Around Town: Triumphs & Tragedies of Christian Politics, PR / BC, Mavis Staples

Mark Noll is an astute observer of religion and politics on both sides of the border (and Britain).

You’re never going to get a better opportunity to hear from a very well informed historian/commentator about the complex relationship between evangelicals (Christians in general) and the state.

Mark Noll will cover the good, the bad and the ugly during his Christians & Politics Lecture Series at Regent College next week.

Proportional Representation: 2 views

Two veteran Christian political experts have recently addressed BC’s upcoming Referendum on Electoral Reform. Voters will be asked two questions on the referendum ballot:

• The first question asks if we should keep the current First Past the Post voting system or move to a system of proportional representation.
• The second question asks voters to rank three proportional systems: Dual Member Proportional (DMP), Mixed Member Proportional (MMP), and Rural-Urban Proportional (RUP).

The referendum is being held by mail from October 22 to November 30.

John Redekop and Nick Loenen take different approaches in the debate leading up to the vote.

John Redekop (right), with MLA Marvin Hunt, presenting his latest book, ‘The Church in Surrey & White Rock,’ this summer. Photo: Judi Vankevitch.

John Redekop

John Redekop is a professor emeritus in political science at Wilfrid Laurier University and the author of several books, including Politics Under God. He wrote PR proponents wrong to say current voting causes dictatorship for The Vancouver Sun September 14.

Here is an excerpt:

The statement that a majority government “gets a four-year dictatorship” is false. Every government is checked by constitutional restraints, the Charters of Rights, court rulings, the Official Opposition, pressure groups, and the media. The Trudeau government’s major judicial setback in the pipeline ruling illustrates the falsity of [Maria] Dobrinskaya’s assertion [in her September 7 opinion piece Vote for proportional representation and let your vote count].

Virtually all BC and Canadian governments have had legislation or policies declared invalid. Our electoral system does not produce four-year dictatorships. And a PR system would produce governments with the alleged dictatorial power. . . .

PR has some benefits, but its major flaws should be noted.

Go here for the full comment.

Nick Loenen

Nick Loenen at a UBC event on proportional representation in November, 2015. (Richmond News)

Nick Loenen is very supportive of proportional representation. Long active in the Christian Reformed Church, he was interviewed in Richmond News July 20:

Nick Loenen, a former Richmond councillor and MLA, and co-founder of the advocacy group Fair Voting BC, said the PR system is what BC needs now because it is a modern system that better reflects our diverse society.

“In a PR system, all votes count. If you look at the four ridings in Richmond, you’d think everyone in Richmond voted for the BC Liberals, but that’s not so at all. Half the people did not vote for the BC Liberal party,” said Loenen.

“Province wide, a party with 40 percent of the vote can form a majority government and have 100 percent of power, which is quite common. So 60 percent of the people cannot find anybody in the Legislature they voted for.”

Leonen said the current system worked well before, when “everyone thinks the same and we have a more homogenous society.

“But Canada has changed, BC has changed and Richmond has changed  rapidly. Now we have much greater diversity, and (that diversity) has to be represented in the Legislature.”

Although some PR elected governments, such as in Italy, have had a high turnover rate, others have been extremely stable.

Moreover, the fact different parties have to seek consensus is viewed by PR proponents as one of the system’s strengths.

For more information about the referendum, go here.

Mavis Staples & Jonny Lang

Back in April The Georgia Straight announced that it “proudly sponsors” Mavis Staples and Jonny Lang. I can’t make any better case for Christians to be interested in the show than the paper did in its write-up:

On September 24 at 7:30 pm, blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Jonny Lang and legendary gospel vocalist Mavis Staples play a co-headlining show at the Orpheum Theatre.

Lang has built a reputation as one of the most dynamic live performers and guitarists of his generation since releasing his platinum-selling debut album at the age of 15. Lang suffered the pitfalls of achieving fame at such an early age by succumbing to the temptations of drugs and alcohol, but he attributes finding God in 2000 for allowing him to sober up and beginning the process of battling against his personal demons.

“The root of any message that I convey in a song comes from my relationship with God,” Lang told the Georgia Straight in a 2010 interview, “but I try not to make it a preachy thing. I just try to make it something that people can relate to, or a blessing that could help somebody, you know.”

That message certainly resonates with Mavis Staples, who has been singing the gospel since the 1950s. The legendary voice of the Staple Singers is a Grammy Award winner (including the prestigious Lifetime Achievement award), a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame, and a Kennedy Center Honoree. Still going strong at 78, Staples uses her gifts to “bring us all together as people.” Staples says, “You can’t stop me. You can’t break me. I’m too loving.”

Stuart Derdeyn interviewed Laing for an article in The Province September 12. Here is one portion:

Q: Signs [Lang’s eighth album, released last year] has been nominated in both blues and Christian rock/gospel categories. Where do you see yourself?

A: I’ll take any one you’ve got, and don’t particularly care. There have always been gospel elements in the blues and Christian rock has really changed as a genre. I just approach a song as “all-in, don’t hold back, swing for the fences.” If it comes out cool; great. If it doesn’t, oh well, try again.