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From the headline on a story in yesterday's Ottawa Citizen: “The religious right is afraid to speak and the left is afraid to listen”. Preston Manning recently spoke at a three-day seminar called “Navigating the Faith/Politics Interface”, which was directed toward helping Christians working in politics and government relate their faith to their public life. Here is how the reporter summarised his advice.
Drop the God talk, tone down the righteous indignation, take your time. Issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage will not be resolved in a single vote.
Some might think that excessively reticent coming from an evangelical Christian, but it arises from a wise awareness of the culture of Canadian politics. A lot of people get testy when Christians quote the Bible or cite specifically Christian teaching in political debates.
"There is a hostility toward Protestant evangelicals or conservative Catholics trying to say anything into the political arena. Opponents would be reluctant to attack someone of Jewish faith or a Hindu, but they don't seem to have same reservation about going after others.”
The seminar, organised by the Manning Centre for Building Democracy, was filled to capacity, and similar seminars are scheduled in Toronto and Vancouver. Speakers included Christian MPs and former MPs from all three national parties. Citizen journalist Jenny Jackson knows much about the interplay between religion and politics in both the US and Canada, and she's familiar with the Bible. Check this out:
As his theme for the seminar weekend, Mr. Manning chose Matthew 10:16, in which Jesus prepares His disciples to take up his ministry. He tells them he is sending them out as sheep among wolves, and that they must be as "wise as serpents and harmless and doves." In other words, they must be effective and aware, but do no damage in His name.Mr. Manning didn't mention this, but Jesus goes on to tell the apostles to "Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you …."
via Relapsed Catholic.
