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RELIGION IN THE NEWS
Now, Religion in the News. A report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media. This week’s item is from World Net Daily, March 21, 2008, with a headline: Canada Orders Ministry By Christians Shut Down. The following are excerpts: The Canadian government has ordered a Christian ministry that teaches doctrine and the differences between Christians and cults shut down, because its reference materials were critical of the beliefs of those who are not Christian. So what used to be called, McGregor Ministries, with offerings and how to recognize and eliminate faulty fads in Christian churches has been recreated in the United States. Laurie McGregor, who has dedicated her life to explaining the straight and narrow of Christian beliefs since she found her way out of the Jehovah’s Witness system years ago, explained that Canada’s version of a “hate crimes” law prevented their work from continuing as it had for nearly 30 years. “Canada is not longer a Christian nation,” she said. “And watch out America!” She said the ministry points out the differences between Christianity and various cult beliefs, but also with respect and never as a proponent. She said the work is always in response to a question or issue. That, however, violates Canada’s hate crimes laws, and the ministry was ordered to either make wholesale changes in its presentations or shut down. We were given an ultimatum that we needed to say that all religions are equal, and to stop writing our magazine on the cults. We were to remove our websites and stop selling any products that teach about the cults, and any future DVD’s that we do on the Bible must not be persuasive, the couple alerted friends in an e-mail. We could not live under those restrictions, we chose to shut down the ministry in Canada.
Tom:
Dave, you know Laurie and Keith McGregor, and I do as well, and these are hardly ogres, these are hardly saber rattling in your face confrontational people, I mean, they do a wonderful job of informing people about the differences of those organizations that claim to be Christian but don’t go by the Bible. I mean, it’s as simple as that, yet this is scary. As you know, we were just in Toronto, Canada, had a debate, you had a debate with a Muslim, with an atheist, and with a Hindu. And based on this, all of you should have been arrested, you know? Some of the things that were said in the heat of debate were not exactly—I wouldn’t say they were, I mean, I would never call them hate crimes, but certainly would fit under this definition.
Dave:
Apparently, you can’t have a debate anymore, you can’t have a discussion. I wonder if this will be even private debate or private discussion.
Tom:
Somebody is eavesdropping, somebody is listening.
Dave:
Now what do we do about preachers?
Tom:
Well, some of them have already been jailed, Dave.
Dave:
And I’m in trouble because I speak in Canada a couple of times a year.
Tom:
Well, I’m supposed to be up in Saskatoon in May.
Dave:
Watch what you say, Tom. Well, first of all, the government is not supposed to interfere. This is like big brother 1984. You couldn’t say there’s any freedom of conscience. Now, Canada has a very serious problem, because as I recall—I’d have to check it out but I would be surprised if they did not—they signed the Declaration on Human Rights, the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, and I think that it is Article 18. I, don’t rely on me, but I think it was Article 18, that promises—and I believe every, at that time there were 54 members only, but you had the Soviet Union, you had Saudi Arabia, you had some regimes that were members of the United Nations that violated this. It said we guarantee freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of—I think even conscience is in there, I’m not certain, freedom of vote, and so forth, and they’re just lying. But the United Nations does nothing about it, who cares, sign anything you want, but they all, every one at that time signed it. Now I don’t believe Canada was a member at that time, but they joined later. Surely, Canada then would have signed that as well. Now what are you going to do about this? Well, Saudis, they’ve violated it in all kinds of ways, I guess Canada can violate it too. Tom, you almost say—well, I’ve probably said it to you several times—Tom, let’s just quit. Let’s give it up, because who wants to know the truth anymore. And the governments don’t want to know the truth, the United Nations doesn’t want to know the truth, in fact, what they want to do is suppress the truth.
Tom:
Well, and Dave, I know you say that almost tongue in cheek, although it is a bit frustrating at times, but what compels us? The love of Christ! So, we’re concerned about the eternal destiny, I mean, even the segment that we are going through, Seeking and Finding God, what’s the point of that? Except that God, all that he has done for us, he has provided salvation, eternal life, all of these things, we want to encourage people to, not coerce by any means, but to receive that as you would a gift, an incredible gift!
Dave:
Right. Jesus said, and we can quote this hundreds of times, and we probably have, I am The way, The truth, and The life, no man comes to the Father but by me. Now I presume, under this new law if a preacher quoted that statement, that declaration, John 14:6, from his pulpit, they’d shut the church down, he can’t do that. So Jesus is being muzzled, truth is being muzzled, you can’t have a discussion, you can’t debate with someone. I guarantee you, Tom, that the Muslims will not abide by this, I mean, they slaughtered people all over the world to force them into Islam, and they would do that in Canada if they could.
You are listening to Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call. Still ahead, Dave and Tom continue their weekly in-depth study of the doctrine of salvation, please stay tuned.
