Introduction
When the confederation began over a century and half ago, the public rhetoric that Canada was a "Dominion" was taken from
the Bible verse of Psalm 72:8. Laws regarding personal morality in the land reflected
popular Christian standards. The public calendar was marked by Christian
holidays, especially Christmas and Easter, and Sunday was traditionally a day
of rest. Today, just like in many Western Christian civilizations especially
those which through the vehicle of faith and the 18th century industrial
revolution became world powers and great influence to other parts of the world
in terms of religious beliefs, economy and social lifestyles, Canada’s romance
with faith has deteriorated. Jesus Himself foresaw how the challenges of changing
time and age will erode the faith of many when in Luke 18:1-8 He asked: “when
the Son of man shall return, will He find faith on earth?” In other words, if
the Son of man were to return to the Dominion of Canada and the world today, will He find
faith in the lands? Or, has Satan so much taken a hold of the nations and their
citizenries that the faith of Canada and others has failed?
Faith Laid
The Foundation
Before the 18th century European Enlightenment, it was
tradition in Europe that political stability depends in part on the people's
allegiance to one church, established as an arm of the royal government.
European kings were known as "vicars of Christ" long before the pope
assumed that title, and many colonial administrators saw their own role in a
religious light. British North America also began as long ago as 1497 when John Cabot
working on behalf of the British Crown first discovered the coast of North America
and claimed Newfoundland for the English. Our European fathers and first
movers who voyaged to make this land our home on natives land did so by
faith. They recognized the supremacy of
God and depended on Him for help. We see this in founder of Montreal, Paul
de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve as he, in 1643 (more than two centuries before the beginning of confederation) erected a
wooden cross at the summit of what is today Mount Royal to thank God for
sparing the young colony from rising flood waters. As of 1861, just 6 years
before John A. Macdonald and other politicians would help begin the coming
together of the colonies to form one nation, all of the over three million white
populations who lived in British colonies of North America identified as
Christians – about half of them were Catholic and half Protestant. And so was
the Dominion of Canada indeed founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law in 1867 by godly men and
women.
Growing Secularity
During the 18th century, both French and
British governments began taking the tradition of alliance to a church for
granted to open the door to the idea of a dichotomy between religion and the secular
due in part to pressure by separatists and anti-faith aficionados whose vulgar
attempts to null faith on scientific grounds rather was providing even stronger
proofs for belief. But like little leaven, the movements have today evolved
governments into Principalities and Powers against faith – the greatest
instrument used in fighting faith (not the fight of faith that Paul
recommended) by faithless campaigners today is the State. Thrown out by the
Canadian parliament since 2008, absconded by the British House of Commons, and
under strangulation at the Capitol; the rake is on, to demolish the structures,
symbols, teaching and expressions of faith and remove them from our public
places. In Quebec for example, Bouchard-Taylor commission's recommendation on
matters of faith and religion contained in the 2008 Abridged Report states; “Catholicism
has left an indelible mark on Québec’s history. Traces of it are all around us.
Under the principle of the neutrality of the State, religious displays linked
to the functioning of public institutions should be abandoned. Thus, we do not
believe that the crucifix in the National Assembly and the prayers that precede
municipal council meetings have their place in a secular State. In both
instances, public institutions are associated with a single religious
affiliation rather than addressing themselves to all citizens.” In the
neighboring nation United States, on April 15, 2010,
a federal judge in Wisconsin ruled on the National Day of Prayer as
unconstitutional, claiming the day amounts to a call for religious action. Today,
Christmas season is being replace by Holiday – what we now hear is “Happy
Holiday” instead of the age long “Merry Christmas.”
Science Cancel Atheism
The movement towards completely secularized society began with the revolutions in
science, philosophy, civilization, and politics. It is somewhat funny how
that since the fall of the first man Adam in Eden; the more our eyes are opened
to know, the farer we seem to want to run from the Maker, either out of fear
and shame that we are naked and helpless or out of utter pride that we know
enough to do on our own and independent of Him. Knowledge belong to the Creator.
The one who planted the tree of knowledge of good and evil, He is the author of
all knowledge and He is all knowing. And rather than
oppose or diminish God, scientific evidence instead proof Intelligence behind
the cosmos, i.e. the universe is the work of Intelligent Design (ID). Canadians
and the human race did not evolve from some Ape; man was created in the image
of God by God. And if for reasons of our knowledge, creativities, inventions
and innovations that we continue to build and continue to evolve our society to
the present hi-tech driven super modern world we denigrate Faith and curse God,
then what will one do at that time, when he sees an even greater wonders that is coming,
things that have eluded human intellects and abilities in soon to come time? In
Revelation 13, there comes a time of the end when a common beast and nonhuman creature
will be given power to do great wonders, including giving life and breadth to a
molten image of another beast and causing it to speak. If indeed science breed reasons and we are indeed reasoning with open minds, we would before now realize that we have proven the existence of Jehovah Energy!
I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end (Ecclesiates 3:10-13)
Time Has Changed
Since the age of enlightenment, the non-religious
population began to grow although not without disruptions by wars, natural
disasters and other life threatening events that pull more people toward
belief. For instance, in the wake of the Second World War, church
attendance at weekly services was high, and resources that once went into war was
now devoted to building peace, giving leaders confident in the strength of the
churches. However, in the 1960s, church attendance and vocations to the
ordained ministry fell off sharply, most dramatically in Québec, and other
places. At the end of the 1960s, many Catholic and mainstream Protestant
leaders had agreed that religious institutions would have to align to changing
times by accommodating church doctrine to science, and by articulating a social
gospel that address the material issues of economic inequality, racism, sexism,
and North America militarism. Harvard Theological Review of 2006 proposed a
two-way dialectic between theology and the world – the former opening its door
to the later as essential to the healthy growth and development of both faith,
our understanding of the world, and our constantly evolving culture which we
bequeath to our children. Presently,
nearly
one-quarter of Canada's population has no religious affiliation
with the non-religious
population younger than the general population according to the 2011 National Household Survey. The
strong efficacy of the Christian Faith that was the bedrock of governance and
source of societal values in Canada and other Western countries is today being
abandoned. Also, the glory and piousness attached to religious events and rites
by our fathers and founders of our nation now meet cold blooded generation.
Conclusion
Where is thy faith O Canada/nations (Luke 8:25)? Whereas faith
is a personal thing of the heart, allowing the wind of unbelief and ungodliness to blow away the
structures, symbols and expressions of the Christian Faith across the country and nations plays so much to raising a generation that would/do not know the Lord.
The Enemy knows what he is doing. Signs and symbols are also key ways and parts of
communication; the three wise men trailed the star in the sky to Baby Jesus
when He was born. Seeing historic signs such as the cross on Mont-Royal in
Montreal or other crosses and faith symbols on old
buildings converted for secular uses across the country can spark some curiosity that could
lead individuals to inquire, learn about and embrace the Christian Faith. In sport, a coach is being sacked when he fails to lead his
team or ward to success. The Lord God seems the only Coach, Mentor and indeed
Father who have never failed, yet Canadians and nations pride in “sacking Him!” We’ve "sacked Him" from our government, families, schools, businesses, marriages and relationships,
careers, and our personal lives; still, He seats in Heaven and continues to rule in the affairs of men, and keep
our land glorious and free! As we all continue as nations under Heaven, the call is for all Canadians and every nation to
reflect on the labors of the heroes past who had no comfort of today but
survived and succeeded in taking the message of Salvation in Jesus Christ to the nations, though not without regrettable human tendencies. Faith in God Almighty through His begotten Son, Jesus Christ, is the absolute essential for our life and peace .
“"I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty” (Malachi 3:6-7)
Ubong Ambrose is a prolific author & Lead Pastor at Seat of Honor Ministries, Ottawa Ontario
