Hey faithful readers, its the Christmas season! Merry Christmas! This week's written interview is with Rhys Demman from God Keep Our Land Podcast. Go check them out after you've finished reading.
Over the past 18 months we have seen the government become increasingly tyrannical. We are now into the Christmas season. Do you see any hope ? It’s important to avoid the temptation to do “newspaper exegesis.” It’s easy for us to look at our current circumstances and try and determine God’s plans for the future based on that. When we look at the way our particular corner of the world is without considering the broader historical and biblical picture, we are bound to have trouble with hope. We have a government that is increasingly tyrannical, but this is not a new thing. Christians throughout the ages have experienced corrupt governments, and the world didn’t end. In fact, every tyrannical government that has ever existed has been short-lived. So in that sense there is hope. But I would point to the Scriptures, at the very time when our Saviour was born. Consider Matthew 2. In this chapter we have the horrendous story of King Herod (a tyrannical overlord) sending law enforcement to Bethlehem to commit genocide against the infant boys of that town. Now, if you were a citizen of Bethlehem and knew nothing about the redemptive realities of the events there, what do you think your perspective would be about whether there was hope for better days? But these events took place at the very time when hope was being born into the world in human flesh! The tyrannical dictators and the oppression people faced during the birth of Jesus had no impact on God’s ability to carry out his plans. The reality of an oppressive government cannot be a means of determining the timeline of the last days. As Christians in a very well-off nation entering the Christmas Season, we have to stop being so self-centred in our thinking. Of course there is hope! No tyranny can last. Jesus is on His throne ruling the Cosmos and He must reign until he has placed all of his enemies under His feet. As we know, Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. How does His birth free us from tyranny? Jesus sets us free in many ways. First, he sets us free from the tyranny of sin by his atoning death and victorious resurrection. But to answer your question on his birth specifically, I would point to Isaiah 9. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” This passage clearly shows us that Jesus’ reign from the time of his birth is a holistic reign. The Government is on His shoulder. Of the increase of His government there is no end. He sits on David's throne (David ruled on the earth, meaning his throne carries authority in the physical earth. Jesus’ reign is not merely spiritual, it is also physical), He upholds it with justice and righteousness. This is what Jesus is doing through his life. Since His birth, He has been King over the earth. His resurrection was His coronation. Afterward he says that “all authority” has been given to him. He has been recognized formally as the King he has been all along. Like earthly Monarchs, whose reign doesn’t begin at their coronation, but rather at the appointed time (usually the death of the previous monarch), Jesus was King before the resurrection, but received formal recognition after the resurrection. So Jesus’ birth is the beginning of his earthly reign. Those who have citizenship in heaven may be under temporary tyranny in this life, but in reality our King is Christ. He is no tyrant, and He will place all tyrants under His feet. One of your most recent podcasts on God Keep Our Land was about optimism. To be straight up with you..it was a bit convicting. It's easy to complain and be bitter about what is happening. So, how can we be optimistic this Christmas as things are not as they have been before the pandemic? The first pitfall to avoid is a forced optimism. Let’s not be optimistic because we are uncomfortable and want to put a happy face on. I think we have seen that a lot since the beginning of all the nonsense. We want to be happy and optimistic so we will just laugh through the pain. The kind of optimism that I am advocating for is a Bible-centred and Christ-centred optimism. We are, as I have already said, prone to do newspaper exegesis. We are prone to constantly look at the “signs of the times” and think that the world is ending because our nation is going in an ungodly direction. The kind of optimism we need is found in believing the promises of God in His Word. He has promised that He will never leave us. He promises that He is reigning now, and that all things work together for our good. This means that even when our country is in rebellion, God is working it for good. It says in Psalm 2 that when the rulers of the earth set themselves against the Lord and against His anointed, the one who sits in the heavens laughs. Be of good courage, our God is not losing. Our God will use this evil time to show off the folly of being against Him. What if this time of struggle is a warning to future generations of what happens when Atheism and Secularism is allowed to run its course. It’s a mistake to think that we are the most special generation. We are one of God’s chosen generations but we are not the only ones. Let’s think rightly about God and think rightly about ourselves. This will help us to keep all things in perspective, and give us optimism that God will, through His people, overcome the ungodliness of this present time. Over the past year or two you have embraced postmillennialism. It seems to me that people who hold to this eschatological view tend to be more optimistic, why is that? Postmillennialism has a bad reputation because people have made overly simplistic characterizations of what we actually believe. People will say, “Postmillennialists think that the world is just gonna get better and better until Jesus comes back! Don’t they have eyes in their heads? Look around, doesn’t seem so great to me!” This is a mischaracterization of postmillennial theology. Here’s what it is at the core: Jesus is ruling over earth and heaven (physical world and spiritual world) right now. When He ascended after the resurrection, He was given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt 28:18). What this means to Postmillennialists, is that we believe that God never gave a command that we were unable to follow. When Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” we believe that He really thought we would accomplish that. By the power of His Spirit, over the course of many centuries, maybe even a few millennia, we would actually disciple all the nations. Notice that I use the word “disciple” not “evangelize.” To make the nations into disciples is to do more than simply preach the bare gospel to them, it is to bring them under the Lordship of Christ in every area of life from culture and politics right down to work and home life. This is done by the power of God’s Holy Spirit at work in His Church, not by human might nor by earthly power nor by the sword, but through God and His word. In this way, we do believe in a sense that the world will “get better and better,” but not in a “sunshine and lollipops” sort of way. We believe that as time goes on, the foolishness of antichristian worldviews will be exposed and that all institutions and states will acknowledge the Lordship of Christ. We believe that the vast majority of the world will be Christian when Jesus returns. We believe that Christians will win by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us and through us. This is where optimism comes in: we will win. Maybe they will kill a lot of us before we win, but in the end the Church wins. It's hard to be pessimistic when you believe you’re winning. The problem with Christians today is that we have a loser’s mentality. When we expect to fail it’s hard to try. I played a lot of football in High School, and when we expected to lose we did. When we expected to win, we still took hard knocks, but we were a force to be reckoned with. It’s true that sometimes you’re outnumbered, so a battle is lost. But God is always making reinforcements for us from the ranks of the enemy soldiers. In this way we have the advantage, and in the end we will overwhelm them. Besides being more optimistic, how does your eschatological view shape the way you view and engage with the world? When we believe that God is winning through the church and is transforming the world, we find motivation to step out against the culture. I view the world similar to other Christians, with an important distinction: I believe that Jesus is going to renovate the world rather than burn it down and start over. If you were to hire a construction company to build a house for you, and you told them that very soon it would all burn down, do you think that they would do their highest quality work? Would every edge be straight? Would all the plumbing work flawlessly? Would the paint be done well? Not likely. But if you told the construction company that the house needed to stand for five hundred years, they would be far more diligent to make it flawless. As Christians in the culture, we have to stop thinking that it’s all going to burn down. We will not do our best work. In Romans 8, Paul writes that the creation itself will be set free from it’s bondage to corruption. Who ever heard of someone being set free by being set on fire? The Scripture teaches us that Christ is making all things new and that He is ordering everything according to the counsel of His own will. This means that when I step out and engage the culture, or preach the Word, or go for coffee to encourage a friend, I can expect that my work will stand for ages to come as part of the great house that God is building. Maybe all I’m doing is putting in a few nails, but it’s work that contributes to the glorious purpose of Christ in the world and it is work that will last. As we come to the end of this interview, what is one thing that you would like to share with us to encourage us this Christmas? Remember that when Jesus was born, it was good news of great joy for “all the people.” All people everywhere are blessed through Christ and His people. Don’t have a loser’s mentality! Jesus is winning! Just because you can’t see it as clearly where you are, that doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Consider other places in the world. Zambia is exploding with an incredible missionary movement. China’s underground church is growing so quickly that all efforts to stomp them out are only helping them get bigger. Empires, Kings, Rulers, and Authorities have been attacking the church for a long time. They are all under Jesus’ feet. Roman emperors used to kill Christians in the colosseum. We can stand in it’s ruins with a Bible in our hands without fear, because Jesus always wins. One day, if Canada continues to stand against Jesus, Christians will stand in the ruins of the parliament and marvel at the power of God to break down strongholds. Be strong and courageous Church, and make sure you find an underground Christmas Eve service this year and sing your heart out!
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I typically like to begin with some get-to-know-you questions. Please share a bit about who you are, where you are from, and what your passions are in life. I've been a software engineer for almost a decade. I've earned multiple certifications from Microsoft, am part of a special "insiders" group at Microsoft that has about 4000 members worldwide (which gives me direct access to their employees, secret stuff they are working on, etc.) and I've authored a technical book on a certain programming language. My job involves lots of thinking and technical "stuff": technical problem solving, reviewing the work of my colleagues, writing and reading technical documentation (LOTS of reading!), helping to hire new engineers, etc. I have written many technical articles for well-known companies in the industry. I mention these things to point out that I am skilled at understanding complex technical concepts. I am very good at reading technical content very quickly and understanding the "meat" of the document. This comes in handy when reviewing literature in the medical field. Currently you have been posting peer-reviewed articles on the topic of covid and the vaccine. Just so that we are on the same page, can you explain what a peer-reviewed article is and what its significance is? A peer-reviewed article is a medical/scientific study that has been published and the "article" is a summarization of their research and study. When published in medical journals, there is an editorial process where multiple editors who are also competent in the medical field review the articles to make sure the method of their study, the data they used, etc. make sense. A peer-reviewed study provides the reader with a trust that it's been vetted and meets certain technical standards. This doesn't mean the document and its conclusions are true, but to figure that out the reader needs to dig into the content. What motivated you to study these peer-reviewed articles? I love digging into the Bible and love learning about apologetics, historical events that help understand the Bible, etc. One of the things I've done in my private studies is to take a topic and look at the historical references that support the event, person, place, etc. Instead of just taking someone else's word, I love finding the primary sources and finding out what, as a whole, they have to "say". For example, I've taken a bunch of ancient references about Jesus written by non-Christians (like ancient historians and writers) and combined them all to see what "picture" they tell. It's very close to what the Bible says. I've gone through the book of Acts and found dozens of ancient documents that shed light on the people, places and events in a way that verifies the reliability of the biblical documents. Likewise, on the topic of COVID vaccines, in particular, I'm interested in hearing what experts have to say. But more than that, I'm most interested in reading what the primary sources around cutting-edge research and studies have to tell us. What's the picture they are presenting when combined as a whole? In doing this, any conclusions that I come to believe are founded upon the most trusted scientific literature available today - instead of believing what politicians and government-sponsored media are promoting. As a software engineer, one of the ideas that are a staple in designing and building information systems is that solutions that work in controlled environments can often act totally different in the real world. Entire books have been written on this topic and how software engineers, specifically, can better defend against this. In the same way, testing vaccines in a controlled environment is potentially totally different than mass vaccination into an active pandemic. The heavy-handed and simplistic approach of "just vaccinate everyone" reminds me of solutions I've seen in my field which have completely failed when pushed into the real world, while they seemed to work fine in the controlled "test" environments. All these conclusions about the vaccines and the virus affect us in real ways. For example, if people are believing that unvaccinated people are more likely to carry COVID than vaccinated people they might treat unvaccinated people differently. As you'll see, that is not what the literature has found. According to the current findings, vaccinated people should be more worried about other vaccinated people since they will be more likely to carry vaccine-resistant strains! What have you been learning from them? Well, a lot! I'll try to lay out the general conclusion that I'm seeing on some of the specific issues around vaccinations. One of my greatest concerns is the fact that we are mass vaccinating people without having any long-term data on side effects. Now, after we've mass vaccinated, studies are coming out with very concerning findings, such as:
On the issue of whether the vaccines are reducing the spread of COVID in real-world populations (remember my comments about lab vs. real-world environments?):
One the issue of whether or not the vaccines help to decrease the likelihood that someone will die from being infected with COVID:
There's another concern around whether unvaccinated people are causing variants or not. Medical studies are currently showing the opposite: vaccinated populations are causing variants. This is a well known fact in the field:
Before showing some more studies around COVID vaccines, in particular, there's a distinction that is helpful to point out. Vaccines generally have what is called "sterilizing immunity" - they protect you from becoming infected with a virus. The COVID vaccines in use today are not sterilizing vaccines. They don't prevent infection and therefore they still allow the spread of the virus. They only prevent severe disease. This is an important difference, as the following studies point out.
On the same topic, I want to end with a quote from a study published in The Lancet. The Lancet is one of the most prestigious medical journals. This is an extended quote, but I think it drives the overall pattern and conclusion that I've come to: "If substantial immune evasion occurs, current vaccines are likely to still offer some benefit to individuals. At the population level, however, they could induce viral selection and escape, making the prospect of achieving herd immunity increasingly remote. This virological game changer has numerous consequences, not only for vaccines and treatment, but also for prevention and control strategies. The fervently awaited end of this global health crisis might be continually postponed, as new variants emerge and immune evasion reduces vaccination effectiveness in the short and medium term. Hence, it is time to abandon fear-based approaches based on seemingly haphazard stop-start generalised confinement as the main response to the pandemic; approaches which expect citizens to wait patiently until intensive care units are re-enforced, full vaccination is achieved, and herd immunity is reached. Populations have so far been relatively complacent, but their doubts and distrust are visible in protest movements in several countries. The impact of general confinement on entire economies has been devastating, with worse still to come in levels of unemployment and national debt. Social and health (including mental health) consequences are also colossal, in particular for the younger generations, despite them being at low risk in terms of morbidity and mortality from SARS-CoV-2 infection. To best ensure the success of mass vaccination—whatever its hoped-for impact on transmission—and to slow the emergence of new variants, while avoiding general confinement, governments need to integrate and apply available measures in a way that is much more targeted to different generational groups. Different age groups are not affected similarly by the virus; from March to June, 2020, 96% of additional deaths related to COVID-19 in Europe occurred in patients aged older than 70 years... Using stop-start general confinement as the main response to the COVID-19 pandemic is no longer feasible. Though attractive to many scientists, and a default measure for political leaders fearing legal liability for slow or indecisive national responses, its use must be revisited, only to be used as a last resort. We scientists working against COVID-19 must have the courage to address those in power, who bear ultimate responsibility for the policies chosen and their consequences. If this responsibility is shirked or delayed, the inevitable day of reckoning might be terrible." A concerning thing that comes from taking all of these studies together is answering the question "What happens if the virus mutates to the point of becoming vaccine-resistant?" Does that mean the vaccines won't help at all anymore? In the end, would it be better to be unvaccinated and have a more broad natural immune response to the full virus instead of only the vaccine-induced immunity that is "focussed on a single protein such as SARS-CoV-2 Spike" as one study put it? In the last study I quoted above from The Lancet, this is why they state "At the population level, however, they could induce viral selection and escape, making the prospect of achieving herd immunity increasingly remote." Reaching herd immunity would be impossible because the vaccines won't be effective anymore. With so much info being labelled as "misinformation", how can I know which studies are reliable? Again, I think one needs to look at a breadth of studies and articles, and then see if you can come to some conclusions. At the very least, the conclusion right now is that we don't know enough about the long-term effects of (a) mass vaccination with leaky vaccines and (b) the potential long-term side effects of these particular mRNA vaccines. The most concerning studies have only been coming out in the last couple of months since we don't have long-term data. Try to find out what the actual scientists doing the work "on the ground" are finding instead of the pop-culture heroes and politicians. One final question as we come to the end of the interview. How does the info you learn impact the way you engage with what is happening today? Again, having built my conclusions from the primary sources gives me confidence that I know that my position is rational and sensible. There's an obvious chasm between what you hear on mainstream media & by most people and the actual science being done in the relevant fields. At best, if all the studies I've highlighted (cause there are many more!) are false then mass vaccination will work out in the end and there won't be any serious long-term side effects. If any one of the points I highlighted is true, then we have huge issues coming... History is full of instances when the masses were wrong about science and other issues. The Bible makes it clear that humanity is often prideful in falsely thinking it is overly intelligent and wise. Proverbs 11:2 says "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." My advice is to heed Proverbs 8:12, "I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion." Wisdom, prudence (e.g. being careful concerning the future) and discretion always stick together Here is an interview I did with Scott Spidle back in October when he was running for MP of West Nova in Nova Scotia. He made a great effort but wasn't elected. Since this interview I have gotten to know him a bit more. I hope you enjoy what he has to say and will keep him in mind whenever the next federal election happens.
I’ve had the privilege to chat with you a couple times over the past couple weeks. Some of my readers know you, but some most likely don’t. For those who don’t, would you mind sharing who you are, where you are from and what your passions are in life? I was born in 1983, on Prince Edward Island, where my parents moved to for a brief time as my father raced cars up there. And have lived in the valley area since I was just a few months old. My ancestors are Dutch and German, that have been in the province going back to a crew member of the original Bluenose. Family has served in all three branches of the armed forces, including George Price, the last commonwealth soldier killed in WWI. And my grandfather who had 2 funerals, as he was shot and reported KIA near the beginning of WWII. But was captured, medically experimented on, which ironically saved his life and then survived a Nazi death camp. I always wanted to join the armed forces myself, growing up admiring and aspiring to become like those who came before me, to serve and protect our nation, defending our people and preserving our freedom. However, at the time of completing high school, this changed. Having done an interview with a recruitment officer and testing at Aldershot base, passing with high marks and the option to pursue any field or specialty, I made the tough decision not to continue on, as I did not agree with the Middle East war, which was just beginning and ultimately ended in disaster. Instead of joining the military, I went to college to become an automotive technician, becoming employed by Ford after graduation. I then granted further training at the Atlantic Ford Training Centre and developed into becoming the 2nd most productive tech in the shop. But then started having health issues that eventually restricted my physical mobility, ending such a career and things like hockey that I'd spent 20+ years playing as goaltender - spending my last few years working on vehicles at a nice small family run shop. With such family background and struggles throughout life, my passions are engulfed by our freedoms and good health. With great respect for those who came before us and those who haven't forgotten. So it's been a privilege to meet you as well. Typically, I have interviewed Christians in Canada that are engaging in political and moral issues in the nation. What is your faith background? How does it influence the way you see things in the world? I grew up going to church as a child and have always had a strong belief in God. Though I drifted away from going to church and praying while going to high school and college, tough times came along, bringing me back much closer. Far more than ever before. With incredible experiences that brought my faith to the forefront, and with what's been going on in the world, past and present, it's always been a spiritual battle between good and evil. As it's said, there will come a time, when good is called evil and evil is called good. What prompted you to run as a candidate for the PPC party here in Nova Scotia? Becoming the PPC candidate for West Nova in Nova Scotia was something that just fell into place. It had come after many years of studying history, war, culture and politics as well as developing relationships with like minded people around the world, including Maxime Bernier, leader of the PPC. The position for West Nova was still empty, one day before the party application deadline for this election. I was and still am, recovering from major surgery on both lungs. But somebody had to, so with my knowledge and personal experience with covid, I felt there was no doubt that it was something I should do and it needed to be done. As you know from our previous discussions, there are treatments for this virus that doctors are not allowed to be using, despite being proven to be very effective. So with knowing this and many other things, while having such a great deal of respect for our rights and freedoms (that thousands of Canadians fought and died for and which have been under attack like never before in this country), I believed becoming a PPC candidate provided a great window of opportunity to have a platform where I could fight for our rights and freedoms as well as provide important information to people that can help us get through these difficult times. The People's Party of Canada was very welcoming, allowing and even encouraging me to speak about such things. As others are not and/or scared of doing so - especially the incumbent politicians who don't want to rock the boat, as they go along with the status quo. As you look at the political landscape of Canada, what do you believe are the top three political issues in the nation? How do you see these issues affecting those in the province? The top three issues I believe we have in Canada are free speech, health care and the economy. As they're all closely related, especially right now in regards to covid. Our health care system is broken and corrupt. We need free speech to correct the situation. And our economy is greatly suffering as a result. One of the things which drew my attention was your willingness to fight for churches to be free to worship and gather. Why do you believe that this is something worth fighting for? The freedom to exercise religion, is part of and just as important, if not more, than our right to free speech and to assemble protest. Along with cultural changes we've seen and how Christianity is the most persecuted religion worldwide, it's been very disturbing to see our churches being shutdown. While a great number of them have been attacked with vandalism and arson over recent months. Again, due to cultural changes we've seen across our country and the western world. As I see it, the greatest solution to the brokenness and injustice in our nation is the gospel. People need to know that Jesus came to die for their sin and offers forgiveness and power to live righteously. With proposed censorship laws, what steps will the PPC party take in the future to ensure that our voice is not silenced? The PPC has a platform policy that directly addresses this very important issue. Which aims to "ensure that Canadians can exercise their freedom of conscience to its fullest extent as it is intended under the Charter and are not discriminated against because of their moral convictions." This includes restricting the definition of hate speech in the Criminal Code. Repealing C-16, M-103, C-10, and C-36. And withholding federal funding from any post-secondary institution shown to be violating the freedom of expression of its students or faculty. Thanks for taking the time to respond to these questions. Is there anything you’d like to say as we come to an end of this interview? In closing, I would like to say that myself and the PPC, continue to fight for our rights and freedoms, regardless of the election results. As myself and many others, across the country and here in our West Nova riding, have remained quite busy challenging these restrictions and mandates that violate our rights and freedoms. Through support of legal challenges, organizing activists and building our team. I would also like to thank you and so many others from the Weston Christian Fellowship church, who've been incredibly welcoming and supportive, while standing up for yourselves and fighting these restrictions and mandates. I have a great deal of respect and appreciation for people like that, who are willing to stand up for our rights and freedoms, no matter what the cost or consequences may be Hello readers! I had the wonderful priviledge to interview the author of a new children's book. You can get a copy on Amazon here.
You have recently written a children's book titled, "Strawberries are Red: A Story about compelled speech." What led you to want to write this book? First of all, David, I want to thank you for the opportunity to discuss this project and thank you for the work you are doing through your website. As for the book, it wasn't an active process or anything; the concept just sprung into my head one day. It started with a meme I put on Twitter depicting a picture of some strawberries and a caption that read something like, "the existence of colourblindness means strawberries should no longer be referred to as red." Clearly hyperbolic, it was a humorous way of alleviating stress resulting from the continual onslaught of progressive ideologies. The last six years have come hard and fast. Soon after the meme, I got the idea to turn the concept into a children's book. Around the same time, the Government of Canada rolled out a policy that removed its employees' rights to use gender pronouns when writing performance reviews: an approach that still doesn't sit well with me. As it stands, if I'm writing a subordinate's review and we both identify as males, I am still required to exclude gender pronouns altogether regardless of any understanding that the two of us may have. Just so that everyone is on the same page, can you explain what you mean by compelled speech and how you see this played out in our country? Simply put, the word compelled means to be forced or obliged. To provide somewhat of a backdrop, the idea of compelled speech made headlines a few years ago when Dr. Jordan B. Peterson took a stand against the University of Toronto's mandate forcing him to use specific gender pronouns when dealing with his students. For example, if a male student self-identified as female, Dr. Peterson was told he would need to use the student's preferred pronouns and address them as she/her. Compelling speech comes about in two ways. By removing our ability or obliging us to use certain words - even if it goes against personal conscience: a clear violation of our freedom of expression. I strongly agree with Jordan Peterson when he says, "freedom of speech is a precondition to mental and social health." When our actions are incongruent with our beliefs, we often experience cognitive dissonance - being aware of contradictory ideas. Currently, most groups and governments are focused on compelling people to use others' preferred gender pronouns. I fear this is merely the beginning, and we may soon see words associated with dissenting ideas labelled and censored as well. This topic could be viewed by some as being beyond the grasp of children and by others as being a source of anxiety. As a father, how would you respond to these objections? That's a tricky question - one which some family members have already asked me. Writing about this topic runs the risk of creating built-in assumptions about my character and potential inability to tolerate those different from me. I can assure you that separating individuals from their personal and political ideologies is paramount to me. I want to see people as Jesus does. I want to love them where I meet them, but this doesn't mean endorsing their beliefs. In essence, this is the very definition of tolerance. So yes, this topic can present a source of anxiety and may even run into our modern-day cancel culture - something I have considered. But to quote Professor Peterson again, "when you have something to say, silence is a lie." And so - I felt it needed saying, and it was essential to present it to younger readers. And yes, I agree; while the mature reader might be quick to see the symbolic nature of the story, comprehending it may be more challenging for young children. The intent was to present the story as a lesson and have parents read it alongside their child, unpacking and explaining it however they see fit. My wife and I homeschool our three children and enjoy our freedom and flexibility when introducing specific topics to them. I most definitely had involved parents in mind when I was coming up with the book's concept. I'm a young father of one. Why should I be concerned about teaching my daughter about compelled speech? Well, I'm not here to tell you what to teach your daughter but knowing you as I do, I'm confident you believe in the concept of absolute truth: something an increasingly progressive and post-modernist world seems to reject. I think acting in contrast with our beliefs is harmful to our development, and we know deep down when we're being disingenuous. This problem goes far beyond the topic at hand. But as for compelled speech, I think genuine charity, and by charity, I mean being charitable, is most effective when done voluntarily. Suppose the government mandates elements of speech to protect a minority group. In that case, they aren't necessarily changing any hearts in the process but potentially merely shifting the harm elsewhere by some disciplinary action. Let me be clear; I'm not talking about hate speech here. I'm talking about instances where two individuals could come to some form of an agreement. Instead, they are mandated to avoid or implement certain words to prevent any future offence. Policing gender pronouns, for example, is not a legitimate role of government, and it gives precedence to future imposed ideas that may go against individual conscience. As a Christian, you approach the world through a biblical worldview. I'm curious, how does your knowledge of God impact your storytelling? God's spirit inspires and guides my work, and His word prompts me to speak out and take a stand in a world that celebrates each individual's version of the truth. When I look at a child's sex, I don't see it as negotiable; I see God's design, His order, and His will. There's a difference between loving and protecting individuals at odds with birth characteristics versus advancing an entire ideology through the school system, bringing God's vision of humanity into question. And Jesus' love and compassion, which abide in all who fellowship with Him, most definitely guide my tone. His spirit ensures I choose my words wisely, showing empathy and humility. After all, He didn't come to condemn the world but to save it. I realize some may interpret my ideas as intolerant, but that's because tolerance has recently been understood as accepting one's ideas. In actuality, and as I mentioned earlier, tolerance is the ability to love others despite our differences, something we Christians do daily in a fallen world gone mad. Jesus' words in Matthew 5:11 strengthen us when we come under persecution for His name's sake, when we stand on His Word, and when we honour His design. I shall count it a blessing if I receive hatred for graciously speaking the truth. Thanks for taking the time to respond to these questions. Before we come to the end of the interview, can you share with my readers how we can get a copy of your book? Thank you, David. I've thoroughly enjoyed answering your questions, challenging as they were. The book is available on numerous Amazon marketplaces around the world. Currently, it's only available in paperback form, but I may look to release hardcover and ebook formats shortly. Thanks again, and may God bless you and your family and the work you are doing through your website. Shalom. There is a great schism taking place in our country over the issue of Vaccines and passports. This week's written interview deals with this issue. I learned a lot, and I hope you will too!
We’ve known each other off and on for a number of years, but for those who don’t know you, can you share a bit about who you are, where you’re from, and what your passions are in life? Yes. My name is Ian Kennedy, and my wife's name is Diana, and we have been married for almost 30 years, and have 8 Children. I have many passions, and have pursued them all. I have been a baker for about 13 years, and have owned my own bakery. I also have been a meat cutter for about 15 years, and still do some at the store that I work at. I love cooking, and am at present pursuing this as manager of the HMR department of our deli. (Market Fresh Foods in Dallas, Kamloops.) Working in the Deli dept. Also allows me to continue baking, providing customers with fresh baked foods. The passion that has occupied my life for the last few years, is teaching the Word of God. This I have been doing as pastor of a small church east of Kamloops. That is, until the pandemic caused division, and found myself in opposition to the board over the issue of the government’s mandates on personal gathering, and so resigned from the pulpit this last May. When we chatted last, you said one of the big issues you see with how the government is handling things is the strong division that is being made between Canadians. Can you share a bit about this? Sure. Firstly, the government is at work pitting citizens against one another, by this inflamed rhetoric of us versus them; the vaccinated against the unvaccinated. And this is causing tensions in society to become dangerous, and we are already seeing the hate and threats being made towards those who exercise informed nonconsent. Secondly, we see a divide in society as the unvaccinated are being systematically oppressed by the illegal suspension of their rights and freedoms. Never have canadians been forced to participate in experimental vaccines, let alone this newly developed MRNA vaccine, which is a novel Gene therapy, and for which no human trials were performed. And yet, tax paying citizens are being treated like second class citizens in their own country, because they have decided not to participate in this research program. Thirdly, is the issue of us versus them in the church, But I will deal with this issue later as you have raised this up in an upcoming question. This activity of pitting one group against another seems intentional. What do you see the government gaining from using this tactic? Absolutely. I think it is intentional as Trudeau has suggested “As a great opportunity to implement The Great Reset”. The deliberate removal of rights and freedoms only to be returned to compliant citizens is a socialist construct, as is the great reset itself. This is also a great opportunity for the government, both federal and provincial, to place blame for the health of the elderly on a virus, and to deflect responsibility for the deplorable state of medical services on the pandemic as well. With respect to seniors' health, for the last several years, we have heard time after time the terrible treatment that seniors are receiving in Long term care centers. What this pandemic should have alerted us to, is this horrible state that the government allows our elderly to be placed in. These elderly were already sick, and this virus simply took its toll on these poor souls. Rather than dealing with this crisis, the blame for the deaths of so many seniors were placed on families who wanted to continue seeing their loved ones. With respect to the health services crisis that we were told would cripple the medical system, the system was already crippled. In both Alberta where I lived, and here in BC., I have heard continually of cutbacks and staff Shortages. These problems continue, but the governments are now blaming this crisis on the nurses who are not getting the vaccine, as well as on those in the public who refuse as well. The unvaccinated have had targets placed on them by the government and the media. The government, and the government paid media has got us all fighting with each other, so that the attention is taken away from what it is the government is doing (or not doing). The “them-versus-us” mentality is something we can find even in the church. This is largely due to the church buying in and adopting the world’s way and message. As a pastor, how have you seen this personally? Yes, this is what hurts me the most. Many Churches have not withstood the government’s encroachment to the things that belong to God. In times past, during pandemics (ones that had a high mortality rate), yes the church was asked to not meet together until the data was in on the severity of the crisis. During the Spanish flu, that was three weeks I believe. But in the case of Covid, the criteria for a pandemic was changed. It changed from deaths to cases. So understandably, when people saw that many were dying from the Spanish flu, they saw the importance of isolation. But with Covid, the median death rate was higher than the national average age of death. And again, in long term care homes. For the average person, there were very few deaths reported. So to mandate that churches stop all together with services is at the least unreasonable. But again, there arose a division in the churches as to whether those who held that Christ called his people to gather, over those who thought that it is unloving to meet. Our church split over the issue, as have many others. As well, churches are shaming churches; christians shaming christians. For the church that I pastored, I continued to meet with those who wanted to meet and to obey the gathering of one another at the Lord’s table. The board disagreed, and thought that it sent a wrong message to the world. But we are called to service to Christ, not to the world. When the government fails to uphold its mandate as a deacon of the Lord to keep an ordered and just society, and compels christians to break fellowship, the church needs to stand on the side of truth, and stand against the mandates of men. In the end, I resigned and continued to serve those who desired to meet together. But we did not continue in a pattern that is set out in scriptures, so I sought out a gospel proclaiming Church that continued to meet in person. Many people in the church believe that unity is the solution to division, yet they mistaken uniformity for unity. Can you explain the difference? I think that at its core, uniformity is in itself a mandate. We are created by God and are unique from one another. So uniformity is an external force that is meant to breakdown this uniqueness. The borg of the star trek series paints a good picture of uniformity. Unity is distinct from conformity, in that it is external from us. Our unity does not come from an agreement to be like each other and to believe what each other believes. No, our like-mindedness in matters of morality, character and such, originate from the spirit of God at work in us. Yet, we being one body in Christ, still are distinct from one another and continue to demonstrate our own personalities. Unity in this way demonstrates the unity of the Godhead; one God existing as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each fulfilling responsibilities as distinct persons, yet God is one. What would unity look like today in dealing with Covid? Ideally, from a faith position, we would unite under the sovereignty of God. He holds the number of our days, and nothing happens to us that is not of His will. Unity under this point of view would see Christians concern themselves with the mandate we have from God to preach the gospel, continue in fellowship with the body of Christ and that means participation together at the Lord's table. Understanding that our concern is not for the things of this world, but looking to what lies ahead, knowing full well and with certainty that God is not taken by surprise at the Corona virus or any other virus. His purposes will be done in all things. We ought to be unified in that hope. Many pastors are trying to appease both groups in their church usually through some form of compromise. What do you think will be the result if this continues to go on longer? Compromise weakens you in the sight of men. Those that you compromise for, know that you can be manipulated. Compromise also destroys your character to those who look to the pastor for leadership. There are no winners except the one who holds the world under bondage. As these mandates against the church to gather in accordance to the mandate given to us by our Lord stretch further and further, two things are inevitable:
At the heart of this is of course is the error of creating worship according to the desires of our own hearts, and not according to the pattern revealed to us through God’s holy word. We must be concerned that we reveal through this error, that we love the world more than we love God. What is the biblical solution to the “them-versus-us” mentality? How can the church lead the way in bringing about true and lasting reconciliation? We must always be ready to let the Spirit work in His Church. None of us are able to teach another about the truth, unless the Spirit of God does a work of renewing the mind of those in error. But as far as reconciliation goes, it must come from this work of God. Apart from this, I don't think that we should make reconciliation the main focus of the Church, without compromising truth. Paul himself understood that there will always be factions in the church, and in 1st Corinthians 11, when dealing with the breach of fellowship and the failure to recognize the body of Christ (His Church), he writes to them these words: “Now in giving this next instruction I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better, but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there also have to be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.”. (17-19) Paul knew that the factions existed to bear testimony of those who are approved. If our reconciliation is nothing more than unity for the sake of unity, then we blur this distinction, and as a church we lose our relevance both to the lost and to God. True reconciliation happens when both parties, abiding in Christ, are in pursuit of Him. In this, everything else finds its rightful place. Error can not exist as we subject ourselves always to the work and Word of God. Hey readers! I had the opportunity to interview two American brothers with a big heart for Canada and standing for the truth! I hope that you enjoy this written interview with Carpe Fide.
Alot of my readers probably are aware of who you are. But for those who don't, can you share a bit about who you are, where you're from and what your passions are in life? We are two brothers- Justin (37) and Jesse (30) that have huge hearts for ministry. We grew up in a Christian household that was radically transformed by the gospel in the early 2000s when our Mom was diagnosed with clinical depression and our Dad sacrificed his lucrative business for the sake of his marriage and his family. We are blessed with faithful parents in a world full of broken homes. We grew up in the same church and both served extensively there. In 2012 we planted Missio Dei Church in Glassboro, NJ. Both of us, along with our father and one other friend serve as elders there. We started Carpe Fide last year as a podcast for our friends, but when Pastor Coates was jailed earlier this year, we scraped some money together to get some shirts printed and started donating proceeds to Gracelife. We now have 3 shirts that donate to Canadian pastors, 1 that donates to a men’s ministry stateside, and several other designs as well. Justin has been married to Becca for 15 years and has 3 children, Kaileigh (12), Mason (10), and Logan (6). Justin works full time at UPS. Jesse has been married to Hannah for 10 years and has 5 children- Evelyn (8), Jameson (6), Teddy (4), Waverly (2), and Maverick (3 months). Jesse works full time as an Emergency Department Nurse. I like reading, writing, heavy metal, cigars, and ministry. I have recently been introduced to your podcast and I'm hooked! The content and style is relevant, engaging and biblically sound. What led you to start your podcast? We started recording in the middle of the pandemic. We saw many Christians caving as our culture spiraled out of control. Initially we started a podcast just for our friends and to strengthen Christians in our area. We’re local church guys. We didn’t have any idea Carpe Fide would eventually have almost 50% listenership in Canada! Ha! But it truly started seeing a huge lack of vocal Christians in our area, and someone needed to step up and be that voice. Can you share with me a bit about how you came up with the name of your podcast and what it means for the church to seize the faith? Hmm, Well the church we pastor at is Missio Dei... so apparently we only deal in Latin. Justin kicked the idea out, tying it to the Carpe Diem phrase to Seize the Day but redeeming it under the faith. It stuck, but for your advanced/homeshool crowd, we admittedly messed up the declension, it should have been Carpe Fidem. We Like to say “Wrong Declension, Right Theology”. We really think it combines so many things we have been saying the Church needs to realize in this season. The Lord is sifting His people, He’s Sanctifying His bride. We need to hold the line and that will only happen if we Know His Word and encourage each other in the fight. Typically I interview Canadians that are engaging in moral and political issues in their nation. But your love and support for Canada, as Americans, really grabbed my attention. It's pretty awesome that you desire to support Canadian churches through prayer and giving some of the proceeds of your shirt sales to selected pastors that are being arrested or getting heavily fined. What led you to care, understand, and learn about what is happening in Canada? I think that many Christians were disturbed when we heard about what was going on with the Albertan government and GraceLife. We were at a spot where the Spirit took the lead and really spurred us on to go beyond “Someone’s got to do something,” to “We’ve got to do something.” We had been toying with the idea of a “Come take it” design for a while. But when they imprisoned Pastor James, we knew what we had to do. There was zero hesitation. It just...happened. We want your readers to know how absolutely ordinary we are. We’re just two bivocational small church pastors. We’ll gladly die as such. But God laid that mission clearly on both our hearts, and we had but only to be faithful. Through that shirt, the word was spread. Hundreds of orders going all across the US was a huge encouragement to us. It can feel pretty isolating here in South Jersey. We often wonder what the state of the Church is like in other places. But there is a remnant left here, and it is strong and healthy. Very early on a dear sister from Ontario, Kristin, really worked hard with us to get the shirts up in Canada, and now we work with Wool & Flax to supply them to you guys. The Lord has blown us away with what He’s done thus far. Every Canadian we talk to has only grown our love for the Church in Canada, and many of you are as close to us as family. We wouldn’t have it any other way! You have interviewed a few Canadian pastors. From what you have learned from them, what do you see is the greatest threat to the Canadian church? How can we change this? Jesse- It’s hard to bring a thorough critique. However, with our limited exposure through articles written by TGC Canada and other publications, it seems to be a deadly combination of biblical illiteracy and apathy. When a Christian doesn’t know how to wield their sword, they end up chopping off their own arm. I think this is a Western Church problem. We were not adequately equipped in the Word of God, the Lordship of Christ, the stakes of the war we are in, and because of that, many choose to roll over rather than gird up their loins and prepare for battle. It’s lamentable that large “evangelical” organizations are paving the way and creating excuses for pastors and congregations to blatantly disregard God’s Word. Justin- As far as learning… a lot. There's mostly just gratefulness for them standing when so many are falling. Their perspective is straightforward, if Jesus is Sovereign over His church and God’s Word is True then the only thing to do is honor Him through faithful obedience. I would have to echo Jesse with the Biblical Illiteracy and apathy. We have become fat sheep and fat shepherds without the ability to even be bothered fending off the wolves. We have become snacks for the Principalities of Darkness in High Places. I wish it were only localized to Canada but it’s really the entire Western church. The hope is that we can actively see the change because it is happening in real time. Getting in community In the Word and seizing this season of difficulty for God’s Glory. We change by remaining faithful to God. It sounds simple because it is. It is most definitely not easy but that is why we aren’t meant to be alone, but rather present in the Body of Christ. It is my hope that these interviews will help encourage Christian Canadians to speak up about our faith even as censorship laws are a potential for the future. As we come to the end of the interview what advice do you give as an American Christian to the church in Canada? Open the Bible. Read it and know it because it’s how we know God. Get into a Faithful Body of Christ that leads with the Word open (and is also physically open). Not just “Get into” but commit, be a living member of a local family of God. Just as God has always existed as a Community in the Trinity so he expressly made us to be in Community, and in Community we find encouragement and accountability. Live and Lead in your actual families because the home is the foundation of society and we have forgotten that God calls us to deeply engage in the home. Pray also that we will stand with you and when the time comes we will have the faith to hold the line as faithfully as the many Christians that we have had the fortune to meet from the Great white North. Love God. Know the Word. Love His Church. Seize the Faith! Do you want to be equipped and encouraged to hold the line? Then follow Carpe Fide on Instagram, Facebook, and Online. |