Event Blogging: "The Power of the One - How to be a Catalyst for Change" by Tristan Emmanuel

Why we need to be the catalyst for change in our culture.

First Point. We often feel that the problems which plague our culture are so big, that there is nothing we can really do. Our economy is recession. Democracy is fading. Morality is bankrupt. We feel incapable of doing anything about it. However this keeps us from doing anything. Yet we all impact our culture, either passively or deliberately.

Often we assist in our own demise unwittingly. Socons engage in worldview pessimism. We obsess with end-times to the exclusion of trying to change things in the present. They think that it will only get worse so why engage? We know that the end is nigh and evil will only speed the end-times so we shouldn't fight against it. We have been living in the “end-times” for almost 2000 years now. This attitude discourages cultural engagement except evangelism. Evangelism is important but to believe that it is the only valid cultural engagement if fallacious. We just leave our country in the clutches of the devil and his forces. This has created untold disadvantages for social conservatives and has helped to create the situation we are in today.

These people have an unbalanced view of their own Scriptures. It undermines the cultural mandate which is also in the Bible. Go into the world and multiply and cultivate as it says in Genesis. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations in Matthew. Go disciple entities, nations as nations, not just individuals, and teach them ethics. Universities, parliaments, all of Canada's institutions are stamped with our Judeo-Christian heritage. We need to be involved in the present not just obsessed about the end.

Another problem is that we tend to evaluate things by intention, not results, because we believe that everything is just going to get worse. If our heart is in the right place we can be unprofessional and ineffective but it doesn't matter. Intentions are good, but in business they are irrelevant, unless you are the Toronto Maple Leafs. How often have we given organizations a passing grade when they fail because they have a good heart? How everything falls out is God's business, we just need to engage.

Second point, we are puritanical in our ideas. We believe in all or nothing. I am not calling people to violate their consciences, but in this fallible world where our ideals will never be fully realized it is important that we not be petulant. The pro-life movement has not been able to get one piece of legislation through. Is this perhaps because our all or nothing attitude too often gets us nothing?

Lastly, if we are going to be effective cultural warriors we need to stop being pacifists, we need to stop giving up without a fight. Too many conservatives especially religious ones are far too meek in the face of cultural aggression. For example, the bishop of San Francisco. Two gays dressed as nuns walked in behaving very inappropriately, and received communion. A city prosecutor in San Fran was willing to press charges because what they did was so offensive but the bishop issued an apology instead. In another case Emmanuel was speaking for Boissoin. During the event, he was surrounded by a bunch of gay militia carrying banners. They shut the meeting down for 30 minutes. They had people at the door making sure no one left. The hotel manager came and actually had to ask if they wanted the hotel to ask them to leave.

This doesn't mean that you become nasty but don’t give up when you meet very hostile and aggressive opponents.

Change begins with ourselves and our perspective of the world. If we think that everything is just going to get worse, if we insist on all or nothing, if we give up at every opposition we will not be effective.

Missed part of the Q and A due to computer problems, sorry.

Q: Shouldn't we be interested in judicial as well as political issues.

A: We sometimes put too much emphasis on politics. The judiciary is also very important.

I am still amazed at the level of civility and order in the transition of government in this country. There is hope in Canada because we have managed to gain what is really a very difficult thing. We have developed in incrementally.