Comments on Bill 208 (or Another Reason Why I'm Not Supportin' Morton)

So neither McPherson nor Norris made it onto the second ballot for the Alberta PC Leadership. I'm still not telling you which of those two I voted for, but if I'd changed by vote, the final result wouldn't have changed. And now the second ballot is coming up so I have to pick someone else to vote for. Here are some of my thoughts on something one of the candidates did a while back.

A while ago, the Alberta government was considering Bill 208, a bill introduced by Ted Morton. One thing this bill would do is allow marriage commissioners to refuse to perform same-sex marriages. Now that our country allows same-sex marriage, I think it's very important that religious groups retain the right to choose who they marry. But I'm not sure that marriage commissioners should have that right. Before the beginning of gay marriage, I think marriage commissioners were expected to marry any couple that was legally eligible for marriage. (I've been having trouble confirming this though. Even the Alberta government website seems kind of vague, although I didn't read the Marriage Act, or whatever it's called.) If I'm right about that, allowing marriage commissioners to refuse to do same-sex weddings could open a big can of worms. Here's the big question: should people be able to refuse to perform parts of their job that conflict with their religious beliefs?

Some specific examples: Should Catholic pharmacists be allowed to refuse to sell birth control? Should Muslim fundamentalists working at a passport office be able to refuse to process applications for women who don't wear burkas? (Thanks to a guy named Mark who posted a comment here for that idea.) Should postal workers be able to refuse to deliver advertising that they disagree with? Or should all these people find different jobs if they want to opt out of certain duties?

I think Bill 208 would've given special treatment--not equal treatment--to people who oppose gay marriage. It seems to treat homosexuality like it's one of the biggest issues, while the issue is only mentioned a handful of times in the Bible--far less than it talks about defending the oppressed, helping the poor, etc. And as an evangelical Christian, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth when political candidates can almost automatically get a lot of the evangelical vote just by promising to fight the "gay agenda." This just seems to confirm some groups' portrayal of Christians as bigots.

The other section of Bill 208 (letting teachers and students opt out of class discussions on same-sex marriage) seems to have the same problem. While I really hope teachers don't treat students who are against gay marriage like narrow-minded bigots, giving special treatment to people who disagree with a liberal position on one issue doesn't seem to be a good solution. Students can't opt out of other discussions, can they?

New Premier Coming Soon...

Tomorrow the members of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta will pick a new leader, and hence, Alberta's new premier. I did get myself a membership a while back, so I'll be voting. So far I think my first choice is Gary McPherson. My main reservation about him is his lack of experience in government, although he has a lot of other relevant experiences. He strikes me as an unselfish person who cares about the little guy, but smart enough not to just throw money at every problem. However, he's probably the lowest-profile candidate so it looks like he'll finish last. Even so, voting for him tomorrow isn't a wasted vote, because it still shows support for his priorities and it helps prevent someone else from getting 50% of the vote, which is necessary to win on the first ballot. (I'm kind of still in the anybody-but-Morton camp--click here to find out why--although my impression of him has softened somewhat.)

Assuming it goes to a second ballot (which will have three people on it), I'm leaning toward voting for Mark Norris, if he makes it to the second ballot. Some people are saying Jim Dinning and Ted Morton will probably make the second ballot and the third person could be Mark Norris, Ed Stelmach, or Lyle Oberg. So herein is my dilemma: do I vote for Gary McPherson on the first ballot as planned, or do I vote for Mark Norris to help ensure he at least places third so he can be on the second ballot?

It's secret ballot, so whatever I decide, I probably won't post my decision on this blog.

Weird Dream

Last night I dreamed I was in Toronto. Somewhere in the city (I'm not sure where), I had to go to the bathroom. I headed over to the urinals and was surprised to find something that looked like a payphone where the urinal was supposed to be. There was even a little barrier between it and the next phone like some bathrooms have between urinals. I looked over to the side and realized there was a urinal just a couple of spots to my right. I went over there and started peeing. Someone walked up to what I thought was a phone beside me and put a coin in. The wall opened up, revealing a subway station behind it. The guy walked through and the wall closed behind him. So apparently the thing that looked like a payphone wasn't actually a phone.

I was in Toronto last summer, and I can assure you that this isn't how they control access to their Subway stations. They use turnstiles instead.

A letter to God

Here's part of a letter to God, found in the book A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren:

I feel that I may be falling away from my faith. But then again, if I hold back from honestly pursuing the truth, wouldn't that be pulling away from you--even worse? If I let go of or loosen my grip on some things I've never before doubted, will I fall away from you? Or could I actually find myself falling into you?

I just started reading this book, and like this author's other books, he has a knack for writing stuff that I can identify with (even if I don't agree with a few parts). I think I could identify with this letter more a year ago. Then I was more afraid of falling away from my faith than I am now, although I may never be able to guarantee that I will never fall away from Christianity. While I'm less inclined to question the core of Christianity, I still ask questions and express opinions that seem to bother certain Christians. But it's better than just believing something because someone told me to. And I have found that some Christians are understanding and some even agree with me.

Meet the Parents

Imagine you're meeting your future in-laws for the first time and your future wife's father says this:

"Eat, drink, and be merry; for it is your right to take my child. But let me explain the true situation to you. I have given my daughter to seven husbands, and when each came to her he died in the night. But for the present be merry."

That's from Tobit 7:9-11 (RSV) in the Apocrypha. Comforting, isn't it?

I've got to read more of the Apocrypha sometime.

New Life Church

If you've known me for two years or more, you probably know that I spent a few months in Colorado Springs, Colorado in the fall of 2004. If you've seen the news in the last few days, you may have heard about Ted Haggard (the senior pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs and the president of the National Association of Evangelicals). His church, New Life Church, is where I went to church when I was in Colorado. It's a huge church, so I never met him, but I did hear him preach and I saw the effects of his ministry there. I also made some friends there and I also worked with people from that church.

Without getting into what I liked and disliked about that church and its pastor, I just want to say that I'm saddened by what's going on there now. If you pray, please pray for them. Although I don't keep in touch with most of the people I knew there, I'm sure this is a tough time for them.

If you want to read Ted Haggard's statement on this, click here.

No Shave November

Back in 2000-2001 I did a one year program at North American Baptist College (NABC, now known as Taylor University College). While there, some students introduced me to the tradition of No Shave November. I didn't participate, but since some people from my church also went to that college, word got around at my church. Eventually, my friend Luke (who never went to Taylor) moved to California. Today I got an email from him reminding me about No Shave November. Once again, I don't think I'll participate. Maybe I'll grow a goatee or something, but if I have a job interview, I need to look even more handsome than I usually do, and to some job interviewers, that means being clean-shaven. (Besides, if I get a job at a refinery, I'll probably need to be clean-shaven on the job too.)

So why write this when I could've just ignored it and most of you would never have known that I was avoiding participating in this? I want to direct you to Luke's No Shave November blog, where he will post something every day about the joys of facial hair and having female friends with leg hair. Here it is:

http://noshavenovember.blogspot.com/