[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On November 6, 2014]
Winston Churchill once said, or wrote: “History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.”
Or rewrite it, in the case of Faytene Grasseschi, perhaps?
The Canadian born evangelist and activist was at Toronto City Church in late September to speak.
One evening, she mulled out loud that she might “live out of a motor home” in Canada during our upcoming federal election season next year.
Streaming versions of her, and her and her husband Rob, sharing may be found at the church website.
http://torontocitychurch.com/media-category-page/?cat=60/br>
Faytene’s second set of remarks there, a sermon or rather “A word for Canada in this season” make for interesting listening.
However, at 41:17 of her Sept 28 address, Faytene started talking about the “Dominion of Canada”, Canada’s formal name.
Faytene Grasseschi said:
“…For those of you who don’t know our nation of Canada was established on a covenant. There is a scripture [on] the Peace Tower in Parliament which says this–’And he’ that is Jesus Christ, Psalm 72 [verse 8] ‘will have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.’”
“Why is that script That scripture is there because the 33 Fathers of Confederation all came into agreement. And mu Bible tells me that when two or three are in agreement, two or more are gathered in agreement, that it will be established. And they agreed at the foundation of our nation that this nation would be called the ‘Dominion of Canada.”
“I’m not talking about enforced religion. I’m talking about a nation in love with Jesus. A nation where His mercy and His justice and His ways are exalted above any other system….”
She then goes on to cite a letter from Sir John A. MacDonald to Queen Victoria in which MacDonald cites the name of “dominion” as a reflection of what the Fathers wanted Canada to become. [A quote she cites in her book Stand on Guard.]
There’s nothing new under the sun. Faytene has been making this argument for over five years. I first heard it at The Cry Vancouver back in 2009.
Readers Digest version of my refutation: Canadian political leaders wanted to call Canada “The Kingdom of Canada, but feared American reaction to the name. So, Samuel Tilley came up with “dominion” as a substitute for “kingdom”, getting the idea from the Bible and a long history of British possessions being named “Dominions.”
Also, the notion of Canada being a “Christian nation”–in the same way that the United States likes to think itself as, is debatable. Devoutly to be wished, but debatable.
Anyways, I wrote at great length about this back in 2009 and don’t care to reinvent the wheel. Go to this post and find the section labelled Her book: History and theology.
It seems that Faytene would like to back away from being an overt Dominionist. “I am not talking about enforced religion.” But then she calls up the imagine in her listeners’I minds of Christ’s Millennial Kingdom.
She also refers, in passing, to the idea of a great end-time revival that will start in Canada, a regular theme of hers. She preached on that in 2013.
http://ricksmiscellany.blogspot.ca/2014/07/a-revival-will-hit-your-land-canada.html