Posted at 10:00h
in
Public Theology
Today’s Throw Back Thursday article is the third installment of the four-part series entitled “Kingdom Citizens in Secular Canada,” originally presented at a 2005 Burlington Reformed Study Centre event. The series was reproduced in the January 6, 2006, issue of the Clarion magazine, and reprinted on ARPA’s blog on July 3, 2009.
At the original time of writing, Ray Pennings worked at the Work Research Foundation. His comments were set in a context when many Christians were finding their political feet, deciding with which political party to support, and wrestling with the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Today, Ray Pennings is the Executive Vice President for Cardus, a rebranded and expanded version of the Work Research Foundations. He continues to contribute to Christians' understanding of public theology; his 2013 article, The Devil's Advocate: Perfection Waits for Another World, builds up the article republished below. If you enjoy the article below, we encourage you to give the newer one a read as well!
Influencing for Good
By Ray Pennings
Introduction
Winston Churchill reportedly once said that party democracy is the worst form of government except for all of the others. Reflecting on the questions provided by the organizers of this evening in their kind invitation for me to address this meeting, I could not help but wonder, “How would we respond to these questions if we asked them in the context of Winston Churchill, World War II, and the stark issues confronting Christian citizens in that time? Would we still regard Churchill with the same respect as I sense most of us do today? Would we have been active supporters of his leadership?”