Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is experiencing some economic, legal, and religious difficulties.
The province of Ontario was once the economic powerhouse of Canada. It has declined to have-not status due mostly to the misguided economic policies and excessive spending of the present and previous Liberal government.
How bad is the situation in Ontario? Economists talk about California’s irresponsible government spending, but the Ontario people carry over five times more debt per person than Californians. The Ontario debt is about $21,000 for each man, woman, and child. In fact, the debt is near 40% of the provincial economy. Downgraded in 2012, Ontario’s credit rating could take another hit if the government continues to borrow to meet its bills.
And there are the legal problems. In 2013, Information and Privacy Commissioner issued a report on how the Liberal government misled the public on its canceling of the construction of two gas-fired power plants near Toronto. It is a story of political opportunism, government deleted emails, and a near $1 billion bill for Ontarian taxpayers.
Although Wynne weathered the storm of the gas-plants scandal, currently there is disturbing news of Liberal lawlessness connected to a by-election last month. An Elections Ontario investigation uncovered evidence of two Ontario Liberals involved in bribery. Apparently, they made an offer to a would-be candidate to step aside in the Sudbury by-election, thus contravening the bribery section of the Elections Act. The Ontario Provincial Police are now investigating the matter.
The latest Wynne difficulty is of particular importance to Bible-believing Christians and many others. Last week the government released its newest Sex Ed curriculum that will be in all public and Catholic schools this September. Notable was Wynne’s response to the hundreds of Catholics, evangelicals, and others who braved bone-numbing cold temperatures in Toronto to protest the curriculum. She declared the motivation of protestors included “homophobia.”
So was the protest against the curriculum in any sense homophobic? Unlike Wynne, I cannot assume to know exactly what is in the hearts and minds of the protestors. But I can understand their concern with the Liberal sex-education program.
Reports on the curriculum indicate that Grade 1 students will learn correct terminology of genitalia, Grade 3 students will learn to be accepting of homosexuality and other “gender identities”, Grade 5 students will learn that sexual orientation is something one is born with, and Grade 7 students will hear material suggesting the equivalence of vaginal and anal intercourse.
As is the case in other jurisdictions, a large number of Ontario parents have issue with ideology trumping biology, notably the propaganda that there are many different genders. Such political-driven ideology is anti-intellectual. One can understand why people question social theorists who claim the science of male and female is outdated. Others recognizing the genuine need for sexual education find the curriculum in error for targeting children when they are too young to process certain material.
As for Christians like myself who believe that the Bible represents God’s words, Romans 1: 18, 26-27 offers clear instruction on the issue of sexuality: “But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves…. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relationships with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men and, as a result, suffered within themselves the penalty they richly deserved.”
It is important to stress that followers of Christ are not without sin. We fail often, but we keep striving to be more Christ-like. From the Bible, we learn that we are to love one another. It is also clear that Christians ultimately fear only God. We care about the eternal salvation of those who spurn the Word of God.
The term “homophobia” suggests a hatred and fear of homosexuals. Calling a Christian a homophobe makes no sense to me because as a Christian I cannot hate or fear a homosexual individual.
Premier Wynne is in trouble in regards to the economy, the law, and the biblical truth of Christians and traditional values of many others. But she needs to know that the Christians that she is uncomfortable with are actually praying for her. From their reading of God’s Word, Christians know the consequences of disobedience to God. Concerning the Liberal’s Sex Ed teachings, they understand how the sin of homosexuality presents obstacles for eternal life in heaven. And eternal salvation is something that Bible-believing Christians care deeply about – even in the face of angry people “who push the truth away.”
Economic Sources:
Published initially at The Conservative Prof.: https://theconservativeprof.wordpress.com/
The Bayview Review 