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Sexuality

“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity.…” – Ephesians 5:3

Sexuality is a gift from God, to be used for His glory. Of all gifts, perhaps this one has been the most misused and perverted since the Fall into sin. This is apparent in the way that our Parliament and courts have dealt with sexuality as well. We have an obligation to show the world what a blessing sexuality can be when it is used in conformity with God’s intentions – lovingly between one man and one woman who are committed to each other for life in marriage.

Featured: ARPA policy report on prostitution (sent to all MPs and Senators).

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10 Feb 2021 Online porn industry under government scrutiny – ARPA submits policy brief to Ethics Committee

Posted at 11:02h in Action Items, Gender and Sexuality 0 Comments
6 Likes

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Information, Privacy, and Ethics is studying the question of 'Protection of Privacy and reputation on Platforms such as Pornhub.' As we discussed in previous posts (here from Dec 17th and here from Jan 27th), the December 4, 2020 New York Times exposé on the porn industry has brought a welcome level of concerned attention to the website and business model of Pornhub and the Mindgeek corporation based in Montreal. Parliament needs to address the fact that these sites host videos of violent...

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29 Jan 2021 Bill C-6 is rushed through the Justice Committee and comes out worse

Posted at 11:26h in Bills and Motions, Gender and Sexuality 0 Comments
6 Likes

On December 10th, the Justice Committee of the House of Commons completed their study of Bill C-6, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy). The bill was rushed through committee, raising serious procedural (and ethical) questions, and was amended in such a way as to make the bill even more concerning than it already was.  History of Bill C-6 ARPA Canada has expressed deep concern over the vague drafting of this bill (see more here) since it was introduced approximately a year ago. In short, our main concern with...

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27 Jan 2021 S-203: Petition for online sexually explicit material & PornHub developments

Posted at 17:35h in Gender and Sexuality, Politics 0 Comments
1 Like

Download the printable petition! Petitions are a tool for political action. This might be obvious to some, but there are some advantages that not a lot of people know about. For example, the petition linked above on Bill S-203 - An Act to restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit material - for every 25 signatures received this issue can be brought to the attention to the House of Commons with a short speech. What if you can't get 25 people to sign? No problem. Just get those in...

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17 Dec 2020 Canadian-based site Pornhub under fire

Posted at 10:29h in Action Items, Action Story, Gender and Sexuality 0 Comments
2 Likes

  (At the bottom of this article is a call to action: Please sign the petition sponsored by MP Arnold Viersen in the House of Commons asking the government to act to protect young people from exposure to pornography.) In a year where good news has been in short supply, it is wonderful to see rapid positive developments on an issue that we've been concerned about for a long time. An exposé post in The New York Times targeted Pornhub, a Canadian based for-profit pornography business. The article highlighted major problems relating...

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01 Oct 2020 Federal Liberals retable criminal ban on “conversion therapy” with major legal implications for pastoral ministry

Posted at 16:30h in Bills and Motions, Criminal Justice, Gender and Sexuality 0 Comments
4 Likes

On October 1, 2020 the federal Liberal government tabled Bill C-6 (which was before Parliament earlier this year as Bill C-8). The bill defines conversion therapy as any “practice, treatment or service designed to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual or gender identity to cisgender, or to repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour.” In case that is unclear, let me apply it directly to the pastoral work of the church. This bill, if passed as written, would make it a criminal offence to help a person struggling with...

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18 Sep 2020 Look out Albertans! Bylaw Bob coming to a religious gathering near you!

Posted at 14:10h in Blog, Fundamental Freedoms, Gender and Sexuality 0 Comments
0 Likes

By: Ed Hoogerdyk A wave of conversion therapy bans has spread across the province of Alberta. Maybe not as fast as COVID-19, but fast enough. These by-laws are harsh and heavy-handed. Yet one municipality after another passed them with relative ease. Fort McMurray. St. Albert. Edmonton. Spruce Grove. Rocky Mountain House. And finally Calgary and Lethbridge. Many concerned citizens spoke out. The largest pushback took place in Calgary. There were phone calls, face to face meetings, Zoom teleconferences, and a public hearing with a record number of oral submissions from the...

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08 Sep 2020 A Bubble Zone for Preaching in Vancouver?

Posted at 13:16h in Blog, Fundamental Freedoms, Gender and Sexuality 0 Comments
0 Likes

By Levi Minderhoud David Lynn has come to British Columbia. Kicking off his national tour, the street preacher from Christ’s Forgiveness Ministries wandered the thoroughfares of Victoria and Vancouver last week, preaching the truth of Scripture with a microphone in hand and a stereo speaker at his side. A scene like this is bound to attract some attention. Sadly, the attention of our LGBTQ-fixated society has been universally negative. This reaction underscores the need for Christians to proclaim and live the gospel. Last year on Fall Tour we touched on pastor David...

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04 Aug 2020 CBC’s strategic attack on Redeemer University

Posted at 20:11h in Blog, Education, Gender and Sexuality 1 Comment
12 Likes

CBC is at it again. Last week, I explained how CBC’s reporting on a videographer’s decision to decline to film a same-sex wedding was designed to advance a particular narrative: that governments and society still have a lot of work to do to combat homophobia. This week, in a piece posing as investigative journalism, CBC bolsters this narrative and suggests next steps in the progressive battle against homophobia, namely: suing, defunding, and disaccrediting Christian schools. CBC targets Redeemer University, whose code of conduct forbids sexual intimacy outside of (heterosexual) marriage. Framing...

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29 Jul 2020 A Christian wedding videographer and the media’s homophobia narrative

Posted at 11:36h in Blog, Gender and Sexuality 0 Comments
2 Likes

by John Sikkema On July 20, Ms. Hamstra, who operates Caramount Pictures, replied to an email request from Ms. Roberts and Ms. Arthur to be the videographer for their wedding. “I say this with much care,” Hamstra wrote, “because I know your union is incredibly important to you, but we do not film homosexual weddings.” CBC released a story on this email exchange the very next day. “The refusal came 15 years to the day after Canada legalized same-sex marriage,” CBC highlights, as if the videographer planned this for maximal symbolic impact....

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16 Jun 2020 Smithers Residents Launch Letter-Writing Campaign to Town Council

Posted at 14:48h in Action Story, Blog, Gender and Sexuality 0 Comments
2 Likes

by Levi Minderhoud You are ARPA. ARPA is you. This tagline from ARPA’s intro video means that ARPA isn’t just made up of the staff members who work full-time for the organization. ARPA, fundamentally, is a grassroots network of people who take political action to bring a Biblical perspective to our civil authorities. ARPA members and supporters in Smithers last week demonstrated what effective political action looks like. A few years ago, the town of Smithers agreed to install a rainbow crosswalk to promote the LGBTQ cause. At the time, local ARPA supporters and...

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