Back to the Commentary SectionTake Canada Back
August 1, 2001 (corrected on June 8 2006 for accuracy)
Note: The facts, statistics and part of the outline in this article come from the July 1995 Focus On The Family newsletter written by Dr. Bruce Gordon, and facts were researched by Michael Clarke, president of Reel to Real Ministries. Copyright © 1995 Focus On The family Canada.
Canada’s Christian history is slowly disappearing out of the history books. The government and courts are trying to systematically remove from law the spiritual principles that the founding fathers of Canada stood for. It is more prevalent today then ever before. They claim that these principles no longer reflect relevant traditions to public policy. As a result of these changes, Canada is in economical and moral decline:
–Violent youth crime has increased by 116% between 1986 and 1992 -- twice the rate of increase for adults.
–The suicide rate for young people between the ages of 15 and 19 has increased by 600% between 1955 and 1992.
–The number of single parent families has risen 34% from 1981 to 1991.
–The divorce rate has increased over 5 times between the late 1960’s and the mid-1980’s .
–The net federal debt per capita was $837 in 1970. By 1995, that figure skyrocketed to $18,325, a 2000% increase in just 25 years.
Those are just a few of the statistics. The question we need to ask (and especially our leaders) is, “What went wrong?” I do not have all the answers but Deuteronomy 8:6-20 holds the answer.
“Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God.” King James Version
Click image for information and larger picture.
God has warned us in his word that turning away from His absolute principles will result in destruction and the collapse of a nation. The Fathers of Confederation built a good and solid foundation on the Word of God. The sad part is that those among Canada’s governing elite who are determined to disregard or rewrite our history have missed the critical distinction between tradition and traditionalism. According to Russian philosopher Jaroslav Pelikan traditionalism is the dead faith of the living, but tradition is the living faith of the dead. Canada is a country rich with traditions inspired by the living faith of it’s founders. Here are a few examples:
–Canada’s coat of arms, adopted in 1921, stands upon the Latin phrase “A Mari Usque Ad Mare,” which when translated means “from sea to sea” a reference to Psalm 72:8.
–Canada’s official motto comes from Psalm 72:8, “He shall have dominion from sea to sea.” Until not many years ago, July 1 was called “Dominion Day” which was a recognition of the sovereignty of God. Today, it is called “Canada Day.”
–In 1533, Jacques Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence River to Montréal. To commemorate the founding of Montréal, Cartier wrote in his diary “…we all kneeled down in the company of the Indians and with our hands raised toward heaven yielded our thanks to God.”
–The “Father of New France,” Samuel de Champlain, wrote in his diary about the natives, “…(the aborigines are) living without God and without religion…I thereupon concluded in my private judgement that I should be committing a great sin if I did not make it my business to devise some means of bringing them to the knowledge of God.”
–David Thompson, explorer and statesman, developed maps from his surveys between 1784 and 1812. Many of his maps are still being used today. Thompson’s words give the reason he endured the physical hardship of exploration “so that these physically impenetrable barriers may be traversed and the Gospel be spread.”
–Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, Premier of New Brunswick and one of the Fathers of Confederation, rose each morning to start his day with prayer and Scripture reading. As the 33 fathers gathered in Charlottetown to discuss and draft the terms of the British North American Act, there are were many suggestions on what to call this new “United Canada.” That morning, as Tilley read from Psalm 72:8, he became so convinced that Canada should be a nation under God, that when came down to the Conference session, he presented the inspired “Dominion of Canada.” The other Fathers readily agreed and accepted. Today, The following words hang in the corridor near the confederation Chamber in Province House: “In the hearts of the delegates who assembled in this room on September 1, 1864, was born the Dominion of Canada. Providence being their guide they builded better then they knew.”
–Bishop John Strachan, a leader who helped form our public education system, stated that “the church must continue to play a central role in education. You cannot divorce religion from education because schools will inevitably reflect the philosophical and religious or (irreligious) biases of those who direct them.”
But our leaders have divorced religion from education when they took prayer, Bible reading, and the Ten Commandments out of the the schools!
-Egerton Ryerson, father of public education in Canada, wanted a “common patriotic ground of comprehensiveness and avowed (or maintain) Christian principles.” He wrote the textbook First Lessons in Christian Morals. Ryerson clearly said that the Ontario school system was to be a “Christian public school system.”
–Many of our greatest Canadian universities were founded as denominational seminaries to educate future church leaders:
–King’s College in Nova Scotia, now know as Dalhousie University, was founded by the Anglicans.
–Queen’s University, founded by the Roman Catholic Church, and Canada’s first bilingual University.
–McMaster University, was founded by the Baptists.
–The Ontario Public School Act of 1896 stated that “It shall be the duty of every teacher of a public school to teach diligently and faithfully all of the subjects in the public school course of study; to maintain proper order and discipline in his pupils in his school; to encourage his pupils in the pursuit of learning; to include, by precept and example, respect for religion and the principles of Christian morality and the highest regard for truth, justice, love of country, humanity, benevolence, sobriety, industry, frugality, purity, temperance and all other virtues.”
Imagine what it would be like if the Act above had not been changed. No school shootings, no kids killing or even thinking of killing other kids and teachers, and there would be order in the class room instead of the teachers just trying to survive. And with everything which I just described above going on, there does not seem to be much time or concentration left to learn anything.
The Facts in this article can be found in The Facts Library–In 1960, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker introduced the Canadian Bill of Rights. It begins with, “The Parliament of Canada, affirming that the Canadian Nation is founded upon principles that acknowledge the supremacy of God.”
–In 1981, Pierre Elliott Trudeau signed his name to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter begins with, “Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of the law.”
