Prolegomenon
Christians do not necessarily need to know everything. After dealing with the myriad concerns that personally confront us daily, staying abreast of other concerns can be quite daunting. In fact, assuming we must (or can) know everything often leads to some grave mistakes. It is a big world in many regards, and there are many things that happen on any given day.
In fact, it might often even be better for Christians (and probably for people in general) not to try to keep up-to-date on every given issue and calamity. This does not mean I have thrown away my cell phone or taken a sabbatical from social media—though that latter may be a viable option, and the former sounds more enticing than it used to. Many Christians have already deliberately limited their exposure to social media and the content barrage of news media, and it certainly seems that that a regular diet of Scripture and prayer in the morning far outweighs the benefits of reading the news headlines (cf. Mark 1:35).
Yet we may recognize that keeping abreast of current headlines (or the things which should be headlines) is a bit of a two-edged sword. On the one hand, our generation has an unprecedented access to global information in a way that is truly unprecedented in human history. This is both a blessing as well as a curse. A house can burn down in a rural province of China, and I can view real-time reporting on my cell phone in the continental U.S.—complete with pictures, videos, and running commentary. This is an amazing feat of technology, yet it also burdens me with immediate information that I would not have had access to in previous generations.
Anyone who lived through the advent of Google can attest to the great changes that technology has brought. We have a great exposure to news and current events, yet we often lack the context with which to discern these events. Worse still, news sources contain far more commentary than factual reporting, only further complicating the issue.
The State of Things in Christendom
The above subtitle is likely far too ambitious for a short blog post—but let us at least consider the current state of things in Canada (and subsequently in the U.S.). Canada has experienced a different COVID response than we have in the U.S., and this was particularly evident in the way the Canadian authorities dealt with local churches in their provinces. Whereas the U.S. generally avoided overt confrontation with churches over COVID responses (albeit with a few noteworthy examples, particularly on the West Coast), the same did not seem to be the case in Canada.
Though many Americans consider Canada a close cousin to the north in many regards, Canada’s laws and protections for religious freedom are not the same as those in the United States. This became startlingly clear during the early days of the COVID response, when Canadian churches were offered very little in the way of protection. In the months that followed those initial responses, churches were shuttered, police personnel were stationed around barbed-wire fences, and government drones sought out church groups gathered in the woods or fields. The state of things was (and has continued to be) quite shocking, to say the least. This is to say nothing of other ongoing legislation which puts churches directly in the crosshairs, such as Bill C-4 on so-called "conversion therapy" which passed January's gathering of Canadian parliament to much acclaim (by some) and concern (by others).
In the aftermath of the Canadian COVID response, we have witnessed pastors and congregants fined, detained, and even jailed for gathering for worship. Polish Pastor Artur Pawlowski was arrested for protesting the government’s restrictions of church worship. Pastor James Coates notably spent 35 days in an Alberta jail cell for preaching (and for subsequently refusing to promise not to preach as a condition of his bail), and has since faced ongoing issues between his church and the governmental authorities. Pastor Jacob Reaume at Trinity Bible Chapel has reportedly accrued around $50 million in fines for refusing to comply with government orders concerning the worship in their church. These examples are certainly enough for immense concern, though there are many more examples to draw from (Joseph Boot and the Ezra Institute have made much of this public, link here).
What has been interesting in the midst of this situation is the relative silence in American Christendom on this issue. I mentioned that we live in a day of nearly unprecedented information access, and that dynamic applies to Western Christianity as well. There are myriad conferences, associations, networks, lobbying groups, inter-denominational ministries, magazines, podcasts, YouTube channels, and seemingly endless blogs to choose from (though hopefully not every blog is without merit, for the sake of this current post). In short, there are ample methods of communication within Western Christianity. Yet I have heard surprisingly little on the plight of Christians in Canada from most corners.
I am not suggesting that Christians are negligent by not attending to every challenge in the world. Nor am I suggesting that the situation in Canada has been completely ignored by all—there have been a few voices that have raised concern. What I am suggesting is that we speak volumes by what we do not say. This does not mean I am implying that “silence is violence” and that every Christian must issue an immediate tweet (which is a wrong-headed response). However, it is certainly puzzling that one of the most aggressive attacks on the Christian church is occurring in an advanced and influential Western nation, and yet many Christian voices seem to have shockingly little to say about it. I feel there have been enough disclaimers here already, but let me add one more. This has nothing to do with your opinions about COVID, nor your convictions regarding vaccines, nor the frequency with which you wash your hands. This is simply recognizing that Christians meeting in sub-zero temperatures while hiding in the woods to escape government drones simply in order to worship the Lord as He has commanded, all occurring within in a leading Western nation, is patently cause for dire concern and deep biblical outrage.
Standing in the Gap
Christians are called to be those who stand with the suffering. This recognition has been championed in some circles in recent years, though typically this has manifested in regard to those outside the church. We may recognize that as Christians, we are called to particularly stand with those who claim the name of Christ:
"So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." —Gal 6:10
Christians are called to first minister to other Christians, including those we share a border with. Paul similarly calls us to “bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2). Christians must stand with other Christians—at the very minimum, we must be in prayer for them.
We must also remember those who are enduring persecution. Again, I would maintain that suffering for obeying what God has commanded (Heb 10:25) is most certainly suffering persecution, no matter the attendant situations that surround it. While writing from a jail cell, Paul encouraged the Colossian church to remember his chains (Col 4:18). We remember one another’s persecution because we are all one body in Christ:
"Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body." —Heb 13:3
Christians must not ignore or forget the suffering experienced globally by the church—we are called to remember them regularly, help them if possible, and pray for them without ceasing.
It is hard to say why it seems that so many Christians have been noticeably silent about the situation in Canada. It is not because the situation is new—it has been ongoing for years at this point. It is not because the situation is veiled from sight—there are many ways we may obtain information on the situation. It is also not because the situation is so far removed from us—Western policies often seem to flow in the same direction, especially concerning Canada and the U.S. I would humbly suggest that in this (and every) situation, Christians must be watchful (1 Cor 16:13; 1 Thess 5:6), must be vocal (Eph 6:18), and must be prayerful (Col 4:2).
SDG,
Josh Howard
Josh Howard serves as the Elder/Pastor at Grace Community Church in Battle Creek, MI, co-hosts the Good Doctrine Podcast and the Age to Come Webcast, and is an alumni of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (PhD, ThM).
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