André Schutten, Deacon Andrew Bennett, and MP Rachel Harder at the Apologetics Canada conference. The discussion centred on how Christians and those they disagree with can engage respectfully. (Flyn Ritchie photo)
Special to The B.C. Catholic
One of the worst mistakes Christians can
make in the public square is not speaking about their faith, says Father Deacon
Andrew Bennett.
“Christian faith is not a purely private matter. Many of us have convinced ourselves that it is, (but) our faith from the very beginning has always been about being public.
The Ukrainian Catholic deacon and director for Cardus Religious Freedom Institute was one of several high-profile speakers at Apologetics Canada’s annual conference, titled Freedom of Religion: Being a Public Christian.
Other speakers included André Schutten, of the conservative advocacy group ARPA Canada, and Rachael Harder, the Conservative MP for Lethbridge.
The thousand-plus audience heard the speakers tackle timely issues such as:
· What is freedom and what are we to do with it?
· How are Christians to interpret separation of Church and State?
· How does a Christian meaningfully engage in politics?
The fact that each of the panelists hail from different religious traditions was a reflection of Apologetics Canada’s efforts to incorporate a variety of Christian voices. (Harder is a Christian, Dr. Bennett is Ukrainian Greek-Catholic, and Schutten comes from the Reformed tradition.)
The dialogue contained a meaningful mixture of both theory and praxis. Of particular concern to public education, both Schutten and Bennett exploded the false claim that a secular education system is value-neutral, since belief is entrenched within all humanity. They explored where various educational beliefs will lead, as well as the importance of Christians getting involved in the education system.
Throughout the panel discussion Harder outline specific and effective ways for Christians to engage government and society. “It only takes a few dedicated people to start a movement. That’s how they all start. I see the things that work and the things that don’t. Writing letters matter, email, and even picketing matters. These things make a point. When Canadians stand up and make their voices known, it is heard and it does matter.”
The overall tone of the discussion was respectful of diversity with an overarching attitude of tolerance for plurality. Bennett asserted, “Our country, Canada, is deeply pluralistic and that’s a tremendous asset.”
With that said, he offered some advice to Canadian Christians. “If we are going to build a thriving pluralist democracy in this country, we as Christians have a particular responsibility, and it is not an easy one. And that is to strive to build a society that, first of all, recognizes the dignity of every human being, including those with whom we disagree.”
All three panelists spoke to the issue of ideological conflict, with Harder going so far as to say “the clashing of viewpoints is good. We live in a society where we can have diverging viewpoints; we believe that in Canada this is a good thing.” She stressed that opposing voices must be encountered as image bearers of God, due respect and honour.
Bennett made similar remarks. “Conflict is not a bad thing so long as we speak to one another in charity and truth and we recognize in that other person with whom we disagree their dignity. Because they are made in the likeness of God just as we are. We have to strive as Christians for excellence in the public square. We have to reach out to people in such a way that we can build a common life together.”