Author: John Sikkema

27 Oct 2020 Post-Fall Politics

Posted at 15:49h in Public Theology 0 Comments

“See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” (Jer. 1:10) My previous article, “Creation and Politics,” focused on God’s sovereignty as the creator and sustainer of all things. In His sovereignty, God gives authority to man. Therefore, while God’s authority is “original, eternal, unlimited,” man’s authority is always “derivative, temporary, and limited.” [1] By God’s design, His character is reflected in human relationships and authoritative offices – including civil authority, which He created (Col....

09 Oct 2020 Immigration Canada wrong to reject “conjugal relationship” of woman and gay man, judge rules

Posted at 13:24h in Family 0 Comments

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Last month, a federal court ruled that a man and woman who have a committed friendship, a sexual relationship, financial interdependence, and a child together qualify as having a “conjugal relationship” for purposes of immigration law. “Ok,” you say, “is that news?” Well, you see, the man is same-sex-attracted. And so, the Toronto Star reports that this “groundbreaking judgment” enters “unchartered territory by broadening the definition of conjugal relationships to include mixed-orientation couples.” I’ve got news for the Star. This is well-chartered territory. Same-sex-attracted persons have been forming conjugal relationships (which, until recently, were...

08 Oct 2020 Creation and Politics

Posted at 17:07h in Blog, Public Theology 0 Comments

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“The God who made the world and everything in it is Lord of heaven and earth… He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth.” – Paul in Athens (Acts 17). (Note: this article is part 2 of a series that began with "Christian Political Engagement in Light of Redemptive History".) “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” God was before all things and before time. God is eternal and self-subsistent. God spoke...

21 Sep 2020 Politics in Light of Redemptive History

Posted at 15:29h in Blog, Public Theology 0 Comments

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A pastor once asked me, “Is political engagement part of our calling as Christians? After all, Jesus and the disciples didn’t seek political power or reform.” The answer, in short, is yes (though it matters greatly how we engage politically). Christ is Lord over all, including civil government, and if we pray for His will to be done on His earth, we cannot neglect so significant a part of life on earth. In a secular climate, Christians are prone to restrict the Bible’s relevance to personal salvation, piety, and church life. N.T....

29 Jul 2020 A Christian wedding videographer and the media’s homophobia narrative

Posted at 11:36h in Blog, Gender and Sexuality 0 Comments

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On July 20, Ms. Hamstra, who operates Caramount Pictures, replied to an email request from Ms. Roberts and Ms. Arthur to be the videographer for their wedding. “I say this with much care,” Hamstra wrote, “because I know your union is incredibly important to you, but we do not film homosexual weddings.” CBC released a story on this email exchange the very next day. “The refusal came 15 years to the day after Canada legalized same-sex marriage,” CBC highlights, as if the videographer planned this for maximal symbolic impact. Ms. Hamstra...

21 Jul 2020 State and church authority in a pandemic – An interview with Professor Koyzis

Posted at 17:23h in Blog, Fundamental Freedoms, Public Theology 0 Comments

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In We Answer to Another: Authority, Office, and the Image of God, David Koyzis explains that authority is intrinsic to humanity and everything we do, because “authority is resident in an office given us in creation,” and when we encounter authority, “we encounter nothing less than the image of God, which always points beyond itself.” Part 1 of ARPA’s interview with Professor Koyzis covered some of his book’s key ideas. Part 2, below, focuses on the nature and limits of political authority and tensions between political and church authority during COVID. PART...

17 Jul 2020 The Key to Authority is the Office of Image Bearer – An Interview with Professor David Koyzis

Posted at 10:34h in Blog, Fundamental Freedoms, Public Theology 0 Comments

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ARPA’s John Sikkema interviews David Koyzis In We Answer to Another: Authority, Office, and the Image of God, David Koyzis addresses modern skepticism of authority by arguing that authority is intrinsic to humanity and part of everything we do, both communally and individually. Why is that? Because “authority is resident in an office given us in creation.” When we encounter authority, “we encounter nothing less than the image of God, which always points beyond itself.” Professor Koyzis was kind enough to talk about his book with me. Part 1 of our interview,...

20 May 2020 Professing progressivism for emergency loans?

Posted at 11:58h in Blog, Economics 0 Comments

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What is our government doing by requiring small businesses to confirm that they do not “promote hate” or “discriminate” before they can get a loan? Imagine your business partner suffers a serious injury at the construction site. You call 911. The operator asks if you and your business partner respect collective bargaining rights. Or imagine you need cancer treatment, and hospital staff ask if you support the equal right of everyone to publicly funded medical care. Would that ever be appropriate? Does your respect or disrespect for collective bargaining or health care...

27 Mar 2020 A Tale of Two Pandemics

Posted at 15:12h in Blog, Euthanasia, Fundamental Freedoms 0 Comments

3 Likes

Every day, COVID-19 numbers make top headlines. So, you probably have some idea of the numbers in Canada. As of today: Total people tested: >175,000 (most tests are negative or results pending) Total cases (confirmed or presumptive): ~4,700 (there are likely many more unknown cases) Total COVID-related deaths: 55 Meanwhile, since Canada legalized euthanasia in June 2016, medical practitioners have deliberately killed over 14,000 patients, with legal approval and public funding. And the rate of euthanasia deaths is accelerating. From June to December of 2016, about 1,000 people were killed. But...

14 Feb 2020 A breach in Wall: New court ruling casts shadow on church independence

Posted at 13:47h in Fundamental Freedoms, Legal Cases 0 Comments

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In 2018, we told you about a Supreme Court case called Wall v Highwood Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In that case, Mr. Wall took a Jehovah’s Witnesses Congregation to court for “disfellowshipping” him. Mr. Wall succeeded in the lower courts, but lost his case at the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC). The SCC decided unanimously that civil judges have no business reviewing a religious body’s decision to expel a member where no legal right is at stake. That case raised the fundamental issue of churches’ freedom to govern themselves, particularly in...

Author: John Sikkema

27 Oct 2020 Post-Fall Politics

09 Oct 2020 Immigration Canada wrong to reject “conjugal relationship” of woman and gay man, judge rules

08 Oct 2020 Creation and Politics

21 Sep 2020 Politics in Light of Redemptive History

29 Jul 2020 A Christian wedding videographer and the media’s homophobia narrative

21 Jul 2020 State and church authority in a pandemic – An interview with Professor Koyzis

17 Jul 2020 The Key to Authority is the Office of Image Bearer – An Interview with Professor David Koyzis

20 May 2020 Professing progressivism for emergency loans?

27 Mar 2020 A Tale of Two Pandemics

14 Feb 2020 A breach in Wall: New court ruling casts shadow on church independence

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