David Asper1 writes about The Liberal War on Faith in today's issue of The National Post.Throughout the growth of the current Conservative party, starting with the establishment of Reform, the Alliance and then the merger with the Progressive Conservatives, there has been a festering undercurrent of anti-religious bigotry in the methods of attack used by left-wing critics.We need to put a stop to this moving of goalposts. The issue is NOT religious faith. Nobody objects to a Minister of Science who accepts the basic tenets of science and is religious. As Asper points out in his article, it's almost certain that previous ministers of science believed in a God that created the Earth billions of years ago. They also accepted the scientific fact of evolution.
Now, we have a reporter from the Globe following the same script. The essence of the newspaper's front-page slag on Tuesday was that if you have a religious faith that includes the idea of a God who created the heavens and the earth billions of years ago, it must mean you entirely reject the evolutionary process that shaped the life forms that subsequently developed -- and are therefore unfit to be the Minister of Science and Technology.
What we can't accept is a Minister of Science who is anti-science. If your religion forces you to reject fundamental facts of science in order to cling to the idea that the Earth in only 10,000 years old then that's a problem. If you believe in such nonsense then you can be a newspaper columnist—or maybe even the owner of a major newspaper—but you can't be in charge of science policy in Canada. It makes us the laughing stock of civilized nations. Even the USA is laughing at us this time, and that's saying a lot.
David Asper is trying to make this into an attack on all religious beliefs but it's not. He should be ashamed of himself for distorting the truth and avoiding the real issue.
On the other hand, anyone who writes this (below) isn't going to listen to reason.
It's also worth noting that the Charter of Rights -- created under a Liberal government --begins with an acknowledgement of the supremacy of God. Our national anthem also calls on God to keep our land glorious and free. So please, enough with the facade of outing people who believe in a higher power.
1. David Asper is the Chairman of the National Post newspaper and Executive Vice President of CanWest Global Communications Corp. He is a former trustee of the Fraser Institute, a conservative propaganda machine that masquerades as a research institute. He is a supporter of Conservative Party candidates.
[Photo Credit: University of Toronto]
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It's also worth noting that the Charter of Rights -- created under a Liberal government --begins with an acknowledgement of the supremacy of God. Our national anthem also calls on God to keep our land glorious and free.
Canada has token nods to religiosity, just as the U.S. does. This situation is exactly why I favour getting rid of such symbolism. Even if it is harmless enough by itself, it is used as justification for further, more harmful steps. I.e. the slippery slope is not a fallacy here, as David Asper makes clear.
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