1.12.2006

UnReformed Conservatives - Darrel Reid

An unReformed, Conservative...

"foresees a day when Focus Canada drives Canada's social and moral agenda." - Darrel Reid B.C. Report (April 13, 1998)

“I think every Christian's under an obligation to change laws to reflect biblical values. Different Christians are going to try to change different laws, according to the call God gives them. You see Christians in all political parties. That reflects different understandings of what God's call is to us. That's a healthy thing. If the yeast congregates in one part of the loaf, it makes for pretty bad bread." - Darrel Reid, Then executive Director of Focus on the Family Canada.

Darrel Reid was previously Chief of Staff to Reform Party leader, Preston Manning, left the party in 1998 to become Executive Director of Focus on the Family Canada, the branch plant for James Dobson and his highly right wing Christian organization in the US, Focus on the Family. That organization was very instrumental in the re-election of George Bush. Prior to being Chief of Staff, Reid was director of research and policy for the Reform Party.


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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice series of posts Rick, this one in particular really frosts my apricots though. NO Christian has ANY obligation or right to change any law in a secular Democracy, plain and simple. Of course I know I don’t need to tell you that.

Ted Betts said...

Good post, Rick. There are a lot of scary candidates and future MPs coming out from under the rocks.

I actually think the second quote there is not bad; horrible in the context he means it, but I think liberals and the left in Canada and the US have forgotten their roots which was Tommy Douglas evangelism (he was preacher don't forget and that's what drove his social policies). I'm not a Christian believer, but I have benefitted greatly from society and I do and I should feel an obligation to get involved and change the world for the better based upon my values. If for someone else, those values emanate from a religious faith, I don't have a problem with that. I only have a problem with where you take that and what you try to change. Like Darrel.

I actually did my History MA a decade ago with Darrel. We took a couple of religion in history classes and in one class in particular, taught by the late George Rawlyk, there was a clear divide in the class between those who thought that religion - like feminism, labour, economic determinism - was an influencial and important part of our history that merited study. Then there were our religious classmates. The ones who, like Darrel, said that we all needed to recognize that sometimes there are invisible forces that are active in history - like an untimely storm before a battle, or a flood, or a strong/week wind in your sails - that need to be studied as the word of God.
At university.
At a graduate level.
In Canada.
Choose your crazy zealot.

I do believe that Harper is far more on the economic conservative side but he is willing to adle up to any so-con to get power, and like in the US, they are going to want their rewards.

And go check out WarBicycle's latest post about the Bible and homosexuality. It's a must read for all ProgBloggers.

TB
Cerberus

Ted Betts said...

Sorry. Still getting used to parody. That should have been:

At university.
At a graduate level.
In Canada.
I'm not making this up.
Choose your crazy zealot.

Anonymous said...

I should have worded that differently. Any Christian Should feel an obligation, and feel the Right to participate in society, just like anyone else. After all, Christian believers introduced most of the ideals we cherish and live by in our society.

The problem comes up when certain people think that their participation involves introducing their dogma into the laws of the land for their own self-justification. Nobody should be allowed to that. It’s only natural that a secular democratic society might stray from a purely religious path, but that doesn’t mean they’re making bad judgments. People who long for a society that is gone for good reasons do.

Cerberus, Thanks for pointing out War Bicycle’s post, I enjoyed it.

HDcanuck said...

Unfortunately, like Fundies of any stripe, they tend to tell others how they should be living THEIR lives and seek laws to enforce those wishes on others.