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Gender and Sexuality

08 Apr 2021 Preparing to Make a Defense

Posted at 15:11h in Gender and Sexuality, Public Theology 0 Comments
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As Bill C-6 (Conversion Therapy) inches closer to its final debate in the House of Commons and its likely passage into law, Christians must equip themselves on how to speak biblically and winsomely about issues of gender and sexuality. In the words of 1 Peter 3:15, “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” These conversations will not be limited to just political discussions. They will arise in our...

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29 Mar 2021 Canadians’ Views on Body-Affirming Counselling

Posted at 14:04h in Bills and Motions, Gender and Sexuality 0 Comments
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By Mike Schouten   In the past number of months, ARPA Canada has met with dozens of lawmakers to discuss our concerns with Bill C-6, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy). At numerous times during those meetings, I outlined a fictitious scenario to make this more real. The scenario went like this: “Imagine that I have a 9-year-old son and he recently came home from school expressing that he thought he was a girl trapped in a boy’s body. He wants to go to school in girls’ clothes. Rather than...

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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
7 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
8 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
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  (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
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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
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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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