Tossing the Lord's Prayer
Amid the reactions to the Ontario Legislature's decision to discontinue using the Lord's Prayer for their sessions, a colleague of mine photocopied this letter to the editor from today's Ottawa Citizen:
Agnostic changes
As another candle of faith is about to be extinguished by the prevailing winds of agnostic secularism, I note what G.K. Chesterton observed back in his day: "These are the days when the Christian is expected to praise every creed except his own." (Illustrated London News, Aug. 11, 1928).
- Richardo Di Cecca, Burlington
In our own way (a much more muted way) is this not just Canada's version of the US controversy surrounding the removal of the 10 Commandments from courthouses?
And should Christians be surprised by such actions by the state? I certainly am not. Chesterton's prophetic words signal an end to the concept of a "Christian society." Contemporary Canadian society is decidedly post-Christian, and we should therefore not be surprised to see Christianity de-legitimized on a broad scale. We are coming into an age of persecution and trial, where we finally join our brothers and sisters in the 2/3rds world who have always suffered for their faith in Jesus Christ. We are closer not only to these contemporary saints, but to the saints of old. The vast majority of the apostles and first followers of the Jesus' movement in the 1st century were mocked, shunned, jailed, humiliated, and killed for their faith. Yet (and here's my point) theirs was a faith that changed the world! Even in their suffering, they recognized that God was at work in them. As Paul says in Romans 8:35-39:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Father, I thank you for that fact that you are not surprised by the persecutions your followers face, and that, in fact, you know such persecution in a personal and profound way through your Son's own suffering and death. Help us, then, to stand firm in a world that is more and more inclined to hate us, so that your Gospel of your love may reach to the ends of the earth, for the saving of many. This I ask in the name Jesus, who rose from the dead and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
Agnostic changes
As another candle of faith is about to be extinguished by the prevailing winds of agnostic secularism, I note what G.K. Chesterton observed back in his day: "These are the days when the Christian is expected to praise every creed except his own." (Illustrated London News, Aug. 11, 1928).
- Richardo Di Cecca, Burlington
In our own way (a much more muted way) is this not just Canada's version of the US controversy surrounding the removal of the 10 Commandments from courthouses?
And should Christians be surprised by such actions by the state? I certainly am not. Chesterton's prophetic words signal an end to the concept of a "Christian society." Contemporary Canadian society is decidedly post-Christian, and we should therefore not be surprised to see Christianity de-legitimized on a broad scale. We are coming into an age of persecution and trial, where we finally join our brothers and sisters in the 2/3rds world who have always suffered for their faith in Jesus Christ. We are closer not only to these contemporary saints, but to the saints of old. The vast majority of the apostles and first followers of the Jesus' movement in the 1st century were mocked, shunned, jailed, humiliated, and killed for their faith. Yet (and here's my point) theirs was a faith that changed the world! Even in their suffering, they recognized that God was at work in them. As Paul says in Romans 8:35-39:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Father, I thank you for that fact that you are not surprised by the persecutions your followers face, and that, in fact, you know such persecution in a personal and profound way through your Son's own suffering and death. Help us, then, to stand firm in a world that is more and more inclined to hate us, so that your Gospel of your love may reach to the ends of the earth, for the saving of many. This I ask in the name Jesus, who rose from the dead and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
0 comments:
Post a Comment