い い
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>> It has stood
the test of time --
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God's book, the Bible, still
relevant in today's complex
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world. "It Is
Written" -- Sharing
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messages of hope
around the world.
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い い
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>> Dear friends, we have
enjoyed, over the last several
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weeks, exciting discussions on
the issue of religious freedom,
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the freedom to choose.
Once again, I have gathered with
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me a wonderful panel. Kevin
Boonstra from Vancouver. You
practice law right there in
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Vancouver. Mark Johnson,
president of the Seventh-Day
Adventist Church in
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Canada, headquartered here
in Ontario. And Gerry Chipeur,
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practicing law as a lawyer in
Calgary, Alberta. Gentlemen, I'm
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so excited to have you here,
once again. Now, you know, we've
talked about a number of
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different things.
And to the viewer, if you
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happen to miss any of the
programs, you can go to our
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website there,
www.ItIsWrittenCanada.ca, and
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view archives of the program.
Or you can go to our YouTube
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there at
www.YouTube.com/IIWCanada.
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And during our discussions,
we've been talking about
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several liberty issues, and most
of them revolving around issues
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here in Canada. And I
think, you know, Mark,
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I want to start with
you. I think one of the most
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important things we can
talk about is the reality of the
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freedom that we
enjoy here in Canada.
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>> We're really blessed.
Um, and when you travel around
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the globe and you see what life
is like in many parts of the
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world, uh, there are large
portions of the Earth where you
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have to be very careful what
you believe, how you express
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yourself. But Canada has this
incredible quality that brings
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people together from all around
the world and puts them in a
community where it does not
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assess that one is better than
the other. Everyone is free,
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within reason, to practice what
they believe, and that is a
great thing about this nation.
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>> And, you know, Kevin, I want
to follow up with that a little
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bit, you know, Mark being a
pastor, the president of a
church here in Canada.
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What's maybe a legal
perspective, a lawyer's
perspective of the freedoms we
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enjoy here in Canada? >>
Yes, over the last few weeks,
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we've talked about some of the
struggles that -- that we've had
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in Canada, some of the hard
cases, and even sometimes some
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cases that maybe weren't decided
appropriately or properly
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to fully defend freedom of
religion in Canada. But -- But
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that's really all around the
periphery when you look around
the world. Because I agree with
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Mark -- We have such great, uh,
freedom of religion in Canada
compared to so many other
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places. And it's important that
we -- we look at what's going on
around the world, both because
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we should be doing what we can
to help people around the world
that are -- uh, don't enjoy the
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freedoms that we do, but also
it's a cautionary tale about
what happens when you don't
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properly protect freedom of
religion and some of the other
fundamental freedoms.
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>> Gerry, what are
your thoughts on that?
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>> Well, the -- the leadership
role that Canada has played,
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as we mentioned, both within
the United Nations and within
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other international bodies,
to create these international
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human rights documents, has,
uh, I think had a significant
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benefit for the world. For
example, there's the
International Convention
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on the Rights of Children, a
document that, to a great
extent, takes the values
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that we find within our Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms
and says to the world,
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"Children and families are
important and must be respected
by the state when the state
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interacts with individuals," and
it puts an onus on the state to
create legal mechanisms so
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that children and families can
act to protect themselves
against both state actors and
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others who might try to take
away the individual rights of
autonomy that children and their
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parents should have as families.
>> You're talking about that
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removal of rights. And, Mark, I
want to turn to you, because I
want to talk about then now, the
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context -- a word that we
haven't used, I think, in our
programs thus far, and that is
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the word "persecution." >> Mmm.
>> You travel around the world
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representing the Seventh-Day
Adventist Church in Canada
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around the world. Why don't we
talk a little bit about what is
persecution, what do we see
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happening in other areas of the
world from the regard, and in
regards to, persecution?
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>> Well, persecution is an
interesting thing, because it is
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not something new, obviously. As
you read the biblical account,
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you discover that over time, uh,
there certainly has been a -- a
sense of various individuals
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seeking to impose their will on
other folks, and doing it
forcefully. If you go back in
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time to the prophetic books of
the Old Testament, clearly,
there's story after story --
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very interesting stories, which
would not have been very
interesting to live through,
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but are interesting and
instructive to us, because it
demonstrates that within
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the human family, there has been
this sort of forceful approach
to, um, belief and -- and
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practice in various places. So,
um, in the world that we live in
today, there are people
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who restrict various points of
view. There are religious groups
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that are marginalized in some
parts of the world. Certain
governments, uh, in --
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in varying portions of the world
have made it very, very clear,
by law and by coercion of
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various types, that some people
who have certain beliefs are not
welcome in their country or in
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their area. Uh, in other cases,
there are parts of the world
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today where individuals lose
their life if they happen to be
people who have a given faith
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basis. And that's very
worrisome, because if I am
willing to go to that length,
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then, frankly, the discussion
that we had about life a couple
of weeks ago is -- is kind of a
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mute point, isn't it? Because if
I'm willing to kill somebody
else to -- to do and
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force my thinking, then I really
don't regard the sanctity of
life very much, so now I'm in
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a conflict. >> And you use that
word "killing," and I'm going to
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bring up a term, "the martyr."
And I will talk specifically
about Christian martyrs.
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We have seen some of that in
the news lately, but what is a
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Christian martyr? What does that
word "martyr" mean? >> Well, I
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think that -- that the concept
of martyrdom, the act of
martyrdom, is -- is being
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willing to say that there is a
principle that is important to
me, so important to me, that the
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loss of life itself is of less
consequence than for me to back
away from this thing that I
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believe in. That's really a very
powerful thing when you come
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right down to it. >> Absolutely.
And it's -- you know, it's
interesting, that word "martyr,"
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from the Greek. It comes
from a Greek word, martus.
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That word is translated
oftentimes in the New Testament
as "testimony" or "witness."
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And what you have is someone,
when you talk about the word
martyrdom, someone -- as you've
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stated -- someone who's willing
to stand for a principle, so
much so that they're willing
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to die for that principle. And
certainly, we have people who
are dying for principles
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outside of Christianity, but
within Christianity,
Christianity is, in fact, one of
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the most persecuted religions
around the world, and we read
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from history all kinds of
persecution coming upon
Christians and other religious
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groups. However, Kevin, I'm
going to turn to you. We don't
hear a lot about that,
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though, in the media. Let's talk
a little bit about maybe why we
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don't hear about that, and then
let's bring maybe to light,
through these programs, some of
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the things that are happening
around the world. >> Yeah, so,
00:10:07.37\00:10:10.81
persecution is nothing new for
Christians. I think most of --
most of Christ's disciples died
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as martyrs, died for the -- you
know, to preach the Gospel that
Christ himself had taught
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them. It showed, you know,
fundamental belief in -- in
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things that Jesus had -- had
taught them and their experience
living with him on a daily
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basis, so much so that they were
prepared to die. So, it's
nothing new to Christianity.
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Uh, but we are seeing it, again,
around the world. And, um, you
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know, we see extremist groups,
like ISIS, that is, you know,
killing for a whole bunch of
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reasons -- because they don't
like somebody's sexual
orientation, they don't like
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somebody's religion, they don't
like somebody's, whatever it is,
and so death is the consequence.
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Um, so -- so, this thing that
happened in the Middle East
around the time of Jesus is
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still happening, or is happening
again today. Uh, you know,
00:11:03.26\00:11:07.96
Christian church, historically,
isn't -- uh, isn't immune from
criticism on this, obviously,
00:11:07.96\00:11:11.97
through the Middle Ages, either,
uh, but we are seeing it and it
-- and it is troubling.
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I think we should be careful,
though, not to just protect
against the persecution against
00:11:15.27\00:11:19.77
Christians, because there
are other groups that ISIS is
00:11:19.77\00:11:23.51
killing, as well, uh, and we
have to be equally prepared to
defend -- to defend their rights
00:11:23.51\00:11:27.88
and their right to life. >> And
I think if an individual would
go back and watch all of
00:11:27.88\00:11:31.25
our programs, we've been really
talking about that, and while we
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all, uh, practice a Christian
world view in our -- in our
round table here, it's very
00:11:36.93\00:11:43.26
important to understand, we must
recognize the rights and the
freedom of religious practice,
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or the freedom to not practice
religiously amongst other --
amongst other people.
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And, Gerry, I want to make sure
I'm not making an overstatement,
but we've talked about things
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happening here in Canada, in
North America. Would it be too
00:12:00.82\00:12:05.29
much to say that some of the
things we've seen around the
world, is actually -- if we take
00:12:05.29\00:12:09.62
the denial of religious rights,
is what -- some of what we're
seeing around the world actually
00:12:09.62\00:12:14.93
the logical end to denying
the rights of individuals the
00:12:14.93\00:12:18.90
freedom to choose? >>
Absolutely. And I -- I would
remind your viewers that, just
00:12:18.90\00:12:25.21
in the 21st century, we have had
more Christian martyrs than all
the other 20 centuries before.
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It -- This is a very dangerous
time to declare oneself a
00:12:33.62\00:12:40.62
Christian. Maybe not in North
America, maybe not in Europe,
but in most other parts of the
00:12:40.62\00:12:47.36
world. Uh, if you take a stand
for your faith, uh, your life is
00:12:47.36\00:12:52.60
not very valuable. And it's
critically important to
understand that it is the same
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attitude that causes
discrimination in Canada and
that causes discrimination which
00:13:01.61\00:13:09.55
is much more, uh, lethal in
other parts of the world. And if
one has that in mind, that
00:13:09.55\00:13:16.26
discrimination, at the end of
the day, is about treating
someone as less of a human than
00:13:16.26\00:13:22.46
you are, then that begins to
make it possible for you to
treat them and mistreat them
00:13:22.46\00:13:29.87
and, ultimately, to potentially,
uh, engage in the kind of
persecution that we're talking
00:13:29.87\00:13:35.91
about internationally. >> And
it's -- it's very interesting,
00:13:35.91\00:13:40.78
when we talk from a Christian
perspective and, unfortunately
-- and, Kevin, you were
00:13:40.78\00:13:44.75
mentioning this -- Christianity
is not immune to this. I just
did a tour in Europe that
00:13:44.75\00:13:49.46
rehearsed and -- and went and
viewed sites where there -- some
of this persecution occurred and
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millions of people died for
their standing up of their
individual faith in opposition
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to the majority religion. And it
is very interesting, Mark, you
talked about the issue
00:14:04.41\00:14:10.65
of prophesy, and -- and this is
not necessarily a show in which
we're going to go into
00:14:10.65\00:14:14.95
biblical and prophetic topics,
but it is very interesting, the
last book of the Bible,
00:14:14.95\00:14:18.82
the Book of Revelations, talks
about a time -- a time where we
as Christians believe
00:14:18.82\00:14:24.59
is coming soon, and we're seeing
emerge rather quickly, where
there will be a great revival
00:14:24.59\00:14:30.73
of the denial of religious
freedom. And even our neighbors
00:14:30.73\00:14:36.17
to the south, in the United
States, when they were founded
by the pilgrim fathers, is very
00:14:36.17\00:14:41.01
fascinating to watch and
rehearse that history, where the
founding fathers came
00:14:41.01\00:14:45.45
because of religious persecution
and almost instantaneously began
setting up states in which you
00:14:45.45\00:14:51.52
had to practice a certain
religion. Then comes along a man
00:14:51.52\00:14:55.26
by the name of Roger Williams,
who sets up Rhode Island, and
where Rhode Island, the
00:14:55.26\00:15:00.20
paramount issue is the freedom
to choose. And so, we -- you
know, one of my favorite authors
00:15:00.20\00:15:06.50
says, "One of the greatest fears
we have as humanity is the fact
that we forget history and
00:15:06.50\00:15:11.47
how history has operated in its
past." And so, we need to look
00:15:11.47\00:15:14.71
to history. But let's talk about
some of the things happening
00:15:14.71\00:15:18.25
around the world. Kevin,
any thoughts on particular areas
00:15:18.25\00:15:21.72
where there are denials of
religious freedoms happening
right now? >> Yeah, there are
00:15:21.72\00:15:25.82
still a lot of countries around
the world that have
anti-blasphemy laws, where it's
00:15:25.82\00:15:30.96
actually a crime to, in certain
Muslim countries, say things
against the Prophet, um, or to
00:15:30.96\00:15:36.73
say things that are contrary to
the official state religion.
Places like Pakistan, Malaysia,
00:15:36.73\00:15:41.57
Indonesia that still have these
anti-blasphemy laws, and in some
of these countries, the penalty
00:15:41.57\00:15:47.44
can be death. So, it's --
You know, I talked about ISIS
00:15:47.44\00:15:50.98
earlier, and everybody can hold
up ISIS as an example, but there
are numerous other countries
00:15:50.98\00:15:54.92
where some of these things are,
uh, still a risk for people of a
00:15:54.92\00:15:59.65
variety of faiths. Um, one of
the other things that has
happened in the not -- in the
00:15:59.65\00:16:05.29
fairly recent past was a court
decision in Russia that found
that the Jehovah Witnesses are
00:16:05.29\00:16:09.33
an extremist group and started
confiscating Jehovah Witness
property and effectively making
00:16:09.33\00:16:13.57
that group illegal within the
Confederation of Russia. So --
So, there are some --
00:16:13.57\00:16:18.21
There are lots of places in this
world that don't enjoy nearly
the sort of freedom that we
00:16:18.21\00:16:22.81
have. >> And, you know, Mark,
it's really when -- when the
00:16:22.81\00:16:26.72
group that is being persecuted,
and, Kevin, you mentioned the
Jehovah Witnesses, and then you
00:16:26.72\00:16:31.02
talked about countries where
there are these blasphemy laws
where you cannot blaspheme
00:16:31.02\00:16:36.49
the Prophet of Islam. Sometimes
what we lose sight of is, when
the particular group
00:16:36.49\00:16:45.50
being persecuted is maybe not
our group, it's easy to kind of
just continue on going -- uh,
00:16:45.50\00:16:53.27
going to McDonald's, and -- and
enjoying the freedoms that we
have and doing what we want
00:16:53.27\00:16:59.08
to do. But the reality is, is we
need to pay attention to that,
00:16:59.08\00:17:02.38
and -- and let's maybe talk
a little bit from a Christian
00:17:02.38\00:17:04.75
perspective. Why do we need to
pay attention to this
persecution, and what do we need
00:17:04.75\00:17:09.82
to do about it? >> Well, one of
the fundamental principles of --
of Christian faith is the
00:17:09.82\00:17:14.83
recognition that I am my
brother's keeper. In other
words, my neighbor is a person
00:17:14.83\00:17:22.90
who God created just as He
created me. And -- And so, if I
am not willing to express my
00:17:22.90\00:17:32.11
concern and support in the
treatment of the person down the
block, then the question is, why
00:17:32.11\00:17:38.12
should I expect to be treated
any differently, should the
circumstances warrant it, with
00:17:38.12\00:17:45.49
regard to my own situation? Uh,
the challenge is -- is that we
00:17:45.49\00:17:52.07
-- we tend to, as individuals,
easily separate, um, people into
groups that are like us and
00:17:52.07\00:17:58.84
those who are unlike us. And --
And if we make that separation,
if we do that sort,
00:17:58.84\00:18:03.88
it is more easy for us to sign
on with those who are basically
very similar to us than to
00:18:03.88\00:18:13.22
recognize that God is not
pleased with individuals who
follow Him simply because they
00:18:13.22\00:18:20.96
are programmed to do that,
coerced to do that, herded into
00:18:20.96\00:18:26.90
a situation to do that. And
where totalitarianism rises or
where persecution breaks out,
00:18:26.90\00:18:32.57
we -- we may begin with partway
measures, but we are on a
trajectory, which God talks
00:18:32.57\00:18:41.08
about and Christ elaborated in
his discussions, uh, and -- and
recognize that you may
00:18:41.08\00:18:48.79
begin with hating your brother,
or marginalizing your brother,
but there is a good chance
00:18:48.79\00:18:54.30
that you are ending up on the
same trajectory that leads
people to murder one another,
00:18:54.30\00:18:58.90
and that is totally alien to the
will of God. >> Gerry, I see you
00:18:58.90\00:19:03.10
-- see you over there thinking,
Gerry. What are your thoughts?
What are your thoughts, as we're
00:19:03.10\00:19:06.57
kind of talking about
this subject here? >> Well, it
00:19:06.57\00:19:10.18
certainly is important that we
do something, and so what are we
doing? And I think that we are
00:19:10.18\00:19:15.38
doing three things that are
important in the area of
international religious freedom.
00:19:15.38\00:19:19.29
First, as a church, we're
intervening in the courts. We're
not just in the courts in
00:19:19.29\00:19:24.59
Canada. We are going anywhere in
the world where these issues are
00:19:24.59\00:19:29.00
going before judges and
legislators, and we are
presenting briefs, we are
00:19:29.00\00:19:35.64
standing up for those who find
themselves caught up in the red
tape of a bureaucracy intent
00:19:35.64\00:19:42.71
on denying them their religious
freedom. The second thing we're
00:19:42.71\00:19:47.62
doing is that we're actually
going into these communities to
take care of their first needs.
00:19:47.62\00:19:52.09
The Adventist Development Relief
Agency, ADRA, is there to deal
with food and housing
00:19:52.09\00:19:57.66
and clothing, and being there
when there's a crisis, because
it seems like, when there is
00:19:57.66\00:20:04.43
a time of crisis, that's when
governments tend to limit
liberties even more.
00:20:04.43\00:20:11.04
And so ADRA is able to be there
as a first responder to these
00:20:11.04\00:20:17.88
kinds of events. And then,
finally, we're at the United
Nations, where all the nations
00:20:17.88\00:20:22.32
of the world come together to
talk about best practices,
really. That's what it is.
00:20:22.32\00:20:25.72
How do we best govern? How do
we best meet the ideals that are
00:20:25.72\00:20:30.63
set forth in these international
human rights documents? And
we're there as a consulting
00:20:30.63\00:20:35.50
NGO trying to be a little bit of
a light to those nations,
saying, "When you treat your
00:20:35.50\00:20:43.07
citizens badly, it only hurts
your nation and your community.
Let's adopt pluralism, let's
00:20:43.07\00:20:50.95
celebrate diversity, let's not
engage in practices that will
00:20:50.95\00:20:59.15
only reduce, not increase, the
value of the human life." >> And
I don't -- I don't want
00:20:59.15\00:21:04.03
to put any words in your mouth,
Gerry, but what I'm hearing you
say -- and what I'm hearing
00:21:04.03\00:21:07.76
you say -- and just correct me
if I'm wrong -- the value of an
individual to choose --
00:21:07.76\00:21:12.60
And we've talked about this week
after week, but I really want to
00:21:12.60\00:21:16.57
emphasis this. In Canada, we
have lawyers that are defending
the rights of individuals in
00:21:16.57\00:21:22.28
other countries by filing briefs
in other countries' court
systems, defending the right for
00:21:22.28\00:21:28.08
people to choose, whether that
choice is to practice
Christianity, or whether that
00:21:28.08\00:21:34.26
choice is to be secular, to not
believe, because the value of an
individual to not believe is as
00:21:34.26\00:21:42.16
important as it is for an
individual to have the choice to
believe. Am I hearing you
00:21:42.16\00:21:47.90
correctly? >> Absolutely. I
think you've said the same thing
00:21:47.90\00:21:50.64
twice. [ Laughter ] >> And the
reason for this -- Although as a
00:21:50.64\00:21:55.58
Christian and from a Christian
world view, I may believe that
Jesus is the way, and I believe
00:21:55.58\00:22:00.85
that that -- and I may believe
that the Bible teaches that this
is the path, but I also must
00:22:00.85\00:22:07.79
understand that God himself did
not force Adam or Eve, He did
not force individuals, but He
00:22:07.79\00:22:14.76
invited -- He made the
invitation to choose, and to
00:22:14.76\00:22:19.43
choose Him freely. And as you
were saying, Mark, we aren't
going to find people in Heaven,
00:22:19.43\00:22:24.61
are we, that have been coerced
to be there? >> No. Not going to
happen. >> Kevin, as we are, uh,
00:22:24.61\00:22:29.74
coming to our last five minutes
together here, what are some
other thoughts on this issue
00:22:29.74\00:22:33.68
of religious freedom around the
world? >> Right, so, one of the
00:22:33.68\00:22:36.82
things that Gerry was talking
about is -- is some of the
things that the church has done
00:22:36.82\00:22:41.22
around the world to relieve
suffering. And what that brings
to my mind is the responsibility
00:22:41.22\00:22:46.09
we have. So, we have freedom of
religion in this country, and
we're advocating for freedom of
00:22:46.09\00:22:49.96
religion elsewhere. But it's not
just the freedom to believe,
it's the freedom to act
00:22:49.96\00:22:54.34
in accordance with our beliefs.
Uh, and that places on us as
Christians a particular
00:22:54.34\00:22:59.74
responsibility to act with the
love of Christ and to actually
use that freedom to take care of
00:22:59.74\00:23:05.75
our -- our fellow mankind, to
actually help other people,
because that's what Jesus came
00:23:05.75\00:23:11.82
to the Earth to do. And so, if
we're not doing that with our
freedom, then we're
00:23:11.82\00:23:15.66
misspending it. >> Mark, what
are you thoughts on -- on this?
00:23:15.66\00:23:21.33
>> Well, I -- I think that this
whole business of caring for the
individual and for the
00:23:21.33\00:23:27.60
people, as -- as both Kevin and
Gerry have mentioned, becomes a
-- a pivotal arrangement
00:23:27.60\00:23:36.21
in the life of a community
of faith. Uh, from the Christian
00:23:36.21\00:23:41.75
perspective, I read where we are
admonished to take care of the
person who is weak,
00:23:41.75\00:23:51.96
the person who is wounded, the
person who is weary. Uh, there's
00:23:51.96\00:23:56.87
a story in the New Testament
that is commonly referred to as
the "The Story of the Good
00:23:56.87\00:24:03.47
Samaritan." And certainly, there
was a distance between the
individuals who were hearing the
00:24:03.47\00:24:08.11
story and the practices and the
beliefs of the Samaritan person.
Uh, but -- but Christ, who is
00:24:08.11\00:24:15.78
helping the disciples to define
how to live that life in this --
in this quest of, what does
00:24:15.78\00:24:24.99
spirituality look like when it
is practiced, put the believer,
00:24:24.99\00:24:32.17
put the person who had a faith
basis with God right in the
middle of this crisis for this
00:24:32.17\00:24:37.81
other individual. So, the person
who is a person of faith does
00:24:37.81\00:24:41.78
not shirk from the crisis but is
there to take care of the
individual and, ultimately, if
00:24:41.78\00:24:50.09
necessary, yield up their life,
if that's what it takes to
preserve the life of someone
00:24:50.09\00:24:53.92
else. There is this concept of
-- of rendering care to other
individuals, which is kind of
00:24:53.92\00:25:00.90
alien to an awful lot of people
in today's world. >> And, Gerry,
00:25:00.90\00:25:05.23
in the final minute, want to
give you the final thought and
summary of what we've talked
00:25:05.23\00:25:09.74
about over the last several
weeks. >> Well, as a lawyer,
"The Story of the Good
00:25:09.74\00:25:15.04
Samaritan" is really something
that, uh, hits home, because it
was a lawyer that was trying to
00:25:15.04\00:25:20.45
get out of doing something on a
technicality, and Jesus told
him, "This is the Golden Rule in
00:25:20.45\00:25:27.09
action." And when he heard the
story, his response was that,
the person who was that
00:25:27.09\00:25:34.13
Samaritan's neighbor was the
person who rendered aid and
showed themselves to be a
00:25:34.13\00:25:40.60
neighbor. And I think that's the
real message here, is if we
treat each other as we would
00:25:40.60\00:25:45.24
like to be treated, we're
not going to have any religious
00:25:45.24\00:25:49.51
freedom problems. >> Gentlemen,
what a way to conclude. The
00:25:49.51\00:25:53.52
freedom to choose, the freedom
of religion, no matter what a
person's belief or practice may
00:25:53.52\00:26:00.26
be, our call as Christians is to
respect that, but our call,
generally, in humanity, is to
00:26:00.26\00:26:06.70
respect the values of others,
that although they may not be
mine, we each should be granted
00:26:06.70\00:26:13.34
the freedom to choose and the
freedom to practice, the freedom
00:26:13.34\00:26:18.91
of religion. Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, we are grateful
that though we are all
00:26:18.91\00:26:25.11
different, you have granted
to each of us the key value of
00:26:25.11\00:26:32.35
freedom, the freedom to choose.
I pray that every individual
listening, every individual
00:26:32.35\00:26:37.83
watching will take that value of
the freedom to choose and, as
the Good Samaritan, would go
00:26:37.83\00:26:47.44
about granting and treating
others as they would like to be
00:26:47.44\00:26:53.27
treated. We pray this in Jesus'
name, amen. My dear friends, the
00:26:53.27\00:27:01.65
freedom to choose is the
paramount issue in the
government of God. Over the last
00:27:01.65\00:27:07.29
several weeks, we've been
talking about the freedom of
religion and the freedom to
00:27:07.29\00:27:12.16
choose. Today, I'd like to offer
you a very special book. It is a
00:27:12.16\00:27:15.80
book called "The Great
Controversy." It is a book that
covers theology and history, and
00:27:15.80\00:27:20.67
it traces the history of God
giving that freedom to choose.
Here's the information you need
00:27:20.67\00:27:29.01
to receive today's offer.
>> To request today's offer,
00:27:29.01\00:27:33.85
just log on to
www.ItIsWrittenCanada.ca.
00:27:33.85\00:27:38.65
That's www.ItIsWrittenCanada.ca,
00:27:38.65\00:27:42.39
and select the "TV Program" tab.
For Canadian viewers, the offer
00:27:42.39\00:27:46.96
will be sent
free and postage paid.
00:27:46.96\00:27:49.20
For viewers outside of Canada,
shipping charges will apply.
00:27:49.20\00:27:52.80
If you prefer, you may call
toll-free at 1-888-CALL-IIW.
00:27:52.80\00:27:58.87
That's
1-888-CALL-IIW. Call any time.
00:27:58.87\00:28:03.28
Lines are open 24 hours
daily. That's 1-888-CALL-IIW.
00:28:03.28\00:28:08.82
Or if you wish, you may write to
us at Is Is Written, Box 2010,
00:28:08.82\00:28:13.79
Oshawa, Ontario, L1H7V4.
And thank you for your prayer
00:28:13.79\00:28:19.09
requests and your
generous financial support.
00:28:19.09\00:28:22.23
That's It Is Written, Box
2010, Oshawa, Ontario, L1H7V4.
00:28:22.23\00:28:28.57
>> Gentlemen, I want to thank
you so much for joining me over
the last several weeks to
00:28:29.90\00:28:33.68
discuss this topic. Kevin
Boonstra from Vancouver, British
00:28:33.68\00:28:37.61
Columbia. Mark Johnson from
Oshawa, Ontario. Gerry Chipeur
00:28:37.61\00:28:41.02
from Calgary, Alberta. I've
appreciated the time you've
taken to be here and expose this
00:28:41.02\00:28:46.76
issue of the freedom of choice
and the freedom of religion. >>
00:28:46.76\00:28:51.59
Delighted. >> And thank you for
dealing with this important
topic. >> At IT Is Written
00:28:51.59\00:28:55.26
Canada, we're committed to
sharing the foundation of God's
government and the freedom to
00:28:55.26\00:29:01.87
choose. My dear friends, God
wants every individual to
realize the human right to
00:29:01.87\00:29:10.61
choose, to choose whatever they
may and whatever direction they
00:29:10.61\00:29:15.58
want to go. Of course, God would
like you to choose Him, but He
gives you that freedom.
00:29:15.58\00:29:20.16
Friend, I hope you enjoyed
today's program. I invite you to
00:29:20.16\00:29:24.19
join us again next week. Until
then, remember, "It is written:
00:29:24.19\00:29:29.20
'Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of
00:29:29.20\00:29:35.40
God.'" い い
00:29:35.40\00:29:52.69
い い
00:29:52.69\00:30:09.97
い
00:30:09.97\00:30:18.45