Was Faytene ahead of the curve?

Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On Dec 20. 2013 The Dec. 20 Supreme Court of Canada decision striking down several Canadian laws regulating how prostitution operates in Canada would certainly be dismaying to some Canadian social conservatives. But they must recognize that they were warned that something like this could happen. Although lawmakers are allowed a year to try again with new laws, you could expect what happened with the 1980s SCOC decision to happen again: For whatever reason no replacement laws regarding abortion were passed, and it would very tempting now for legislators to reason that the courts have spoken ans throw up their hands. But there is an aspect about this case, and others potentially like this, that could cause both "sides" of this issue to suspect that their friends in Ottawa are asleep at the switch.

He's too sexy for this post. Too sexy for this...

{Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On Dec 12 2013] It's a big day for Robert Grasseschi today as I write (December 12) Today, according to Faytene's Facebook feed, he will be taping a segment for The 700 Club to air in the new year. He will no doubt talk about his testimony and his past as a basketball player and then a model overseas. Perhaps he will be allowed to promote his book The Catwalk To Christ. This is worthy of brief note, because it would be a big step towards developing an identity of his own instead of being merely "husband of". Robert strikes me as a a nice guy, so I hope this goes well for him. It's not his fault that when he mentions the modelling part of his testimony, I am so often reminded of the Right Said Fred song and it begins to play in my mind. Hope he is the forgiving type. :) Although I would get it if Faytene found him "So sexy it hurts." Totally understandable. ;) Good luck, Robert.

Speaking of porn...

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On Dec. 11 2013] Christians are not merely handing out Scripture portions to target the porn industry, as the news this morning will attest. This past weekend, The Manchester Guardian reported that the porn industry centered in Los Angeles faces a bit of a perfect storm. For the third time in a year, porn filmmakers in and around the city will face a temporary shutdown of their work after a performer tested positive for HIV. Also, a new local law that mandates that all actors must wear condoms when being filmed is leading porn makers to flee the city. The latest wrinkle, according toe Charisma News, is that a national day of prayer, sponsored by 40 US groups, was already taking place on December 10, to have Christians pray as they felt led about the issue. Although how people get their porn is changing wildly these days, the atmosphere that will replace it could pose problems of its own. And the porn industry has historically proved very resilient. [Scroll down to "stag films" here . I guess we'll have to prayerfully see what happens.

Jesus Loves Porn Stars

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs on Dec. 4 2013] It's certainly the most different Gospel of John that I have recently seen. It's produced by xxxchurch.com, which reaches out to the "porn industry", and those affected by "porn addiction". You can tell, as "Jesus Loves Porn Stars includes brief testimonies from a "porn producer", a "stripper", an "escort" and a "porn star". According to Wikipedia, the booklet I found is something they regularly hand out at pornography industry conventions. It would be a bit of a fluke then for me to come across one. Ron Jeremy is well known as a porn actor, so much so that he is widely known by the general public. The booklet includes a section on Jeremy's interactions with Craig George of the ministry. I'm guessing the uncredited article is by him as it is written in the first person. Jeremy and George have established enough of a rapport that they have held amiable debates on pornography's effects on society. Well, if my small group at church does a study on the Gospel of John, I am all set. ;)

What happened to Todd Bentley's "$13 million in the bank"?

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On November 25 2013] How did Todd Bentley, assuming he is being truthful, blow through $13 million Canadian? On November 4, he sent out an e-mail "Redeeming the Time" to his e-mail list. I'll likely be copying the entire e-mail as a comment on this post, in case it goes pFFFT!, but one comment of his jumps out at me. The tone of his remarks is that Todd was on the top of the world and then he crashed. But, Todd figures that God is staring him on a magnificent comeback and here's how you can tag along for the ride... Recalling the glory days, Bentley says this..." "I went from $13 million in the bank to $20 to my name. ". So, Todd, where did it go?

Todd Bentley predicted big “like Finney” revival, which is long overdue to start, in Finland

{Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On September 21 2013] No, I didn't mistype. I found a video of Todd Bentley predicting a revival in Finland which seems never to have happened. Here is a Facebook page to promote an event, where he spoke in Keuruulla Finland on Sept. 3, 2012.A video went up on Sept. 1, with a note of where he was to appear on the 3rd. To accompany and promote the event, a short video was put on YouTube earlier this month as I write. A tip that the clip is old--I'd say at least five *years* old--is that he makes references to "back in Canada* and--sorry Todd--he has a full head of hair. No doubt this is n a North American church--I'm guessing, and it's to promote his appearance in 2012. Bentley's name was spelled wrong,and the YouTube notes are in Finnish--which I do not know--but Todd talks in English, and that is all we need. You may see the video on YouTube here. In case it disappears, here are the salient quotes, which are up at the start at the video. Bentley says this:

"And the Lord told me 'A great revival is about the break out in Finland. It'll be... (cheers) Listen! The conversions in Finland will be like [Charles Finney. The conversions in Finland will be like Finney....and I saw almost like an atomic explosion of glory come down over Finland and it started spreading into other places, missionaries going out of Finland into, Eastern Europe, Estonia, Latvia. other countries..."

So he prays for people going to Finland, with attendant things happening. Todd at the end of his prayer: "All right, that was fun." As best I know, the Finns are still waiting for the revival, which would be five years and counting. If only we had known of this before Lakeland, eh? Well, the historical record is amended. How long until Bentley apologizes in public for being flagrantly wrong--in the Lord's name!--with this?

Portland TV news reporters see deaths trend in "faith healers" church

Reporters at Portland Oregon TV station KATU are attributing the deaths of 10 children and teens to the religious practices of a U.S. church. A reporter for the station , advised by a former member of the Followers of Christ church to look for specific last names in cemeteries in Oregon ad Idaho, thinks he found the names of at least 10 recently buried members of the church. A grandfather of a baby that died after being born very prematurely is quoted as saying “That's the way we believe.... We believe in God and the way God handles the situation, the way we do things." to answer a question about why the baby may not have had proper pre-natal care. The station has to rely on an earlier 2011 story for more background, in which another church member is quoted as arguing that 'religious freedom' must, in his view, include practising whatever you believe the Bible says about medicine and health. Lacking a proper understanding and explanation of what the church teaches in this regards to healing, calling them "faith healers" may be misleading.

The revival that Todd Bentley predicted for Fresno is now overdue. By perhaps 12 years but at least 10 months

[ Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On November 9 2013] Some folks,eager for a revival, ran into Todd Bentley in Stockton, California. Unfortunately for Todd they were "rolling tape", and it is now on YouTube, as I write. Starting at 0:11, Bentley says: "...The Lord told me--the greatest healing revival--Twelve years ago, the Lord gave me a word....He said one of the greatest healing revivals, that would launch out of the Fresno [California] region. Actually the Lord told me that 12 years ago....I'm telling you that's the place. The Lord gave me a word. I prophesied for 10 years. Fresno....I've never been there...there's a hotbed of miracles exploding out of that region...We just call that thing forth and release it right now...." Well perhaps Todd meant to keep saying "Someday...", but he messed up by saying miracles were "exploding" present tense, and that things could happen "right now" present tense. This was posted to YouTube on January 25, 2013. I guess you haven't heard anything either.

Funny how all these Todd Bentley accounts happen where they can't be confirmed Independently

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On November 6, 2013] Hat tip to the folks at Right Wing Watch blog for spotting a new video by Todd Bentley this week. Todd says, in a Morningstar video, there was gold in them thar revival in South Africa this past summer. Allegedly gold fell in such quantities that Jessa Bentley couldn't wash it off. How handy that he doesn't have independent documentation. Isn't it odd that Todd Bentley couldn't document this as it was happening with video footage? I wonder if there was any mention of this in the e-mails he was sending out at the time. Suffice it to say that Bentley badly needs factchecking sometimes. Reminds me of what filmaker Roy Petersen was,reportedly told in Lakeland. If only he had been there during the first few weeks before the GOD TV cameras showed up. The revival was best then. Too bad that he was not there...

Church Planned Halloween book burning

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs on November 1 2013] An item from the British newspaper The Telegraph's "Whaaa?!?!" file. A church in Canton, North Carolina, which is "King James Only" planned to use Halloween to burn all sorts of "Satanic" books, which were to include non King James Bibles, and other "evil" Christian books. The Telegraph's story includes a link to the church website's list of books they planned to burn. I'm guessing their book-burning took plac

This *not* just in

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On October 24, 2013] This morning, federal cabinet minister Jason Kenney delivered what was called a "rich and gracious address" to a meeting of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada>. And how did I know that, you ask? Well, no thanks to the press. as of yet anyways. Nothing on Google News yet. No thanks to Mr. Kenney's website. I just checked. No mention there as of yet. Mr. Kenney has tweeted regarding his remarks though. Earlier, he remarked that he would be making "four speeches at four events". Earlier this morning he tweeted this: Jason Kenney ?@kenneyjason 2h Brought greetings to Evangelical Fellowship of CDA conf. Highlighted great work of groups like @IJMCanada @salvationarmy @worldvisioncan. [Not following Mr. Kenney, I was given a heads up by someone from my own denomination who was or is there and posted a photo of him speaking. They were the ones who ubbed his remarks "gracious"] So Mr. Kenney's remarks were long enough to be called a speech and he praised the social welfare works of Canadian Christians. One good question to ask, given the controversy in Ottawa whether it would be okay for organizations to do charity work overseas while maintaining their conservative views on sexuality, say, would be to ask Mr. Kenney "Well, is this just an attaboy, or will the Tories put government funds where your mouth is?" An answer either way would be interesting. But, I suspect there was no reporter there at Mr. Kenney's speech at ask it. Pity.

Faytene adds a new hat (Two actually)

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On October 7 2013] Faytene Grasseschi's latest idea may be a "reboot" of an idea she tried up in Canada. During the first weekend in October 2013, she held an event for youth. The Movement 133 (M133) Student summit, was intended to bring students ("from all over America" (with a quick mention of 'North America) to Pasadena, California. Fellow guest speakers included Lou Engle and Cindy Jacobs, so I don't anticipate that what was taught would be much different than previously. "Movement 133, she noted on Facebook, is tied to Psalms 133--blessed are the brethren who live together in unity, I assume with "Houses of Prayer" and "Justice movements" across the country. I was reminded of something that took place back in March 2013 at York University in Toronto, Canada. There, several followers of Faytene had an all day event on campus where the student organizers of The CampusCRY, especially on Facebook talked about "taking over their campus for Jesus.' Perhaps Canada doesn't provide enough of a "critical mass" to do more with The CampusCRYs in Canada, unless the hope is to get a bunch of possible organizers to work their way up to next spring.  Then several CampusCRYs will happen at the same time, leading the student press to go "Whaaa?" (I'm a former student press reporter so I am allowed to say that.) :) Don't wheel out The CampusCRY" term now, in case they don't happen, but act pleasantly surprised in case several do? Don't know, but it's a possibility. And then there is V-Kol Media Ministries. No, I don't believe that Faytene and her husband Robert are going all Vulcan/Star Trekky on us. :) They seek to meet their various goals through"hosting events, speaking internationally, developing print, graphic and film resources, networking and through personal mentor-ship." Can't find the cite as I write, but she has mentioned on Facebook that "v-kol" relates to a Biblical term in Hebrew. I've often heard Faytene while preaching say something like, "This is political, so you have to make your donation out to..." so this new initiative likely something for tax purposes. Although, I do need to note that this could be a useful plan B--as Todd Bentley has with his Sound of Fire company--in case there is an attempt at a hostile takeover of the ministry governing body overseeing her ministry work. Don't think she has anything to fear. But, "Be Prepared is the boy scout marching song" according to Tom Lehrer. ;)

Rick Joyner had "theological concerns" about Todd Bentley

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On August 30 2013] Sneeze and you would miss it. But this sentence clause demands special attention by discerning Christians. As I mentioned in my last post, Todd Bentley, as part of his big attempt to apologize on GOD TV back in January, was explaining how Bob Jones came to pray in public for him back in January 2010. In order to do this, Bentley had to bring other things to his mind which were happening to him about the same time. At 1:00:47 here, during his kiss and make up session with the Alec's earlier this year, Bentley is being asked about Bob Jones praying for him at a Morningstar service in January 2010, during his "restoration" Bentley backs into his answer, contextualizing what was happening, and it is during this that he says something interesting. Bentley, quoting Rick Joyner: ...[He said to me that] in your restoration, I want to be sure to cover some of the theological concerns--and he had what those were, that I want to talk about getting a doctrine of marriage and divorce. and then he said, I want you to recover from burnout.... Were these addressed before Bentley started ministering in some way once a week at Morningstar once a week, according yo what Bentley says, starting in early 2010? Some observations: 1) One assumes that Joyner assumed they were valid "concerns" to raise. Otherwise, why bother Todd with them if they were patently ridiculous or untrue? 2) These concerns have to do with Lakeland, surely. Why didn't Joyner address them in public, before all Christians, when he or others first had these "concerns?" What makes this serious is that pastors--step forward Rick Joyner--have a responsibility to protect their flocks. Did Joyner have an attitude of "Oh as long as there are 'miracles', we can just ignore that part...'? 3. what exactly were the "concerns"? Details please, don't be vague. 4. How were they addresses. Has Bentley signed something recanting the "concerns" Does Joyner have audio or video proof that Todd is now orthodox in these areas? 5. What really unnerves me about all this, is that Bentley went on and on about what should have been done about his marriage. But souls could be at stake here, and this is far more important that Todd's marriage woes and Joyner and Bentley should treat it as such. 6. It's a sad state of affairs when they treat this so nonchalantly. Do they think that if Bentley had stayed married to Shoonah, had picture-perfect kids in front of a white picket fence, that in the minds of most Christians, his possible aberrant theology would not be an issue to most Christians? Substance matters. Appearances don't. How dare we be held in such contempt. Bentley and Joyner may hope this is ignored. They will probably never address this is public is my guess. Just as long as we "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain," I suppose.

How Todd Bentley will try to explain the Lakeland aftermath to you

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs on August 30 2013] Following his series of meetings in South Africa--which went from a fairgounds, and then down into presumably smaller churches, Todd Bentley went on vacation for this past summer. Recently, he announced that he would be returning to ministry with some meetings at the Morningstar complex, taking second billing behind Reinhard Bonnke this time. Bonnke seems to be a brave man here. As you will see the Bentley brainstrust has decided that it is much wiser for Bentley not to carry anything that can become a revival by himself? You Don't want to repeats Lakeland's issues, and if someone is also willing to shoulder what happened.... Before he could go to South Africa, and presumably go back to his former goal of having one big revival and then become a world travelling evangelist, keeping one step ahead of people who could test that fruit of what he was doing, Lakeland had to be "cleaned up". So, Rory and Wendy Alec--who had garnered thousands if not millions of viewers to their GOD TV channel as it provided gavel-to-gavel coverage--stepped in to help. Bentley flew to Jerusalem to be interviewed on their channel on January 20, 2013. GOD TV now has the interview behind a subscriber wall--or they have pulled it all together. Fortunately, though, two YouTube users saved it--or the final edited version-- and posted it to YouTube. I will be quoting fairly extensively, however, in case it disappears again. Why turn to this? Expect Bentley to fob off questions with "I've already explained this before...." Or he'll reuse the same talking points.

A Faytene "stop press"

{Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On June 10, 2013] Apologies to my readers, as a grinding schedule at work has kept me busy. But, that said, I have some "stop press" type items to pass on. 1) Faytene Grasseschi's big pro-life march on Ottawa appears to have finished--at least her part of it anyways--on May 13, I am guessing per what I read on her Twitter feed. Quite low key, compared to the beginning of the walk, as I see a lot more references to the plans and the start than what happened. No doubt the pro-life participants got a lot out of the march, from their point of view. May we hear more? 2)On her Twitter feed on May 29, the day that Dr. Henry Morgentaler die, she wrote Emphasis mine: Faytene Grasseschi ?@Faytene Father or abortion in Canada, Dr. Henry Morgentaler, just died. Praying for many to come to know Jesus at his funeral. #comfort #salvation (No doubt my pro-choice Christian readers will find this interesting to parse. ;) ) 3. The mini-Faytene's play to be active at the federal Conservative party convention. A motion on "gendercide"--remember the attempts at private member's motions in the House of Commons--will be presented at the convention for party members to make party policy, possibly. Says the My Canada e-mail from late last wee [emphasis theirs]k: If you are attending the convention and would be open to being a part of a team that would work together strategically on the ground to pass the resolution please let us know ASAP. We would be happy to work with you. At the last Conservative Policy Convention two MY Canada volunteers were instrumental in seeing the passing of the unborn victims of violence resolution and had a tremendous impact. We would love to see that happen again. Lots of Charisma issues with the Faytene cover story are available from MY Canada, by the way. They can send some to you.

Not all religious politicians are conservatives

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On May 30. 2013] This is something that BDBO readers already know, but Douglas Todd of The Vancouver Sun reminds us of something interesting on his blog. He's reporting on the Bridging the Secular Divide: Religion and Public Discourse conference at McGill University earlier this week and what struck his interest was that there were several progressives there: Liberal MP John McKay, NDP MP Joe Cromartin and former NDP leadership hopeful Bill Blaikie, a United Church minister, said it was discouraging to realize many of their own party members thought it was bad to bring a Christian perspective into politics. The Liberal and NDP politicians cited the profound Christian convictions of NDP founders Tommy Douglas and J.S. Woodsworth, the Catholicism of Pierre Trudeau and Paul Martin and all made references to Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister. Thanks to Mr. Todd for the notice and the reminder. In his post he quotes a book by former NDP MP Bill Blaikie, which speaks to all this.

Come to the fair! And "I knew when Lakeland was aborted"

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs on May 23, 2013] Last week, what we could define as Todd Bentley's travelling circus hit the road. Starting on May 15, the Bentley revival moved from the Durban area to the "Pretoria Show Grounds" in South Africa. I find that interesting in that the Durban meetings seemed to have lasted about the same amount of time as the well publicized part of the "Lakeland revival". Any longer in Durban and it may run out of steam and there would be time for people in the Durban area to notice it and give it a careful examination? Who can say? My guess is that their "fair grounds" would be like holding the revival at the PNE or the Canadian National Exhibition, which seems a little ironic. {Bentley has followed up his announcement of the move on the 9th with another anouncement that we are in the midst of "Another Pentecost", writing:"We don't need to prophesy any more about a coming healing revival or about a coming harvest; we are already in the season of harvest at the end of the age more souls will be saved than ever before." No pressure, Todd. No pressure at all.] Wendy Alec, of GOD TV fame, has chimed in with what looks like another prophetic word channeling "God". "In case you were not paying attention the first time, THUS SAITH THE LORD"? Todd Bentley sent it out April 30. I'll be quoting it in the comments for future reference, but one part, directed at Todd personally, really rubbed me the wrong way: It reads: "...For my son beloved son, Do you not realize I knew when I birthed you all those years ago? I knew when Lakeland was aborted; I saw this very day." It is bothersome in that "God" is seeing Lakeland" as something that was living and perfect that would have been born and prospered if we would have let that take place. And there is so much evidence to the contrary, which I am sure that my readers are well aware of. Wendy Alec as carnival barker? Perhaps....

The playbook was left open

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On May 11, 2013] Seeing as though this was on the front page of the National Post this week, one could say that the secret is out. Over the past few years, pro-life politicians have adopted an incremental approach to eventually stopping abortion. John Ivison in this featured piece in the newspaper explains this process well. As Ivison notes, "Roxanne's Law" was targeted against coercive abortion while motion M-408 was to target the alleged problem of sex-selection abortions. Both were unsuccessful. I recall, though, that the advocates of these initiatives targeted the practice. Surely no one should be forced to have an abortion? Surely, no child should be aborted due to being the "wrong" sex? People who are moderate on this question may see these cases as egregiously bad, and worth restricting. The closest quote that Ivison was able to get to support his thesis was one from an anonymous Pro-life MP, tied to the March for Life rally in Ottawa this past week, which led the reporter to surmise that pro-lifers may have more stick-to-it-iveness than the Energizer Bunny. :). He writes: "As one anti-abortion MP put it: 'We need to move the debate beyond a political drive on the narrow question of a law limiting abortion access. That’s the old Morgentaler debate. Can the movement grow bigger than any political party and become the tail that wags the dog?'" If you are pro-life, your response may be "And?" After all, the incremental way is how William Wilberforce worked to eliminate slavery in Britain, one step at a time, targeting the most egregious reasons to get rid of slavery first. If it is clear to reporters now that this is the game plan, it might be good for pro-lifers to acknowledge this in public. Otherwise the pro-choice side will be able to say "We know exactly what you are doing..."

A sign of the times at the New York Times

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On April 27 2013] A brief correction notice in the New York Times shows that our world is changing. Several others have already noticed a correction to the Times' story on the Margaret Thatcher funeral service, towards the end of the online story here. It reads like this: Correction: April 19, 2013 Because of an editing error, an article on Thursday about the funeral of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Britain referred incorrectly to the biblical passage read by Amanda Thatcher as the first lesson at her grandmother’s funeral. It was Ephesians 6:10-18 — not VI Ephesians 10:18. I've committed some howlers in my time, so I do not want to gloat. But I think it a bit striking that people's knowedge of Christianity these days seems to be such that how to make a Biblical citation is apparently no longer common knowedge. That the error escaped the notice of NYT editors merely serves to drive the point home. It's a sign of the times, as Petula Clark might sing. :)

Going "all in" on Todd Bentley's South Africa meetings

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs on April 17, 2013] Some people who are rooting for Todd Bentley's meetings in Durban, South Africa may have been watching too much Texas Hold 'Em on TV, as they are pushing their rhetorical poker chips to the center of the table as their wagers on his success. Two quick updates: 1. Wendy Alec's "prophetic word" about all this was redistributed by The Elijah List this morning. Steve Shultz writes: "Read below about a worldwide great awakening. Caution, don't be discouraged if your state or country is not mentioned. All of the listed locations will most assuredly spill into the area where YOU live... AND God is moving throughout the entire earth!". He bolds "I chose whom I choose to choose" among other things. So there! Take *that* naysayers!. 2. Also, this morning, Todd Bentley sent out an e-mail of his own citing prophetic words by Rick Joyner and Bob Jones about all this. For future reference, I will reproduce them in the comments to this post below in case they disappear. If I have anything to comment on, My observations will be there as well. I'm not a poker expert, but I do know what "Okay, I *call*!' refers to. ;)

It's Lakeland 2.0! Limited Time Only!!!!

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs on April 13, 2013] Todd Bentley is preparing to crank up another revival. And GOD TV, the cable TV and internet TV station has just announced this morning that they are jumping in with both feet. Bentley is in South Africa as I write in a revival oh so modestly dubbed "The Great Awakening" And I figured that something was up when he or one of his minions made this announcement by e-mail yesterday. What's the saying? "fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me"?

Are they camping?

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs on April 10, 2013] Brief Facebook status update by Faytene yesterday: Faytene Grasseschi shared a link via HootSuite. Yesterday The team needs $20,000+ to cover base expenses for the B2L walk. We'd be grateful for anything you can sow. Info: http://ow.ly/jU7qk Details of what they think they need on their protest walk are here. I think the big pro-life walk from Montreal to Ottawa, intended to mark the 25th annivaresary of the Supreme Court's Morgentaler decision may wind up spending more, per capita, than that big recent native protest of walking that long long distance (1600 KM, I understand]. But, That is just a guess on my part, however.

Lilley pitches underhand, Faytene triples to right

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On April 2 2013] Faytene Grasseschi is starting to promote her pro-life walk from Montreal to Ottawa with an interview with Brian Lilley of Sun News TV. You may see it here. It's a friendly interview [Lilley: "I've known you for a long time..."]. But there were a couple of observations that struck me as I watched. [I myself am strongly pro-life, but I guess it is the "reporter" in me popping up.] 1. I don't think that Lilley's observation that pro-choicers paint all this as an "old white man's issue"--which allows him to point out how many young women are pro-life--is spot on. Point taken, but in all my interactions with people who are pro-choice, this is something I don't think I have ever heard them say 2. As Lilley mentions various pro-life initiatives such as "Roxanne's Law" and M-408, I thought that it has to be clear that pro-lifers are using William Wilberforce's anti-slavery tactics to address abortion--chipping away at it, banning it incrementally. Seems to me like an obvious question to ask, given that pro-lifers on the Hill aren't trying to go for a total ban with every piece of legislation they try to pass. Why not ask it?

She's walkin'

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On March 27 2013] Faytene Grasseschi is still newsworthy to Charisma magazine, following their recent cover story on her. Their online news service, Charisma News, is reporting that she will lead 25 pro-life women on a walk from Montreal to Ottawa, timed to end at the annual March for Life rally in Ottawa in May, to mark the 25th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada's Morgentaler decision striking down Canada's federal laws on abortion. The linked article and promotional video allows Faytene to explain her plans and rationale. It's an ongoing complaint by pro-lifers that the March for Life is one of the biggest annual rallies on Parliament Hill but gets little media coverage. So, Faytene might be hoping to get attention by visiting small town radio, TV and newspaper outlets. Doing a long walk, she may find, may not be helpful. Natives walked 1,500 KM to raise attention to their issues, wryly notes this letter writer in the Globe and Mail, but the media may pay more attention to Tiger Woods and Stephen Harper's important summit meeting with some imported pandas. Symbolic events are worth doing anyway, but, sadly, don't expect appropriate attention from reporters or politicians

"...sit down and shut up."

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On March 23, 2013] Brian Lilley, of Sun News TV, reports something interesting in a recent blog post. Motion M-408, in the House of Commons, was an initiative by pro-life MPs to address what they saw as the possibility of people using ultrasounds pursue abortions when babies would be born of the wrong sex. As Lilley mentions, a procedural group of the House has decided that the motion cannot be discussed by the House as the matters that would be discussed are properly matters relating to provincial powers. [Not so. If that was the case why did the House vote von Motion M-312 and why does Canada have a federal health minister at all?] Lilley, for his part argues that this is a smokescreen. Rather, it is Harper's brains trust using their power to tell pro-lifers to "sit down and shut up". Any implication that Harper is a so-con eager to impose his agenda, he further argues, is wrong. I wouldn't argue that, as Harper has been quoted as saying in a caucus meeting not that pro-life legislation is wrong, but rather that this is the wrong time for it. Rather, a lot of political considerations, namely their need to keep on winning elections, are coming into play. There is one point that I would like to make, though. The Faytene Grasseschis of the world are making the point that if conservatives just stand up to be counted, as in one instance she explained at length in one sermon that I blogged about earlier, they can bend politicians like Stephen Harper to their will. Dominionism rules! A different version of this sermon, saying much the same thing, was distributed by The Elijah List as one of their "message of the month" MP3s. If pro-lifers see a moral urgency for legislation, they should certainly give it a try. But, as Lilley might note, they have to ask themselves whether certain things may seem futile for the time being. Faytene may want to consider dropping that example. At least in Canada, her listeners have to think "Given what is happening, can what she is talking about ever happen again?" If I were to offer some friendly advice--she would want, one hopes, to be passionate, and sensible, at the same time.

The CampusCRY guys on Facebook

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs on March 13, 2013] Want to check out the CampusCRY on Facebook? The generic page for the entire movement is here I think that Faytene Grasseschi taped her own promo for the York event some time ago and set up the page at roughly the same time. The event specific site for York is here And the post on the York specific site that Bene D found --well done!--in which organizer Paul Wong reminded me of the Jets and Sharks in West Side story without the music and dancing is here. I`ll quote organizer Paul Wong again in case it disappears...

Putting Faytene as Charisma's cover girl into some context

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs on Match 13 2013] Most American readers of the February 2013 Charisma magazine are being introduced to Faytene Grasseschi, the evangelist and sometime Canadian activist, for the first time. If you share Faytene's conservative views, there's much to like. She is actively pro-life, and works on many issues deal to the heart of conservative Christians. She can have some insights when she teaches, and her own holiness probably puts any righteousness I may have to shame. She is a regular subject here, but I can't fault freelance writer Anthony Petrucci, who wrote the cover story and accompanying sidebar for the magazine. At first glance, there seems many things to like about what she does. But if you read it all, it's clear that Charisma has made an editorial decision to like Faytene. [caption id="attachment_13540" align="alignleft" width="300"] The Charisma cover story[/caption] A smiling Faytene on the cover probably clinches that idea. What would perhaps be useful is to put all this into some context. [This counts for me too. I always try to mention things that I appreciate about what she does to put what I may write into context too. I try to apply my rules to myself.] Let's begin to look at the cover story together.

Coming soon to a Canadian campus near you--taking over for Jesus?

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On March 13 2013] The MYCanada brains trust has another new idea. University and college campuses can have their own versions of those The Cry events that helped put Faytene Grasseschi on the cover of Charisma magazine. The first is planned for York University in Toronto on March 16, and it's a case of bearding the lion in its den. Remember MY City? Back at the turn of the year, word came out that Faytene was encouraging her local friends and followers to form localized branches of My Canada, to work on local issues. From what I understand, they seem to be springing up like wildflowers. Students at York have reasoned, like Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, that they could put on their own show. And the First ever CampusCRY will be taking place in a few days as I write, on March 16. The two in the promotional video for the event on YouTube, seem nice enough. But when one of them complains about "idol worship, literally on our campus" and one of the danger signs is that "Students have admitted to experimenting sexually with students of the same sex while attending school.", you realize that there is a really conservative agenda at work. The overt emphasis will be, laudably, praying for God to work on the campus. But as shown in this video, a political agenda will no doubt pop up like a whack-a-mole. [That was the case at The Cry Vancouver and will no doubt be the case at the upcoming Cry event. Faytene (who has in recent years married, and used the married name Grasseschi) also has a promotional video for the York event. Faytene Grasseschi is a mentor, if not more, to the people organizing this event at York. It will be the "first" such event and hoped to be the first of many. One point of interest. The students are using a lecture hall for the event, perhaps to make the numbers look good through packing the room and deterring protests. Why would they want to deter protests? York has a reputation for being a really progressive school, so much so that an event there this week, Israeli Apartheid Week, will attract picketing from conservatives in the area who are dismayed by it. Hopefully the York organizers aren't Machiavellian enough to want their event to raise a giant unpleasant fuss which they could have avoided by holding the event, say, at some place like the University of Toronto outside. Meh, I can hear student journalists saying to themselves. Well, this may be something of interest to the folks at The Excalibur if not Canadian University Press. I would cover it from the other side of the continent for CUP were I still a student journalist, as Faytene Grasseschi says some interesting things in explaining her views. Such as, from her book Marked what she writes (on pages 31-32) .There is something inherent in the nature of God that loves growth and wants to take over! Recently a preacher friend of mine, Banning Liebscher, said something that I wholeheartedly believe in. He said, "The new breed of revivalists that God is raising up has a "take over" mentality. They are convinced that God has called them to take over the world" If we really believe that we are created in His image, this should not be a surprising statement,. Actually, it resonates deeply in my spirit .There is one clincher, however. The clincher is that He has chosen to execute the expansion of His Kingdom through his people. Whether or not His take-over plan advances in fullness depends on our obedient response to the command: multiply! It's not an isolated slip. Search "Faytene" and "dominionism" on this blog to find more.

Charisma--Faytene is "not only calling for righteousness but walking in it"

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On Feb 20 2013] [caption id="attachment_13476" align="alignleft" width="300"] Charisma, February 2013 issue[/caption] By Rick Hiebert. All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission I figured that Charisma's coverage of Faytene Grasseschi--she graces their February 2013 cover--would be very friendly. Now I can confirm that it is. Their cover story on her will be at your local Christian bookstore, if it carries magazines, for another two weeks or so. Charisma's imprimatur will probably make Faytene a charismatic celebrity, if she isn't one already. I've already seen a brief notice or two from people who are advising that Grasseschi will be coming to their gathering or church,citing the story for those who might wonder "Who?" Let's start to look at it.

Now a major motion picture. In a bit.

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs ON Feb. 12, 2013] Although I don't think they have started making the film yet, the Nicolas Cage reboot of Left Behind has a proposed first poster according to Comingsoon.net.

Todd Bentley is "as far from the understanding of God as [he has] ever known'

{[Posted at Bene Diction January 29, 2013] Why is Todd Bentley starting a little bit of a public relations campaign these days? Well, some of it may be due to the fact that some Christians are dismayed by his actions. One English Anglican vicar comes to mind. Earlier this month, Canon Colin Boswell of Croydon, England shared his thoughts with a reporter from a local newspaper. I'd be disgusted if I were him. I'll explain...

Faytene--You are *not* allowed to quote us without permission, redux

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On January 28 2013] A quick update on Faytene Grasseschi's group's media policies, while I wait for that cover story on her in the new Charisma magazine to hit newsstands. I was checking out her group's stance on Bill C-279 when this notice from My Canada jumped out at me: Notice to Media & Other Organizations: All content on this site that has been created by 4MYC including: videos, 4MYC articles/postings, 4MYC images and all other 4MYC creative material (unless otherwise identified) are the exclusive property of the MY Canada Association and may not be used for the purpose of reprint or rebroadcasting unless officially authorized by 4MYC. -Thank you.(This policy is to protect the integrity of our messaging and avoid improper use of our material.) MY Canada e: admin@4mycanada.ca Does this apply to the notice as well? Oops! ;) Well, this is to be expected, after she chased after Marci McDonald, trying to buy back what the reporter bought from her book table. Starting in 2010, as I reported in this post, she warned reporters that they might be told to leave events. [Although...I had a quick look at Faytene.ca just now and I didn't spot this or a similar notice. Maybe she has her security just refuse everyone they spot? I don't know...] The media quoting her without mercy might be a pain in Faytene's butt, but surely a movement that lives on getting the word out so that people can give and help. can learn to live with it, no? As a former reporter, I find this really offensive. Hope Charisma got their mother-may-I from Faytene first. As reporters, the notice should raise their eyebrows at Charisma too.

Charisma's Feb. 2013 cover story is about Faytene

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On Januray 28, 2013] Faytene Grasseschi could be said to have hit the big leagues now. The evangelist, a regular subject here, is profiled in the next issue of Charisma, the periodical of record for U.S. charismatics. Charisma's cover will show a smiling Faytene with the tagline: A Call For Canada: How Faytene Grasseschi is bringing her homeland back to Biblical values with activist intercession. Where is Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show when you need them? :) Will no doubt post on it after I get the paper magazine in a few days.

GOD TV is totally fine with Todd Bentley again

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On January 19. 2013] A brief e-mail from Todd Bentley's ministry this afternoon reveals that the TV network thinks it quite alll right for the evangelist to appear on their network again starting tomorrow morning. One of his helpers writes: We are very excited to be announcing Todd Bentley's return to GodTV. Rory and Wendy Alec believe the time is right for Todd and Jessa to join them in Israel to address the GodTV audience. This will be a time of restoration for many and we believe the Lord will show himself in a powerful way..... Rory and Wendy Alec are the owners/guiding force behind GOD TV. This would naturally imply that whatever shenanigans on Todd's behalf that were broadcast from Lakeland are just water under the bridge now. The segment with Bentley starts at 10:30 am EST on January 20th.

Rise of the mini-Faytenes

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs January 14, 2013] What's new with Fraytene Grasseschi these days? Well, those who follow her Canadian political initiative MY Canada (as it is now named) may be interested that the former Faytene Kryskow is forming local chapters of that group in several Canadian cities. Called MY City, you may check out more about these local groups at their page on the MY Canada website here. It's implicitly political as locals may be "volunteering for MPs in your city", among other options. It's a good way to find and enlist people to help with national priorities of My Canada. And I would think that there would probably be a lot more people who wind up volunteering for Tory MPs than for Liberals, New Democrat or Bloc MPs, but that is just an educated guess on my part. Faytene's Facebook Wall No. 2 announced just a few days ago that two branches of MY City have just started.

Starring Brad Pitt as Pontius Pilate?

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On January 12, 2013] No one can say that Hollywood is a boring place, eh? It seems that Bible-themed films might be a bit of a trend these days. The latest idea is that Brad Pitt is perhaps set to play Pontius Pilate in a movie. That wouldn't seem like the nicest part for a star like Pitt to play, but the linked article suggests that Pilate may be treated sympathetically. Tip of the hat to this reporter, who is quite the wag: "...Pitt hasn't committed to the role and could still wash his hands of the project..." And Nicolas Cage might have another name actor of sorts to join him in that remake of Left Behind. Chad Michael Murray, of One Tree Hill fame. I've read speculation that he would play the "Buck" part while Cage would play the "Rayford Steele" role. This leads me to remember Jack Warner's alleged remark when he heard that Ronald Reagan was running for governor of California. "No, no, Jimmy Stewart for governor; Ronald Reagan for best friend." :)

"Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?!?!"

Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On December 22, 2012 "Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about..."

Twitter's testimony about Todd

Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On December 15, 2013

Todd Bentley's infamous remarks saying that the death of British MP Malcolm Wicks was "the Lord's justice" were, as noted in Bene D's transcript here, were reportedly inspired by a dream that he had regarding the date Sept. 29th.

Bentley allegedly was told by God that the day would be very significant for some reason. I thought to myself--well maybe, given that, he would want to get the word out on that very day and afterwards, so that his friends could be watchful.

So, I had a look on his Twitter feed and found that on September 30, right after this crucially important dream, he was tweeting messages like this:

Todd Bentley ?@IamToddBentley

Down 60 pounds since this pic at 270 http://instagr.am/p/QNgng4NF1e/

Collapse Reply Retweet Favorite 12:25 PM - 30 Sep 12 · Details

Well, that's nice, but what about your dream?

I've had a look at all his "tweets" from Sept. 29 onwards to when I am posting and I haven't spotted any mention of his dream, or of the passing of Malcolm Wicks and how sorry he may be about that.

There are tweets about what he eats, where he is going on his travels, his new digital book and such. He tweets about other dreams that he has had, so it can't be that he doesn't mention such things on his Twitter feed. He even tweets that his second wife Jessa went to a "salon for celebrities" and now looks like "Jessica the rabbit" (sic).

These various things are more significant than the particular dream and why Malcolm Wicks may have died. That was saved for a meeting that would later be saved in video form on Bentley's website. So that we could be made well aware that he evidently aspires to inspire fear of crossing him--the possible Shaft of evangelists. Shut yo mouth, anyone inclined to restrain him.

Why wouldn't Bentley have tweeted about that as well as Jessa's new hairdo and his workout regimens?

Surely it is not because he is making up the dream after the fact?

Post 2,000!

This is the 2,000th post that I have ever pit up at the varios places that I have blogged--at my own personal blog here, The Shotgun, and Bene Diction. I`ve only realized this after the fact, but you could technically count the next post--Twitter`s Testimony About Todd, which I posted at Bene Diction Blogs On on December 15, 2012, as that milestone post. Cool...well I think so.

Todd Bentley--MP died because he worked to have me banned from Britain

Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On Dec 13, 2012

Don't mess with Todd Bentley. He'll have you "whacked" by the Lord.

One of the local papers in Croydon, England--where Todd Bentley was to evanglize earlier this year before he was banned from entering by immigration authorities--is rightly appalled by Bentley's latest action.

Local MP Malcolm Wicks, who had lobbied to have Bentley restricted passed away of cancer on September 29. The Croydon Guardian, noting that Bentley has recently released a video touching on this, is aghast after what Bentley says on the subject:

Footage has now emerged of Mr Bentley telling followers that 65-year-old Mr Wicks's death on September 29, after a battle with the disease, was "the Lord's justice" for his opposition.

In the video, Mr Bentley says God had told him in a dream after the ban that "something very significant" would happen on September 29.

He says: "One thing that is significant about the whole thing is the Lord's justice.

"On September 29 I was preaching in Ohio when I got a report that the man who lead the campaign against us in England had died suddenly of cancer.

"This was a clear release of God's presence and power. The fear of the Lord is going to come."

The leader of Croydon's munincipal Labour politicians sees this as "sick and abhorrent."

[UPDATE Big huge elephant-sized thanks to Bene D for transcribing the relevant quotes here in the comments. I'm sure he has it bang on. The Croydon Guardian pulled them from the video which is on the front page of Bentley's website as I update this here until Bentley thinks to pull or edit it.

Thanks, thanks thanks. My six day 50 hours a week job does interfere with my blogging. ;) Thanks to Bene D for stepping in, and back to what I had previously observed.]

I heartily agree, but I'd like to add a few things.

How does Bentley expect to ever be let into Britain again if immigration authorities realize that he's basically said. "The Lord killed the man who had me banned. Good." How stupid is he?

Why didn't the Lord kill me after my Report newsmagazine stories on Bentley, which Bentley saw as so damaging that he has to slam them in his autobiography?

It's ironic that only recently Bentley was talking about the Lord restoring and being merciful. But only for him, I guess. God has no mercy for Labour MPs? No restoration for them?

"As ye sow, so shall ye reap,", Mr. Bentley.

"We have the right to be stupid [about Todd Bentley]"

Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On December 8 2012

Why does evangelist Todd Bentley, after the disgrace at Lakeland and being banned from entering Britain earlier this year, feel the need to keep going and going and going like the Energizer Bunny?

An e-mail of his from a few days ago shows that if God is trying to show Bentley that he needs to stop what he is doing through painful circumstance—in the same way that you learn not to hit your head with a hammer because it smarts a bit—He is not listening at all.

Todd Bentley seems to be incredibly stubborn. I’ll explain…

On November 30 [2012], Bentley sent out the e-mail Restoration Is Like A Two Edged Sword. Part of his e-mail reads like this: …. But we need to remember that in the process of restoration there is always a divine test. Before Joseph's freedom was restored, and he took the throne in Egypt (second only to Pharaoh), he was taken into a great God-ordained time of testing (Gen: 37-50). Psalms 105:19 says: "Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him." Joseph had the prophetic word of the Lord but until it actually came to pass, this word tested him.

Likewise, many of you have the prophetic word of the Lord concerning areas of restoration coming upon your lives; however, today, the fulfillment has not manifested it's still on its way. Stand your ground in the time of testing, the time of waiting. God will surely come and bring restoration exactly at the perfect moment…..

Yes, Joseph was severely tested, and we may be tested as well. But the danger in looking at the Bible’s history is to assume that anything that happened back then should and will happen to us in the same way.

Joseph had a special role and destiny. How accurate would it be to assume that his example applies to everyone? Would it perhaps be hubris for Bentley to assume that Joseph’s example applies to himself?

Ah, but it has to apply. If it doesn’t apply yo Bentley he either goes back to be the low profile itinerant teacher that he was before Lakeland, or starts asking people if they want fries with their meal.

Bentley should, of course, be free to pursue whatever he wants to do. But if he is being pigheaded in wrongly continuing, there would be collateral damage. Bentley would not be the only person affected.

This brings to mind a couple items from earlier this year—when Bentley was banned from Britain’s immigration authorities from entering their country. Bentley’s latest musings are merely the latest example of his thinking “I *will* be a famous evangelist and no one will stand in my way of doing whatever I want to do when and where I care to do it.”

Back on September 21 [2012}, Bentley sent an e-mail to to his e-list. Intended to connect with Bentley’s supporters, it contains an interview with a lady who went to Lakeland and felt blessed by her experience there. (Her daughter, Sophia, after being “healed” of an incurable disease is now being “mentored” by Bentley and his second wife.).

Her question to Todd Bentley, and his response, is interesting:

... What was it inside of Todd that gave him the drive to overcome the adversity that he went though after Lakeland, because a lot of people would just have given up. There had to be something inside of him that gave him the courage to say, "I am not done" and stand up even after all the controversies. What was the one thing that really drew him to say, "I am not going to give up and I am not going to quit and I will continue to serve God"?

Todd's Response: "A lot of people ask me this question. People always want to know how I kept myself strong, loving the Lord, and continued to pursue my purpose. During the first 6 months after Lakeland, which was a challenging time for me was a battle of depression and discouragement. I felt like Elijah the Prophet, I wanted to give up. It was the constant encouragement of Fathers and a few true friends that kept speaking life into me that kept me going. One blessing in this hardship that I endured, was that in the midst of it all, I fell back in love with Jesus for Jesus again and not for ministry."...

Most people would be reluctantly willing to consider that God has another “purpose” in mind for them after the sorts of things that happened to Todd Bentley. Had Bentley been willing to pursue a regular job for a few years, we could place more credence in his saying that he loves Jesus before ministry.

No one else can possibly do what Todd Bentley does, I guess.

The fact that Todd Bentley is now mostly under the radar and not drawing huge crowds or the sort of attention that he did at Lakeland would imply that many christians are looking at Todd Bentley and saying “I’ll pass”.

But not all. And one response--which threw me for a bit of a loop—to Bentley being banned from entering Britain may show my Bentley will never deliver pizzas for a ,living, as long as he wants to keep evangelizing.

You have to credit blogger The Ugley Vicar for getting right to the nub of the matter. His August 23, 2012 post is entitled “We Have The Right To Be Stupid”.

Britain’s Home Office, as they write, has just decided that Bentley may not enter Britain for a series of evangelistic meetings. This, the blogger decides, is a use of “dictatorial powers” :

"...And what, exactly, have we been saved from? The answer is a tattooed former drug addict who claims God heals via him giving them a punch or a kick."

"Now I am quite happy to say this is bonkers (although I do remember reading about a bloke who was healed after somebody rubbed spit on his eyes - but then the government didn't like that healer either, because he was a threat to the establishment too).

When it came to these shores, I similarly said the Toronto Blessing was bonkers, and I continue to maintain that to this day. (Indeed, I would go further and say it was spiritually damaging in a way far beyond anything likely to be achieved by Mr Bentley.)

But I also think the government is talking rubbish when it gives as a further justification for this ban, "Coming here is a privilege that we refuse to extend to those who might seek to undermine our society."...

I follow the point they are making. The fact that, knowing all that I do about Bentley, I still watch what he is doing implies that I think that most Christians are grownups and can take care of themselves.

“We have a right to be stupid.” Indeed, you do.

I did ask myself, however, is this person being serious? Is this a “reducto ad absurdum” argument where they are going way over the top to really argue that the British government is really being reasonable?

(And would it be odd for a "Brit" to use a Canadian blogging server?)

But whatever the merits of what the blogger has to argue, they allow me to make a small point. Todd Bentley will always have someone willing to take his side and support him, no matter how unreasonable people, and the powers that may be, are.

With such a base of support, Todd Bentley will be able to keep evangelizing to the end of his days. He should be able to make a living of some sort.

Fumbling this political football?

Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On December 5, 2012

Damian Goddard, the sportscaster who was dismissed from SportsNet for sharing his views on gay marriage, knows exactly why the Argos won the Grey Cup this year.

It's due to Argo team discipline and taking few penalties, he says in this video. And, you can extrapolate that, he goes on to argue, to support various so-con views.

Two questions.

Had the Stamps won, would Goddard say that that proves the inherent moral superiority of ordaining gays and lesbians in the Anglican church? Jon Cornish's mom is a lesbian Anglican minister, and he is very supportive. Had he starred in the game, would that prove that Cornish's position on the gay ministers question was right? Goddard would fall all over himself to not say so--so why use *that* sort of logic here? Follows here, follows if the other gay-positive star's team wins, right?

What if--in a hypothetical different matchup--the Argos had also been disciplined in regards to penalties, but had been playing my beloved B.C. Lions instead? Had the Lions won in that example, as I would say would have been likely...would Goddard have made a "The Argos lost in a way that supports my own personal values..." video? Doubtful.

In contrast, I appreciate Cornish's own view, as cited in my previous post. Whether he is a star or a third-stringer, he loves his Mom and believes as he does because he holds those to be the best views. Full stop.

I wonder--was Goddard sacked because his former bosses saw that he had a general propensity for logical own goals when straying away from straight factual reporting?

His Mom has extra reasons to cheer?

Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On November 23, 2012

Fans of the Calgary Stampeders in Sunday's Grey Cup may be interested to know that one of their players takes a position on the long running Anglican debate over whether gays should be ministers in that church.

Jon Cornish has good reason to do so, reports Cam Cole in today's Vancouver Sun. His mom, Margaret is an Anglican minister, with a female partner, and his repect for the both of them has led him to become involved in You Can Play movement.

Says Cornish:

"I'm actually pretty outspoken. I don't like certain slurs being used, and any time I hear them, I speak up," he said. "I think for the most part, my team's pretty respectful. We have a lot of smart people on this team.

"People are always surprised when I tell them about my mom's situation, but for me, it's something I'm proud of. Because she'd been through a lot, and she finally found someone who she loved, and for me, there's nothing more positive in the world."

Stamps coach John Hufnagel, quoted in the same story, is concerned that any gay player can throw, run fast, and catch, but adds "It's a free country."

Please sign here

Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On November 19, 2012

Canadian Press is reporting that pro-life MPs have discovered another tactic that they can use in the House of Commons.

Following the failure of Motion M-312, what pro-life MPs have started to do is to present pro-life themed petitions to the House. Petitions from the public are almost always heard after Question Period, and this allows the presenter of the motion to address the subject briefly.

However, the story adds, "The House of Commons manual of procedure and practice states that MPs are not bound to present any petition, nor does presenting a petition signify an endorsement." This would allow Tory MPs to tell Harper, "I'm just presenting the petition. You don't want me to tell my constituents to get lost, do you?"

CP adds that of the more than 20 such petitions so far, all save one by Lawrence MacAulay of the Liberals have been presented by Tories.

Obama's possible failings our fault, says the Lord

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On November 15, 2012

If you are not a supporter of Barack Obama, you could be making the President fail. Thus saith the Lord. Per Wendy Alec, at any rate.

As you no doubt know, conservatives in the United States can be very critical of Obama. And Wendy Alec, in an e-mail and prophetic word she just sent out this morning, says that she has been worried about this since the President was first elected in 2008.

In her cover e-mail accompanying the link to her word, Alec writes this:

....I sense that the Lord has been very grieved by the flow of criticism by the Church concerning Barack Obama these past four years. Instead of fervent prayers for the President of the United States, many times it has been criticism instead that has risen to His throne.

In fact beloved, I sensed that the Father said that our words as Christians have in fact somewhat imprisoned President Obama, which has enabled a Jezebelic spirit to intensify over certain aspects of the Whitehouse.....

I'd agree with Alec that we should be prayerful first, but to never critique while trying to have a Christlike attitude is wrong. We need to speak truth to power, as it were.

If Alec, in the summer of 2008, had told progressive Christians that their critiques of President Bush had caused the ongoing issues in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the banking crisis, it would be just as wrongheaded, I believe.

There is a balance to be struck in such things, but to say: "the Lord says don't do this at all..."? Well I don't know about that.

I also don't think our words have that sort of voodoo power over people, but that is a subject for another post, perhaps.

What do you think?

Will Hugh Hefner outlive his magazines?

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs on October 31 2012]

Another of the spinoff "Special Editions" of Playboy has announced that it is shutting down.

I was at my corner store last night when I noticed that "Playboy's Lingerie" also was wrapped with plastic wrapping, this time stating "FINAL LINGERIE Issue". The front cover had a "Farewell" on it, so you didn't have to buy the magazine to realize what was happening.

As I wrote in a post on the folding of Playboy's special College edition, a few days ago, this may not be wholly good news for those averse to the "Playboy philosophy". Probably the exact same reasons that played into the death of that magazine--explored in that post--are at play here so I won't repeat myself.

One quick note though. An insert card for a subscription offer had come out of a Lingerie magazine and was visible through the plastic.

It advertised an introductory offer of 12 issues of Playboy magazine itself--the main, famous, magazine which these edition closures and probable layoffs of staff is designed to save--for only $12.

Desperation time?

Even Hugh Hefner can't make a go of it...

[Potsed at Bene Diction Blogs On October 27 2012]

It's not like Hugh Hefner will have to stand in line at a food bank any time soon, but something that I thought would never happen is happening--one of his magazines is ceasing publication.

Playboy is still ticking,, but as I walked into my local corner store, I noticed the words COLLECTOR"S ISSUE and FINAL EDITION emblazoned on the plastic wrap cover of Playboy's College Girls magazine.

I was immediately curious as to why. Was Hefner feeling guilty? Had pressure from campus feminists finally done the magazine in? Not that I was expecting them to admit to something like that, but Larry Flynt professed being a Christian for an incredibly brief period, so who knows?

So I bought a copy for blogging purposes--in case it was amazing news--and yes, the issue on the newsstands now is the final one that will be printed on paper anyways. There is a brief note that accompanies a "looking back series" of pictures. The note states that College Girls, first published in 1983, was the "most popular" of what Playboy calls its Special Editions. No reason was given for ceasing publication of its print edition.

Before people who are concerned about the influence of Playboy celebrate, however, I'd caution that the devil is in the details, as it were.

I've noticed something else too. Stores selling adult materials are closing and up for rent. Since I was young, they had been noticeable and had even made news. In Vancouver and other B.C. cities and towns during the early 80s, adult video stores like the Red Hot Video chain had led both feminists and Christians to protest against what they were offering. A group of radicals called the Sqwamish Five were infamous for their involvement with firebomb attacks on some Red Hot Video outlets.

You'f figure that anyone who could survive that would have the staying power to last forever. Well, one Red Hot Video outlet stood in Vancouver for years. It was renamed, due, perhaps, to new ownership. I rode past there on the bus the other day. Shuttered. Vacant. Up for sale.

How could you not make money doing this? Well, a 2009 New York Times piece on Playboy has what I think is the answer.

That fall, Playboy was announcing to its advertising clients that they were only going to guarantee that the magazine had 1.5 million readers, down from a figure of 2.6 million, a 38 per cent decrease.

Why the slump? "Playboy is battling declining ad revenue, a problem faced by almost every magazine. But it is also losing readers to online pornography. And mass magazines in general are having a tough time..." The story portrays Hefner as being sentimentaL, and wanting to keep Playboy the magazine, itself, as the center of what he is doing.

So, I would say that the fate of College Girls is not due to some reformist zeal. When in trouble, consolidate what you are doing to save what is essential. (Journalists--one of whom I know saw a similar drop in editions in their case to one and then zero--will tell you that is not fun to go through.) This issue of College Girls appears to have no ads too, so if newsstand sales slump...

But this points to another issue, online porn. It may even be "free", but there are other costs.

Interestingly, the syndicated sex columnist Dan Savage talks about online porn in his column this week. Even though his beliefs are more easygoing on sexual matters than many hold--he starts his answer to the online porn question doubting that pre-teen children have ready access to it on a widespread basis and seems to approve adults using it, he sees problems with online porn.

Savage's worldview results in his seeing different problems with online porn than some of us might see. He sees issues with underage portrayals. It paints a completely unrealistic view of sex. Online porn is often made by "angry and resentful" men whose attitude "seeps into a lot of porn." [However, he goes on to argue, users of online porn can realize this and guard against it.]

So, although I am not a fan of College Girls and its own mindsets, replacing it with something ubiquitous and free poses problems of its own. And as "free" and "plentiful" drives out something like a magazine that can at least be placed under some controls, it creates different problems.

Mr. Bentley strikes Norse letter writer as not unlike last month's lutefisk

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On Oct 27, 2012]

I found something of interest in a Norwegian paper, thanks to the Google Translate verion of a letter in a newspaper there.

Letter writer Martin Hjellvik of Bergen wrote in the oped section of what I am guessing is a local paper, on Sept. 28, that he went to one of Todd Bentley's meetings in that city and found lots of reasons to find him controversial in his Sept. 28 letter to the paper.

He writes, as translated by Google:

...So I went with a reasoned skepticism Bentley meetings in Bergen. There were a lot of small Bible and Bentley. He even said we had exalted preaching and teaching too much in church. He himself would obviously overcome it by letting the Bible be virtually unused. And when he had opened the book, it was in the name of miracles.

He also spoke of the dead saints and relics may contain anointing. So he would really like to take on Peters dead legs, if he got the chance, to see if there was anything anointing to get there. Moreover he talked about spiritual portals that goes into the sky from the places where before there has been a revival. These portals could get anointing. With this teaching, it is understandable that he would not use the Bible as much. Instead of preaching the Word, we hear a lot about Bentleys experiences. Among the many bizarre claims, he said that 33 people had been resurrected from the dead. Salen devoured everything indiscriminately and rejoiced over what they believed was God's wonders. But where are the 33 who have been dead? Common to all of them that Bentley claims have risen from the dead is that they are nameless, their testimonies we hear, and news reports, we do not.

If Mr. Hjellvik is accurate in his reporting, it would seem that Mr. Bentley is carrying on several of the bad habits of the Lakeland revival to this day.

Original page is here, if your Norwegian is up to snuff. :)

Nicolas Cage to star in Left Behind reboot film?

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On October 24, 2012]

Canadian Christian filmmaker Paul Lalonde has big news that has just moved on Charisma News.

He's planning a remake of his company's first Left Behind film, made a few years ago, and says that Nicolas Cage is set to star.

I'd like a confirmation from, say Variety, but what Lalonde shared is at the link if you are curious.

If at first you don't...pro-life MP division

[posted at Bene Diction Blogs On Sept 29 2012]

A story just posted on the Vancouver Sun website, may make pro-choice supporters think that stopping motions by pro-life MPs in the House of Commons is not unlike getting Rasputin to die.

The Vancouver Sun's news story, in which pro-lifers explain that they feel emboldened after getting over 90 MPs to vote for motion M-312, starts like this:

"A second Conservative MP plans to introduce a motion related to abortion, despite this week’s defeat of an attempt by one of his colleagues to prod Parliament into examining when human life begins.

[B.C.] Conservative MP Mark Warawa’s motion would ask Parliament to condemn the practice of sex-selective abortion.

Anti-abortion MPs immediately claimed the proposal as a sign they are not going away, though Warawa said his motion was in no way related to a vote earlier this week on when life begins, a motion brought by fellow Tory Stephen Woodworth and defeated late Wednesday....."

A wild thought...are pro-life MPs hoping to get other MPs on the record with their votes in case there is someday an explicitly pro-life Reform Party 2.0? Will they cross the floor to run against pro-choice Tory MPs?

One thing I think I can guess... motion M-312 was set up to allow pro-lifers to get a Parliamentary committee to talk about what, if any- abortion laws Canada may need. They sought to argue, in part, "Canada needs to at least have a discussion about the issue."

Now, with the issue of abortions which are [allegedly] designed to ensure that a child of the "wrong" sex is not born, the rhetoric will be kicked up a notch.

We'll hear "How, for goodness sake, can you not condemn these types of abortions?" in the House of Commons.

Or "How, for goodness sake, Mr. Harper, can you not let us go on the record as opposing this?"

Mr. Harper, if he is as tired of abortion as pundits think he is, might have to start kicking pro-life MPs out of his caucus...

The Gangnam Style Priest

These days, the kids are all a-flutter about a music video performed by a South Korean singer named Psy.

"Gangnam Style" is celebrated for its catchy beat and wacky dancing. No doubt you have been e-mailed it dozens of times already, but when I was first learning of the meme a couple of days ago, I was amazed to see that it seemed to be getting a million hits an hour on YouTube.

So, when checking that out, I discovered that a priest at a Roman Catholic church in South Korea has done his own version of the video. Well, the description says he is a priest, but you may find it oddly fun too.

It would be hilarious if he really was a priest, eh? :)

The M-312 failure and the start of the "Stephen Harper ignored you, but I..." meme

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On spet 26, 2012]

As noted by Bene D in his quick update--thanks!--the pro-life motion, M-312 was defeated in the House earlier today.

John Ivison of the National Post has what I think is a very good observation in his report on the vote.

Of the Tories who defied Stephen Harper and voted for the motion, there were eight cabinet ministers, one of them Jason Kenney, he noted.

Harper cannot be leader forever, Ivison adds. Anyone bidding to be leader after him may want pro-life or so-con support.

I would myself add that something like "Harper gave you the back of his hand, but I..." might be a seductive thing to say to certain delegates at a future leadership convention.

Perhaps the ponies are already straining in the starting gate?

[My first guess that M-312 was doomed proved right, but please treat my evident disposition to be the H.V. Kaltenborn of BDBO kindly. I am reminded of Monty Python's Election Night sketch in which a pundit says something to the effect of "Well, the results are largely as I predicted, except that the Silly Party won." ;) ]

nies are already straining in the starting gate? [My first guess that M-312 was doomed proved right, but please treat my evident disposition to be the H.V. Kaltenborn of BDBO kindly. I am reminded of Monty Python's Election Night sketch in which a pundit says something to the effect of "Well, the results are largely as I predicted, except that the Silly Party won." ;) ]

Motion M-312 will be... *shakes Magic 8-Ball*

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On Sept 25 2012]

September 26 brings us the second reading vote for Motion M-312 in the House of Commons. And all I know for certain is that I don't know for certain how it is going to go.

Some oddities over the past day or so.

Reports from Ottawa have said that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been trying to get his cabinet united against M-312. But Immigration minister Jason Kenney has told the Calgary Herald that he will vote for the motion on second reading.

Government Whip Gordon O'Connor spoke against M-312, according to a CBC live blogger. He refuted both the need for the legilation and its premise.

Okay, you'd reason, the Tories are about to tell their MPs how to vote. The Whip has just given them their rationale and thus their marching orders.

But no. Representatives of the whips office are now telling the CBC that the second reading will have a "free vote" allowing MPs to vote as they choose. Ths clears the way for Kenney to go to the press with his voting plans.

And in the background, we have a wild card with evangelist Faytene Grasseschi's account of a Tory caucus meeting in which the caucus rebelled and forced Harper into a Damascus Road experience in which he decided that he needed to run in the other direction to get in front to lead his wandering army.

How accurate was the account? I'm not sure. But, she has been travelling around the country with this story, encouraging "the troops" to hope and work for more of the same.

If it happened once. can it happen again?

Is Harper and his brains trust fed up? Are they confident that the pro=choice side will handily win, therefore those pro-life MPs who feel an urgent need to can safely vote yes? Does the motion look like a sop to pro-lifers? Passing second and event third reading would merely result in talking about abortion. As drafted, the motion does not oblige the goverment to do anything with what the Parliamentfary committee finds. A report can be left to gather dust on a shelf. But going through the motions would allow pro-lifers to say "We made the government do this...which resulted in nothing...but we made them do this because we are mighty!"

But, we need to take a breath. The Tories may be able to let people play to the grandstands in this vote because every motion, even a private members one, must pass the House of Commons three times and then the Senate 'before obliging the government to act.

M-312 lives on, but nothing happens yet if the second reading vote goes the way its proponent's want it to. Nothing more at this time except gearing up for the third reading vote. And there is always the Senate afterwards.

But what will happen in *this* vote, you ask?

There are arguments for several possible outcomes, some of which I've outlined.

But, let's go to the definitive oracle:

Reply hazy. Try Again

;) Update: (BD butting in on Rick's post) Stephen Woodworth's motion was voted down 203-91. (Canadian Press) Order Paper - copy of M -312

Government whip who tore into Motion M-312 will allow free vote

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs on Sept 25, 2012]

A CBC reporter is tweeting that the Harper government, which had been trying to get cabinet ministers to hold steady against the pro-life motion M-312, will now formally allow every Tory MP to vote as they like, acording to this Lifesite story.

This news would explain why Jason Kenney, Immigration minister, said he would vote for M-312 yesterday.

This is odd, given that Government Whip Gordon O'Connor tore into the motion during debate a few days ago, giving reason after reason not to vote for it. Perhaps the Tory brains trust is giving the message "You can vote as you like, but we really really really want you to vote this way", which is dangerous if they want the motion to fail. Hints, even strongly worded ones, may be ignored if the Government Whip stays his hand.

My educated guess is that pro-life MPs are threatening the sort of revolt that Faytene Grasseschi documented for us in my recent post on M-312, or it has already started? Do the Tories fear such a revolt?

Maybe Faytene Grasseschi could sneak onto Parliament Hill for us to get another leak, as I am still guessing the motion will fail, and I'd like to know if another revolt is brewing. ;)

If Motion M-312 survives, does this point to why?

{Posted at Bene Diction Blogs on Sept 22, 2012]

Motion M-312 is doomed. “Done like Dinner” in Dave “Tiger” Williams’ famous phrase.

The effort by pro-life MPs to set up a House of Commons committee to discuss issues on abortion is set to be formally voted on again on Sept. 26th. A CBC live blogger on politics even paraphrases the private motion’s sponsor, Tory MP Stephen Woodworth , as thinking that the motion will fail. This is especially the case given that Stephen Harper plans to vote against the motion, has told his cabinet members to vote that way, and Government Whip Gordon O’Connor tore into the motion during debate on the motion September 21.

But there is a way that M 312 could rise from the dead, if what happened during an alleged giant leak from a usually secret Tory caucus meeting repeats itself.

A reported mass caucus revolt by pro-life MPs—assuming that the speaker at a Saskatchewan church wasn’t blowing what happened out of proportion--could happen again.

Bet the kid’s milk money that Motion M-312 will fail. But if it rises up from life support, something like what is documented below will probably have happened. It may be starting to happen right now.

We will need to remember that back in April 2010, in advance of a G-8 meeting, Tory cabinet minister Bev Oda announced that Canada would be changing its international funding priorities in regards to abortion.

As was reported back then:

The Conservative government will not fund abortion as part of its G8 child- and maternal-health plan for poor countries, setting up a potential conflict with the U.S. and other G8 partners.

The Harper government until today had refused to say whether abortion would be covered under their plan.

International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda confirmed the move Monday on the eve of a meeting of G8 development ministers in Halifax Tuesday.

She said Canada could include family planning and contraception could be included in the plan, but abortion has been ruled out.

"The details remain to be determined," she told reporters Monday. "However, Canada's contribution will not include funding of abortions."

We’ll come back to that.

Pro-lifers in politics are nothing if not persistent. After the defeat of “Roxanne’s Law” in December 2010, that very afternoon activists were saying that “This is not a defeat as much as is it a step on the road to victory.”

Fast forward to the spring 2011 election. Brad Trost, Saskatchewan Tory MP is at a meeting of the Saskatchewan Pro-Life Association. He tells them that the government has decided, after pro-life lobbying, to cut funding to the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

The resulting media attention to Trost’s remarks caused Stephen Harper to adamantly state that despite efferts of MPs such as Trost, voters vcopuld trust that the abortion issue was closed as far as he was concerned. My local tabloid headlined the bstory on the PM’s explanation “No No, Never says Harper.”

After the election, Oda modified her stance, deciding that it would be giving the IPPF $6 million to fund “sex education and contraception” with the explicit caveat that abortion nservices could not be funded.

If at first you don’t succeed, try try again. The next pro-life idea, which I spotted in a post last November, was that pro-lifers would be forcing a “debate” in a few months on the issue of abortion. BC pro-lifer John Hof was planning for a debate that “can’t be ignored…like Occupy Vancouver”. Brad Trost stepped forward, on an Internet radio program, that such a debate was badly needed.

The pro-life brains trust in Ottawa likely had an idea. How about Parliamentary hearings on abortion? And Motion M 312. which had been slowly moving through the House since the spring, was perhaps a result.

The Criminal Code has a definition, based on old English common law.which stated that murders and homicide can, legally, only involve a baby that if fully born. MP Stephen Woodworth seeks to have this clarified by a parliamentary committee and then brought back to the full house for discussion. {On the other hand, noted pro-choice activist Joyce Arthur argues that legally there is no confusion and that any action based on hearings held after a passed motion would create legal restrictions on abortion.]

The strongly pro-choice bloggers at Dammit Janet have been trying to cover Motion m-312 like a blanket, so that might be a good place to start. I’ve only been following it casually.

But, I have found something of perhaps historical interest, a past strategy that could be used again even as I am typing this sentence.

It relates to a past caucus meeting of Tory MPs that leaked like a sieve onto the laps of an unsuspecting church audience.

I thought that Parliamentary practice meant that caucus meetings were secret. Well, the speaker here relates so much that she was told that the Conservative whips might want to have a word with some pro-life Tory MPs.

Our indirect source? Evangelist Faytene Grasseschi. the former Faytene Kryskow. Well known to us at BDBO.

I recently came across a sermon of hers from when she was speaking at Harvest City Church in Regina Saskatchewan. You may download or listen to it here: “The Power Of Your Voice” from the evening of Nov 20, 2011. They appear to have come online only recently.

Faytene refers to a meeting that she had with Stephen Harper and then, a couple months later, a rebellious caucus meeting. I had thought that she had referred to both those events occurring earlier in 2011, but the way she describes the events in makes more sense that she was referring to the caucus revolts that caused Bev Oda to make the temporary funding changes in 2010 as reported above. I apologize for being imprecise, but I think I can make my point if the events happened in either year. I’d say she’s referring to 2010, though.

About 37 minutes into her message, Faytene starts to talk about how she was given an award to pass onto Stephen Harper by some friends of hers in Israel. Get this to the PM for us. Thank him for being pro-Israel.

Through some providential circumstances, Faytene gets a ten minute meeting with Stephen Harper. After praying about she should say to him, she is ushered into the PM’s office.

At 39:30, Faytene told her audience that she said this to Stephen Harper.

“’One of the reasons that Canadians love your leadership is that you always allow a free vote on issues of moral conscience. Please would you continue to allow a free vote on issues of moral conscience.’”

“What I am about to share with you is nothing short of a national sign and wonder. He [Stephen Harper] looked back at me—I mean the rest of this story-and said ‘Well, haven’t I always done that? And I said back “Well, we were a little confused when you said you were going to whip the cabinet on that unborn victims of violence bill [Roxanne’s Law?] right before the election and so we wert a little bit, you know, wondering if you were moving off on that a little bit’, and [I] kept honour and kept gentleness and he kinda crinkled his forehead a little bit, and you could tell that he was thinking.”

I’m just going to let Faytene speak for herself at length. At $0:17 she says this;

“I had no idea that when God asked me to use that little voice [of mine] that two days later we would be facing what arguably was one of, I believe, was one of the most watershed moments for our nation for at least that year, if not in the last couple of years. On March 18th, March 19th, excuse me, a national newspaper reported that a motion was going to be tabled in the House of Commons that, if it was passed, would armtwist the Parliament of Canada into platforming the funding of abortion internationally at the G-* summit….You know one of the destiny points of our nation, Canada-the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations…”

Being pro-life, Faytene was naturally interested in seeing what she could do to fight this.At 45:03 of her sermon, she relates that pro-life MPs started leaking like a styrofoam umbrella about internal Tory doings.

“We began to get e-mails from MPS that the Prime Minister’s Office had actually done the math and they understood was most likely going to pass in the House of Commons because Canada—the Conservative Party of Canada was still a minority government, and within the Conservative Party itself, there was mixture in the topic. And so the Prime Minister’s Office had done the math and he [Stehen Harper?] had done the math and he had said basically, I’m not going to put my neck out on this, and so, we are going to go the Parliament of Canada, we’re going to go into the House of Commons and vote with this motion. We’re going to agree with this motion, and we are going to agree with the G-8, and we are going to platform this initiative and be a part of promoting this thing on the international stage because it’s not worth taking a political hit on it.”

What happened then? Faytene at 45:51 continues:

So, Faytene came to the podium to address a recurring theme of hers, that Christians have the authority to “conquer something in the Spirit”. A we-are-mighty and you-in-particular-sitting-right-there-are mighty sort of message of the kind she often delivers.

I don’t want to delve into the theology of that, but we do need to keep in mind her purpose in leaking. That said, I don’t think she is brazen enough to create something from nothing. So, if this winds up giving us some insights into Ottawa pro-life politics, so much the better.

“Different members of Parliament, probably like your very own [MP] began to give a little bit of pushback and they said ‘Prime minister, with all due respect, I’ll think about it’, you know. The Prime Minister’s Office was saying ‘If you can’t vote for the motion, then we’re asking that you actually be absent from the House of Commons that say’ and they [the pro-life MPs] said ‘okay, we’ll think about it, we’ll pray about it.’”

At 46:13, Faytene continues: ”The Prime Minister’s Office began to get a little shaken up and so they called an emergency caucus meeting. We had a Member of Parliament contact us and say ‘Faytene, will you get your guy’s network praying, will you get them lifting their voices in the Spirit in prayer top create life.’ I don’t know about you guys, but I actually believe this is revival. I believe loosing the light of God….You know this is a revival issue, all of this stuff is so synch’ed.”

Came the emergency caucus meeting. Faytene at 46:55:

“And go I was you to picture this—9 AM that morning, a church, raising its voice….”

Deep Throat, er, Faytene ;), at 48:08: “The Prime Minister went into that meeting and for the first ten minutes he explained all the reasons why the needed to support this motion and be part of promoting a death decree on the international stage, funded by our taxpayer money and he said, you know, listen, it’s not the right time, blah blah blah, blah” and I’m sure he had lots of great intelligent –he’s a really brilliant brilliant man—I’m sure he had lots of really great intelligent things that he said, that made a lot of sense, but then he looked at his caucus and said this, ‘But since I am committed to a free vote on issues of moral conscience…I want to hear what you guys have to say.’”

Let us pause for a second. This is assuming that Faytene’s leak from an MP or staffer was accurate and she is passing that on accurately. At the time of this meeting, Mr. Harper, saying “It’s not the right time” would mean that he was a pro-lifer depending on the chance to act prudently. Post election, if he is now a “the subject of abortion is now closed” type of guy, that would be quite a shift.” One that Faytene has kindly let Canadian voters know about, if she got it right and is not indulging in wishful thinking.”

Faytene, I should note, does try to be modest and say that Harper didn’t do thing because of what she said alone, but “when God gives you a microphone, use it.”

Faytene continues, at 49:22, with her secondhand account of the secret Tory caucus meeting. Microphones were brought out and MPs lined up to speak.

“The very first Member of Parliament stepped up to the plate and said this ‘With all due respect Prime Minister, I can appreciate what you’re saying,’ he said, ‘But for the sake of my own conscience, and for the sake of representing my constituents in Saskatchewan I am going to show up in the House of Commons and I am going to show up in the House of Commons and I am going to vote against the motion’ using the microphone God had given him. The next member of Parliament stood up, the next Member of Parliament stood up…”

“Several [MPs] stood up, they told me afterwards…The Members of Parliament told us afterwards. ‘Faytene, we don’t know what came over us!’ and I said ‘I know what came over you—Holy Ghost!’”

She quotes the leaking MPs as allegedly saying this” ‘” We don’t even know what came over us, it was like a spirit of courage that we’ve never had!’—come on, let the strong be strong—‘We’ve never stood up to the Prime Minister ever* as a caucus.’”

At 50:24, Faytene relates, according to what she says she was told by her sources, Stephen Harper started to fold faster than Superman on laundry day.

“After about ten minutes the Prime Minister shut it down, no one knew what he was going to do, nobody knew, if he was just going to say, you know you guys, that’s great, but we’re going this way—he’s a strong leader, right?...He [Harper] shut down the microphone, pushed back his seat and said something like this; ‘Okay, we have heard from caucus today. With one voice and one heart, we are going to go to the Parliament this afternoon and we are going to unanimously vote against this motion, and if anyone has any issue with that, come talk to me.’”

So, the Tory MPs proceeded to do just that. The pro-life side, Faytene added to her audience, was helped by various pro-choice MPs arriving late. “[T]he one person who adamantly opposed the [Tory position] walked out of the debate and her retina mysteriously detached, so she was rushed to emergency,” she added.

And so the pro-life side carried the day that time.

I know that Faytene has her own point of view on all this, every reason to create or exaggerate. But, if this is anywhere close to being true, it’s, perhaps, a precedent.

Some observations.

The traditional practice in Westminster systems is that caucus meetings deliberate secretly, so there can be honesty and secrecy. If, and I emphasize if, Faytene’s account i

s right, she’d just told a church audience the equivalent of whether Harper preferred boxers or briefs in this instance. The pro-life MP’s, I am guessing, appeared to have leaked this to a friend, perhaps knowing that she’d blab and they would look good. Unfortunately, tape was rolling and unfortunately again, a blogger noticed it

. So, if a pro-choice MP walks up to a leaker and is indignant with them,we’ll know why.

Where does M-312 come into all this? Well this, assuming this is correct, is a direct example of pro-lifers seemingly being able to pull off a miracle comeback. They were told they couldn’t win, but were able to point to Harper’s stance allowing free votes on conscience and get him to be persuaded to let it happen.

And remember the ostensible two-part status of Motion M-312. “All it does, Stephen,” a pro-life MP could say,” Is allow us to talk about the issue. All we want is an opportunity to make our case to the Canadian people. Politicians talk and debate all the time. And if you don’t like what the commission says, you can put their report away where it will never be seen again. You are not obliged to act” Harper may think “I can stack the members of the committee so it will be dependably pro-choice.”

If you are pro-choice, there is a chance of mischief. And recalling what is alleged to have happened here, could it not happen again? Surely the pro-life side is trying to reuse this strategy now as I speak, or gave it a try already.

If nothing else, it’s perhaps useful to have this out there.

Bet your rent money, bet my rent money that Motion M-312 will be defeated. I see a strong attitude by Harper that he is quite done with abortion, thank you.

But if by some weird happenstance, Motion M-312 makes a 1 chance in 100 move through to a third reading, it would be good to be able to have material that will allow us to guess “How did this happen?” Look, then, for something like what happened then to have shepherded M-312 through.