The Armageddon Factor with Marci McDonald
Marci
McDonald, journalist and author of The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of
Christian Nationalism in Canada will be speaking for the BC Humanists
and SFU Skeptics on October 27th at SFUs Harbour Centre in room 1900.
The
talk will begin just after 8:00PM and will be followed by a Q&A and
book signing. The Book Warewhouse will be providing copies of the book,
that will be on sale.
Tickets will be sold at the door.
$10 General Admission
$5 Students, or members of the BCHA or CFI Vancouver
Amazon.ca describes the book:
In
her new book, award-winning journalist Marci McDonald draws back the
curtain on the mysterious world of the right-wing Christian nationalist
movement in Canada and its many ties to the Conservative government of
Stephen Harper.
To most Canadians, the politics of the United
States — where fundamentalist Christians wield tremendous power and
culture wars split the country — seem too foreign to ever happen here.
But The Armageddon Factor shows that the Canadian Christian right —
infuriated by the legalization of same-sex marriage and the increasing
secularization of society — has been steadily and stealthily building
organizations, alliances and contacts that have put them close to the
levers of power and put the government of Canada in their debt.
Determined
to outlaw homosexuality and abortion, and to restore Canada to what
they see as its divinely determined destiny to be a nation ruled by
Christian laws and precepts, this group of true believers has moved the
country far closer to the American mix of politics and religion than
most Canadians would ever believe.
McDonald’s book explores how a
web of evangelical far-right Christians have built think-tanks and
foundations that play a prominent role in determining policy for the
Conservative government of Canada. She shows how Biblical belief has
allowed Christians to put dozens of MPs in office and to build a power
base across the country, across cultures and even across religions.
“What
drives that growing Christian nationalist movement is its adherents’
conviction that the end times foretold in the book of Revelation are at
hand,” writes McDonald. “Braced for an impending apocalypse, they feel
impelled to ensure that Canada assumes a unique, scripturally ordained
role in the final days before the Second Coming — and little else.”
The
Armageddon Factor shows how the religious right’s influence on the
Harper government has led to hugely important but little-known changes
in everything from foreign policy and the makeup of the courts to
funding for scientific research and social welfare programs like
daycare. And the book also shows that the religious influence is here to
stay, regardless of which party ends up in government.
For
those who thought the religious right in Canada was confined to rural
areas and the west, this book is an eye-opener, outlining to what extent
the corridors of power in Ottawa are now populated by true believers.
For anyone who assumed that the American religious right stopped at the
border, The Armageddon Factor explains how US money and evangelists have
infiltrated Canadian politics.
This book should be essential
reading for Canadians of every religious belief or political stripe.
Indeed, The Armageddon Factor should persuade every Canadian that, with
the growth of such a movement, the future direction of the country is at
stake.
Remember CFI Members get in for only $5 and new and renewing members get Free Admission to the live show by the Skeptics Guide to the Universe on November 20th! Now is a great time to sign up !