race theory promotes the soft bigotry of low expectations for black people. Another danger of critical race theory is its opposition to, as one of its founders—Richard Delgado—says “the very foundations of the liberal order, including equality theory, legal reasoning, Enlightenment rationalism, and neutral principles of constitutional law.” By labelling everyone who disagree with them as racists, everyone is vulnerable to its agenda if they’re not ready to be called racists for rejecting their ideology. I'm a young father and am concerned about the world that my daughter is growing up in. How can we best prepare her when she encounters CRT? Our public education systems from kindergarten to universities have completely embraced critical race theory. So I encourage parents to consider alternative forms of education for their children. Other than that, parents should teach their children what the Bible says about race, ethnicity, racism/partiality, and justice. Our ignorance on what the Bible teaches on these things is why so many Christians—especially young Christians—have embraced critical race theory. Public school has become an indoctrination center, and many parents have opted to homeschool their children instead. From your own perspective, do you think that there should be a different approach to preparing our children based on whether we have decided to homeschool them or enroll them in public school. If so, what approach should be taken? I wouldn’t encourage a parent to send their children to public school. As you said, they have become indoctrination centres for critical race theory and other anti-Christ ideologies. Homeschooling is the best option. However, some single-mothers—like my own mother when I was a boy—may not have any other option. For those parents, I encourage them to participate in the parent-teacher meeting and school board meetings. I also encourage them to examine the public school’s curriculum and assignments. That way, when they discover harmful teachings from the school—they could inform their children about the unbiblical or unhelpful nature of curriculum. As we come to an end of this interview I'd like to ask one final question, how do we as Christians fight against CRT and bring clarity and hope to our world? We should simply teach what the Bible says. Knowing that as 2 Timothy 3:16-17 suggests, the Bible is sufficient in making Christians complete and equipped for every good work—including every good work against critical race theory. The Bible is sufficient, and it’s words are wiser than our own. So we should simply repeat what it says. Tell me a bit about yourself and where you are from.
My name is Jeff Schoneveld. I am from Digby, Nova Scotia and live on a small blueberry hobby farm with my wife and two small children. I have been a professional long-haul transport driver for 12 years now, running Canada/US. My father and brothers are drivers as well. You are part of the "Convoy for Freedom". Not surprisingly our Prime Minister and the media has been trying to smear what's happening. Can you share from your perspective why they are actively doing this? I believe the reason Trudeau is trying to smear us is for one - he is so disconnected from Canadians and their true feelings. They do not listen unless it is their narrative and their way only. Any other way is hateful and racist, they would claim. They seem to be on an agenda that has their own best interests in place and not Canadians. What goal are you hoping to achieve by going to Ottawa to protest? My original goal to do this convoy protests changed from day one! It was for truck drivers losing their US runs and lanes. Some losing everything. But the morning of our departure from Barrington, which was at 3 am, people started showing up at 2:20 am! So I jumped out of the sleeper in the truck and got dressed. As soon as I opened my door, the money, food, and most importantly, the peoples' stories started about how we were their hero's! Some had lost jobs, lost family, lost their right to love freely. I almost broke down a couple of times, and I'll tell you I'm not an emotional person. It just continued from there for the rest of the trip. So the convoy and protests became about all the people that were, and had, suffered in so many ways I could easily write a book about!! We became their voice. I don't want to take too much time away from your travels. So one final question. How does your faith impact this decision that you have made to join the protest? My faith impacts every decision my family and I ever make, so this one was no different. We prayed about it and consoled with many godly friends and family and was hearing the same thing - go, go, go! So how could I not go! And the prayers have been so powerful through this trip. And I believe very strongly we are on the right side of history!! We know what happens. In the end, God always wins :) Tell me a bit about yourself and where you are from.
My name is Jody Newell. I live on the south shore of NS. I was raised around the Trucking industry and currently run a Trucking business started by my Dad (Harold Newell and Son Trucking Ltd). I am married to a beautiful woman named Jennifer, and together we have 7 children You are part of the "Convoy for Freedom". Not surprisingly our Prime Minister and the media has been trying to smear what's happening. Can you share from your perspective why they are actively doing this? Yes, it is very evident that the Prime Minister and his followers are actively trying to smear what's happening, as you put it. I'm not sure what Trudeau's agenda is. Your guess is as good as mine. One thing is certain he is not open-minded at all, and he seems to be suffering from some type of cognitive dissonance. If anything has happened in the last 2 years that made sense it wasn't related to Covid 19 and the "pandemic". If he is trying to ruin the country, he is sure heading it in the right direction. What goal are you hoping to achieve by going to Ottawa to protest? The final straw was when he pulled the rug out from us in the Trucking industry by blocking us from border crossing without this "vaccine," if we can even call it that. Trudeau's agenda certainly isn't looking out for the health of Canadians. He isn't promoting a healthy lifestyle or vitamins or proper diet. He is pushing a lab-made drug that isn't working. For that reason, I refuse to be vaccinated. My company was left with 20% of our drivers vaccinated, so I have a bit of meat in the game. I could lose 40% or more of my business because we will not be able to cross the border. Currently, we are brokering out loads and are struggling to get them picked up and when we do, they are usually late. The driver pool is already limited with a shortage of drivers and this just makes it worse. I decided not to strong-arm any employees into taking an experimental drug. I was always told to just say no to harmful drugs, and so I could not in good conscience ask anyone to do something I wouldn't do. I always send my drivers on the road and assure them I would not ask them to do anything that I wouldn't do. Therefore I would not ask them to do this either. Too many people have lost their livelihood because of Trudeaus dictatorship mandate, including health care workers. This is not fair especially since we went from hero to zero in a really short time. I mean, just imagine your going to fire health care workers during a pandemic, let that sink in. On the subject of health, my wife has needed an operation for 2 years and has been consistently denied because surgeons were paid to stay home and not perform surgeries during this "pandemic " The doctors now want us to buy drugs that could cost $6-700 per month that will only band-aid the problem at best. I want to see lots of changes in this country. The mandates lifted is just the beginning. I don't want to take too much time away from your travels. So one final question. How does your faith impact this decision that you have made to join the protest? How has my faith been impacted? Overall I'm disappointed in the church. Being on this journey, I've seen a lot of love and unity. I've seen people lend a hand and support for each other. I've seen a lot of positive things. I've heard stories of hope. For too long, this agenda of fear has been pushed, but now people have been given hope. We certainly have seen hope for people who had lost all hope. We have seen people crying and brokenness and we were able to give them hope. To be honest, a lot of hope I have seen from many Christians was counterfeit hope. It was hope with no feet. It was going nowhere, but in this convoy, I have seen renewed hope. I just hope the truckers can add to all this perseverance. I believe that this battle will really be won on our knees. When we humble ourselves and pray, we can see a difference. Scripture says the King's heart is in the hand of the Lord. Christians need to pray because God is sovereign, and just like he hardened Pharaoh's heart until he never, the same will go for Trudeau; he will remain where he is until our God removes him. Faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains. I believe we have a gigantic task ahead of us to gain back our freedom. To change the mind of a corrupt leader is something only God can do. So even though the task is enormous, we serve a big God. He can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, and when we come out victorious (and we will) to God alone be the Glory. Soli Deo Gloria. |