The Armegeddon Factor

CANADA/RELIGION - Is the Conservative Party of Canada getting too cozy with a right wing Christian cult? According to a new book out called "The Armagedden Factor" there are scary new elements in Canadian politics which are looking forward to a doomsday reckoning of biblical proportions.

Have you noticed lately the increased attention of the Conservative Party on pleasing the Christian right wing? They've cut information about gays/lesbians from official government documents, tried to ban same-sex marriages, cut funding to Toronto's Gay Pride Parade, cut funding to women's groups and women's shelters, cut funding to Planned Parenthood / safe abortions overseas... well its all part of a trend to keep the Christian right wing happy.

There are now over 1500 private evangelical schools in Canada promoting their version of history, their sense of morality and their beliefs. Some of them are even special colleges training students to enter politics.

Over a dozen right wing think tanks and advocacy groups have appeared too, all promoting hatred of gays, immigrants, other religions and of course... Armegeddon.

According to journalist and author Marci McDonald these groups are becoming increasingly militant and their involvement with the Conservative Party of Canada has some disturbing consequences. According to her Prime Minister Stephen Harper likely doesn't agree with these group and is just using them in an attempt to win a majority government, but we just don't know what Harper really believes in these matters because he's so secretive about his policies.

According to McDonald it doesn't stop there. These born-again Christian evangelicals have become the core driving force behind the Conservative Party and are determined to eventually make Canada a Christians only country.

It used to be that economic conservatives was the meat and potatoes of the Conservative Party but in recent years the Reform Party turned Canadian Alliance Party turned Conservative Party has become increasingly reliant on right wing Christians for their votes. Other conservative religious folks also vote for the party, but the disturbing commonality between them all is the fact they all believe in Doomsday.

According to a misreading of Mayan calendar Doomsday is supposed to happen on December 21st 2012. This rumour has been perpetuated by ill-informed religious folks, self-proclaimed messiahs and cult leaders for years now who try to fit it into the Christian myth of the second coming of Jesus Christ as foretold in the Book of Revelations from the Christian Bible.

It is utter hogwash from an atheist perspective. And if you're Christian then its also complete blasphemy to be mixing the Mayan calendar with the Bible. Science and Religion usually don't mix and in this case its a big no-no.

But try telling that to any number of conservative Christians who are now heavy hitters in Canada's political game. Not just Canada either. These groups also have strong ties to similar groups in the USA, especially in the Republican Party and the Tea Party demonstrators who want to overthrow the White House and turn America into a purely Christian country.

Marci McDonald believes Canadians need to be more concerned and alarmed by this growing Christian movement and the dangers of letting people who believe in Armegeddon into power. She worries that Canada is becoming polarized because of conservative radicals.

Here's a short list of some of radical right wing Christians involved:

Reverend Charles McVety, the evangelical president of Canada Christian College in Toronto since 1993. He's actively promoting the banning of same-sex marriages. He's basically a Canadian version of Jerry Falwell. During the 2006 election, McVety registered several domains which bore the names of Liberal candidates, such as "josephvolpe.com" (a reference to Joe Volpe), and published pro-Conservative material there. He also attempted to sway a number of Conservative nomination candidates in favour of evangelical candidates. After the Conservative victory, McVety and evangelical colleagues were asked by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office to help popularize his child-care plan. McVety also helped in the making of Bill C-10 which bans government money to be used to help produce films in Canada which contain too much sex and violence. McVety has also organized anti-Darwin protests, believes climate change is a myth and believes NATO should use nuclear weapons against Iran and North Korea.

Faytene Kryskow, anti-abortionist who organizes protests against abortion clinics and the leader of a 4,000 member lobby group which is pushing for the illegalization of abortion and "more God in government". She also hosts prayer rallies and frequently meets with Conservative MPs and senators in an effort to push them towards pushing a Christian agenda.

James Lunney, a Conservative MP from British Columbia and a Christian Zionist who believes the return of Jews to Israel which cause a chain of events to occur that will lead to Armegeddon.

Brad Trost, a Conservative MP from Saskatoon who publicly opposes gay rights and was the first person to promote the idea of cutting funding to safe abortions, condoms and Planned Parenthood programs overseas.

Stockwell Day, Conservative MP and President of Canada's Treasury Board. He has access to a lot of money, is a former Christian minister and believes that Adam and Eve walked with the dinosaurs, and is widely considered the leader of the religious right in Ottawa. He's also involved with "Watchmen for the Nations", a group which believes that "God means Canada to play a role in preparing end time."

Wait... so Stockwell Day is involved a group which wants Canada to help plan the Apocalypse?

That is really taking the phrase "If you build it they will come." too seriously. Planning the Apocalypse sounds like a really bad idea.

Marci McDonald says if the government is making changes they will be made slowly and incrementally and that Canadians should be worried and stand up for their rights as Canadians as they are being stripped away slowly.

Lets try to keep things in perspective however... 77% of Canadians are Christian, but only 22.25% of adult Canadians voted for the Conservative Party during the last election. Only 59.1% of adult Canadians voted in the last election (2008).

Thanks to lack of people voting and vote splitting from NDP/Green Parties the Conservatives nearly won a majority government despite only 22.25% of Canadians voting Conservative.