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Protesters oppose Stephen Lewis' pro-choice views

Jordan Burgsma
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Protestors rallied near Redeemer last week in an effort to draw attention to the Social Justice Conference’s keynote speaker Stephen Lewis’ pro-abortion stance. The group included one Redeemer alumnus, one current student, an d a few families from the area. The group was seen distributing a pamphlet detailing Lewis’ actions advocating for universal abortion and condom use in Canada and internationally, and included some statistical information comparing the effectiveness of condom use and abstinence at lowering HIV and AIDS related death rates. The group also touted signs in their protest, some of which featured images of aborted children, as members of the group were supporters of the “Show the truth” Pro-Life campaign.

The group parked their vehicles in Redeemer’s visitors parking lot, and alumnus Matt Gunnarson was reached for a brief interview as they were leaving the campus. “Some people take the position that (Stephen Lewis) is here to dialogue," Gonnarson said, "... but instead of a dialogue, he is being received with honour, instead of being dialogued with and challenged. Well, we’re challenging him.”  While he acknowledges that Lewis may have done significant work advocating for the less fortunate, he believes that that does not justify his invitation to speak at a Christian university, based on his support for Abortion. “Some terrorists have done good things for their country … (but) if he is for terrorism, you wouldn’t invite that guy,”

Gunnarson also criticized members of the Pro-Life club at Redeemer for not participating in the process by saying, “shame on them for not coming out.”

Assistant Dean of Students and nearby resident Eileen Fallon was allegedly offered a pamphlet and asked to converse with the group, but Gunnarson claims she appeared upset and called them “narrow-minded,” refusing to talk to the protestors.

When asked about the image that the “Show the truth” campaign gave the Pro-Life movement, Gunnarson replied, “It’s part of the fun. It’s not good that people think you’re nuts, … but people didn’t understand the reality of the holocaust until they saw graphic images.”

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Comments

my thoughts on non-Christian speakers

Therefore, in reading [non-Christian authors], the admirable light of truth displayed in them should remind us, that the human mind, however much fallen and perverted from its original integrity, is still adorned and invested with admirable gifts from its Creator. If we reflect that the Spirit of God is the only fountain of truth, we will be careful, as we would avoid offering insult to him, not to reject or condemn truth wherever it appears. In despising the gifts, we insult the Giver.... Nay, we cannot read the writings of the ancients on these subjects without the highest admiration; an admiration which their excellence will not allow us to withhold. But shall we deem anything to be noble and praiseworthy, without tracing it to the hand of God? (Institutes II.ii.15-16)
Submitted by John Calvin (not verified) on Sun, 31/01/2010 - 22:17.

Real change

Actually, Mr. e-mou, abstinence education insofar as it has actually been solely and consistently implemented in a schooling system has at least equal, and often better statistical results than sex ed. where they hand out condoms. The principle message itself is very different, and should confront our Christian sense of morals- on the one hand you are supporting a message that says "Sex is God's gift to be enjoyed in marriage" and on the other you support a message that "well if you're going to have sex at least here's a way to avoid the consequences." Consider as well that in many areas of Africa the cultural background has no moral preaching against having sex with multiple people (especially for men) and so to just give them condoms is to tell them their morals are ok. To teach them that it is WRONG, on the other hand, is our Christian duty. Concerning bringing in Mr. Lewis I have already voiced my opinion in the inferno raging around Mr. Lindeman's excellent article, but I will say here that McMaster would be a more suitable place for Mr. Lewis. His academic kindred teach there and perhaps he should not have troubled himself to leave their community.
Submitted by Kevin Bratcher (not verified) on Sun, 31/01/2010 - 03:12.

Stats Kevin?

I'd like to know the stats on abstinence-only education vs. sex ed., because everything I have ever read has shown that abstinence-only education leads to higher pregnancy rates and higher rates of STDs. We have no problem saying "Don't drink, but if you're going to drink don't drive" yet we refuse to take the same stance with sex? Here's a fact: people are going to have sex. Christians, non-Christians, Canadians, Americans, Africans, Asians, everyone has sex. Most have sex with more than one partner and prior to being married. So what's wrong with saying "Hey you shouldn't have sex outside of marriage, but if you do here's how you can protect yourself"? Also Kevin, your last line troubles me. If you really view McMaster as some sort of separate "community" with their own set of morals and values, then I really worry about how you will react if and when you enter the world outside of the Christian bubble.
Submitted by Jeff Sieger (not verified) on Wed, 03/02/2010 - 14:29.

The principle

In the end it's the principle of the thing, however- we're giving conflicting messages to our government, really. On the one hand we say "Keep the government out of our bedrooms," but on the other hand we demand that the government should provide us with all the means to protect us against the consequences of sex outside of it's God-blessed context. No one seems willing to face the fact that as we are commanded not to have sex outside of marriage, so we are therefore not to condone nor to protect it in others either. While it may be true that almost everyone who is told to abstain will end up having sex with multiple partners/before marriage in their lifetime, there is a vast difference between constantly warning young people not to do it, and accepting it will happen and then reprieving them from the dangers of it. This was one of the arguments used for abortion- so that when a couple "accidentally" ended up with a baby, they would have a safe easy way to dump the baby and the responsibility. We cannot as Christians quietly allow the government to openly endorse in its public education at best the inevitability of, or at worst the acceptability of sex outside marriage. It is something we must be critical of, and seek to change. Will abstinence education stop people from having sex outside marriage? No. But that is not the aim- we cannot cause any sin to cease entirely- we can only fight constantly against it and pray that God will give us strength. Also, I fully accept and have for some time been aware of the morality of the world outside Redeemer. I've worked with non-Christians for the past 9 years and so I knew going into Redeemer's "bubble," as we like to believe it is, that a lot of the rest of the world has really messed up morals. And this goes for Mac, and for every other college and university on the map. The predominant mindset of academia in North America is politically and socially literal, and in a great many cases, anti-Christian. What sort of morals did YOU think McMaster held?
Submitted by Kevin Bratcher (not verified) on Wed, 10/02/2010 - 05:53.

reedeeconstructionism

LIteralism & passage-dropping are overrated aiming for a more moderate and even-tempered stance is a good step to avoid dangerous fundamentalism, and openmindedness and acceptance help with that overconservativism. i was not in attendance but judging from the objective article & facebook event description this guy has a rather pact CV; Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, Canadian ambassador to the UN, visibility in the NY times, etc; so it sounds like even Mac is lucky to have him, so for Reedee to bring him in to speak and facilitate a panel discussion following with other similarly qualified persons is an excellent opportunity for those intrigued by THE ISSUE AT HAND. Perhaps the "Show the truth"-ers were justified in criticizing the Pro-Life club, but all such clubs at Reedee are small and the promotional materials for the event don't seem to paint Lewis so broadly 'black' for his pro-choice advocacy, maybe they just didn't know. Or maybe they simply function by providing information, spreading awareness of the issue, and would concede that his Global experience and insights and Health proliferation advocacy are beneficial in themselves, regardless of the moral standards that they are built upon and how that ethic differs from your own. So maybe stop thinking of the world in such black & white & moralistic terms. Because, honestly, how can anyone even oppose condom use against spreading AIDS?!? Isn't giving them condoms and asking them to stop raping each other at least twice as good as just telling them to "save themselves for marriage"? Because I mean, even on this side of the pond, chastity commitments have a ridiculous rate of failure without having an elevated incidence of rape. Not that the cultural climates are necessarily that comparable, but you should be able to get my meaning.
Submitted by An on, e-mousse (not verified) on Thu, 28/01/2010 - 20:16.

Protesters oppose Stephen Lewis' pro-abortion views

Shame on Redeemer for inviting a pro-abort to speak at their university! I cannot help but think of the warning of St. Timothy who said, "For a time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching but having itchy ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to truth and wander into myths.? "(2 Tim, 4:3-4). Lewis is one of the world's most vigorous campaigners for universal "abortion rights" and the use of condoms to stop the AIDS virus epidemic in Africa. It is true that Lewis did not come to Redemmer to speak on the issue of abortion but one cannot have one foot in heaven and one foot in hell.
Submitted by CG (not verified) on Wed, 27/01/2010 - 23:31.