While Canadian truckers lead the fight for freedom, the Church of the Nazarene Canada's president delivers a sermon justifying his cowardice

Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest...

...Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest...

...Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage. Joshua 1:6-7,9, 18

Freedom is everybody's business--your business, my business, the church's business; and a man who will not use his freedom to defend his freedom does not deserve his freedom. Dr. Carl McIntire, President of the International Council of Christian Churches, 1948-2002

In "Evangelical," the emphasis is always on the word "jelly." Pastor Perry F. Rockwood, The Peoples Gospel Hour Courage--what's that?--21st century Evangellyfish

February 14, 2022 will go down as the darkest day (so far) in Canadian history. For the last couple of weeks, a cross-country convoy of truckers has been in Ottawa demanding an end to Covid-19 vaccine mandates. The convoy has attracted international attention and support and has inspired similar protests in other countries. After two years of unwarranted Covid restrictions, Canadians have reached their Howard Beale moment (see video below) and have decided they're not going to take this anymore. I suspect that Canadians have been willing to protest for a long time, but were waiting for someone to lead it; finally, the truckers came along to do so.



The federal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau--a Klaus Schwab/George Soros/Chinese Communist Party puppet--has just invoked the Emergencies Act, formerly known as the War Measures Act. This is an unprecedented assault on civil liberties, outlawing peaceful protest and freezing financial accounts of anyone supporting the protesters. It's widely suspected that Justin Trudeau's actual father was Fidel Castro--photos of the two at similar ages betray a striking resemblance--and the Manchurian Pothead and his "government," which is run as a criminal operation, have now made it official and declared war on the Canadian people, imposing a Communist dictatorship in full view of the world.

I've never regarded truckers as heroic before, but like most Canadians, I'm now thanking God for their courage and resolve, and I pray it continues. In striking contrast to the truckers, the evangelical pastors in Canada, with rare exceptions such as Artur Pawlowski, Henry Hildebrandt, James Coates, Tim Stephens, and Jacob Reaume, have been conspicuous by their silence and cowardice. They won't fight for their own rights, the rights of their congregations, or their neighbours whom they claim to love so much. The last couple of years could have been the churches' finest hour, but in the war on Canadians' freedom, the churches and Christian organizations have chosen to be draft-dodgers.

Back in the mid-1990s, an older saint in Toronto named Tom Linton, director of International Christian Relief, told this blogger, "We don't have courage in the pulpits." It was a problem in the 1990s, but it was the Covid-19 "plandemic" that revealed the extent of the wimpiness of evangelical "leaders." Typical of evangelical cowardice but surprising in its frankness is the following message, submitted for your disapproval, from Rev. Ian Fitzpatrick, president of the Church of the Nazarene Canada, January 23, 2022:



The message is a mixture of truth and error, with Rev. Fitzpatrick taking Galatians 5:13-15 out of context, and erecting straw men in rationalizing his spinelessness. The context of Galatians 5 and the entire epistle to the Galatians is that of freedom from the law in regard to salvation. Paul was astonished (Gal. 1:6) that those who had come to Christ out of Judaism were deserting freedom in Christ to return to the bondage of the law. Galatians 5 isn't talking about the relations between the individual and the state or church and state. Rev. Fitzpatrick doesn't directly refer to the current demands for freedom re: Covid, but you don't have to wear a deerstalker to deduce it. It's a straw man, because no one who is demanding freedom is demanding license to trample on other people, but just the right to live ordinary lives as we were doing until a couple of years ago. He says that no amount of freedom will lengthen one's lifespan, but that's not necessarily true; even if it is, it's still better to live those days in freedom than in captivity. Rev. Fitzpatrick bemoans division in the church over Covid, but that is, in no small part, the result of the shepherds refusing to fight for and lead the sheep. You'll notice that he's speaking from what appears to be his office, and not from a pulpit in an actual church; that speaks volumes right there.

The Church of the Nazarene, like the other evanjellycal denominations in Canada, didn't wait for the facts before issuing a public statement last year on a certain racial issue from 100 years ago that they had nothing to do with in the first place. However, concerning the mass violations of our civil liberties and the protests against them here and now, there's not a peep from them. As someone of mainly Irish ancestry, I'm embarrassed that the jellyfish "leading" the Church of the Nazarene Canada has an Irish-sounding name. The Church of the Nazarene Canada, however, is not alone in its shame in bowing to Caesar and refusing to oppose domestic dictatorship, but that's a subject for other posts.

Christians should avoid Mormon-sponsored nativities

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. II Corinthians 6:14-18

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Ephesians 5:11

The God of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--commonly known as the Mormon Church--is an extraterrestrial from a planet near a star called Kolob, and was once a man; the Jesus of Mormonism was the spirit brother of Lucifer (for more information on Mormon doctrine, consult some of the blogs and sites on the sidebar of this blog). Which is to say, Latter-day Saints worship a different God and Jesus from those of Christianity. For this reason, Christians should obey the command of God's word in II Corinthians and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of Mormonism.

As reported by Carol Christensen in the Topeka Capital-Journal, November 26, 2021 (links in original):

St. Francis of Assisi is credited with popularizing nativities when he set up in 1223 in Greccio, Italy, what we would now call a “living nativity” (a cave with live animals, people representing Mary and Joseph, and a representation of baby Jesus) in order to help laypeople better understand and emotionally connect with the story of Christ’s birth.

The practice of making visual depictions of Jesus’s birth has spread since then throughout the Christian world, and today many Christians have nativities in their homes to help them remember the “reason for the season” and feel an emotional — and spiritual — connection with Jesus and His birth.

It was for similar reasons that Nativities and Noels was started in Topeka in 2012, nearly 800 years after St. Francis set up his cave nativity. Now in its 10th year, this free event features more than 800 nativities from around the world and continuous live vocal and instrumental Christmas music.

It will be Friday, Dec. 3, through Sunday, Dec. 5, at the Topeka Stake Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2401 S.W. Kingsrow Road. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and from 1 to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

The event has reminded attendees of the true reason for and spirit of Christmas and helped them feel a stronger connection with Jesus and His birth at an often-hectic time of year. The nativities from nearly 100 countries have also helped remind visitors that people throughout the world celebrate Christ’s birth and feel connected to Him.

First-time visitors may be amazed at the variety of nativities on display: such as traditional, ornaments, miniature, homemade, electric, musical, children's, international, even ones from Kansas! They range in size from under an inch to several feet tall and are made from a wide variety of materials — porcelain, wood, clay, metal, and cloth, but also paper, marbles, corn husks, coconut shells, gourds and recycled newspapers, magazines, fence slats, pop cans, steel drums, and auto parts.

The display changes every year. This year, 200 nativities that haven’t been shown before will be on display.

Nativities and Noels, which initially featured only music and nativities from local Latter-day Saints, has expanded and includes music from members of other local Christian churches, including First Christian Church of Holton, Topeka Bible Church and Topeka Church of the Brethren. Washburn Rural High School's This Generation will sing at 1 p.m. Friday.

Nativities are on loan this year from friends from 12 other Topeka-area churches: Christ the King Catholic Church, Community of Christ, First Lutheran Church, First United Methodist Church (Garnett), First United Methodist Church (Topeka), Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church, New Hope and Love Community Church, St. Mark’s African Methodist Episcopal Church, Topeka Bible Church, Topeka Church of the Brethren, University United Methodist Church, and Wanamaker Woods Church of the Nazarene.

There’s a wonderful feeling of Christian unity and connection when people of many different churches help with this celebration of Jesus’s birth.

Multiple COVID safety precautions will be taken at the event, and masks are recommended.

For more information, please check out “Nativities and Noels” on Facebook: www.facebook.com/nativitiesandnoels. The Facebook page also has posts from last year’s virtual event. Last year’s inspiring, locally produced videos on the “Nativities and Noels” YouTube channel are also still up and worth watching. Highlights from this year’s Nativities and Noels will be posted on the Facebook and YouTube pages after the event.

We are excited to hold Nativities and Noels in person again.

Here are some of my favorite comments from visitors from the public during earlier Nativities and Noels:

• “We had a nativity like that one when I was growing up!”

• “I have some nativities. May I share one or more next year?” (Answer: “Yes!”)

• “There’s such a wonderful spirit here!”

• “I’m going to tell my family (or friends or Sunday School class, etc.) about this!”

• “This is the highlight of my Christmas season.”

I hope that you will come to Nativities and Noels this year. It — and the spiritual and emotional connections you can make there — just might be the highlight of your Christmas season too!

Carol Christensen is co-chair of Nativities and Noels and the volunteer Communication Director for the Topeka Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.