Lorrie Goldstein Hits New Heights of Wingnuttery: Evangelicals Work Hard to Help…For a Price, Naturally

Read and weep here folks, to believe it is to read it. Yes, Lorrie is praising this group of Socon Evangelical ministers for helping the community of Jane-Finch in Toronto. As someone who got lost around there once, I can tell you it makes  Montreal’s worst neighbourhoods like look nice middle class suburbia.  Oh yes! Quite the miracles they’re performing! I can tell you that my mother who does live in Toronto would never be seen in that neighbourhood late at night. In fact, I would dare say, even if my father were still in good health (he used to be a rugby player), he wouldn’t head up there voluntarily today. Lorrie, can you say that my parents can walk through Jane-Finch safely now, because of the conversion work these socon evangelicals so well for the neighbourhood? That’s all that was needed? A little Evangelical epiphany throughout Jane-Finch and it’s safe again? No more poverty?

— I wish they would visit some of Toronto’s most troubled communities, like Jane-Finch.

There they will find courageous, black, Christian, socially conservative, evangelical pastors, trying to undo decades of damage caused by secular, liberal, social engineers, who decades ago, thought just like they do today.

Folks who, worshipping the god of state-enforced multiculturalism, jammed tens of thousands of new Canadians into high-rises along barren concrete corridors, lacking basic necessities such as schools, because, after all, what could possibly go wrong?

Of course, everything went wrong and it’s Christian leaders like Jamaican-born Pastor Orim Meikle and his Rhema Ministries, who have been cleaning up the mess ever since.

Like Poverty didn’t have anything to do with that. As a lilly white society, we seem determined to keep them in their place of poverty.  It’s a known fact that members of any visible minority have to work at least twice as hard to get the same jobs, educational opportunities, choice of housing or promotions than their waspy counterparts.  Many would simply give up as soon as they realize the dream is unattainable. This w0uld also, of course,  include poor white people who can’t seem to break the generational cycle of poverty.

Like any other such program, the way Lorrie describes, Rev Meikle’s program attaches conditions of  manditory bible study in exchange for this help: conversion.  I’m sure poor Muslims, Buddhists, Sikkhs, Hindus, Buddhists, yes, even Jews must live in that neighbourhood as well.   This church program that Lorrie is giving free air time to probably makes conversion of these people who do not follow evangelical Christianity, a condition to receive this help.  What? If they refuse to convert, they’re fucked? No help?  Is that what you suggest Lorrie and others like you? If so, then you just proved a necessity for more government involvement and/or the need to put secular programs in place for them.

Here a few  shiny items Reverend Meikle has to offer that attracted Lorrie’s attention. I wonder if he wishes he were an Evangelical Christian now? Brace yourselves for the miracles now.

He tells the gangsters — face to face — to lay down their guns, stop dealing drugs and stop impregnating women.

Wow! And they actually listen? Just that order with a few bible lessons, they have stopped all their violent and criminal activities?

He tells young, black women God wants more for them than to become baby mothers, living in poverty.

Oh, I haven’t stopped laughing at this goody! I think only the good folks of Dammit Janet or Pale Cold from a Creative Revolution should take a crack at that one. I’m sure they can do it more justice than your’s truly.

Does he want young white, Asian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindhu women to become more than baby mothers, living in poverty?  Keeping abortion legal would be a good start to reducing that risk.

He tells black parents they must stick together, love and discipline their children and provide for their future.

Again, what about parents from other cultures and creeds?  And for that matter, should the woman continue to stay in a toxic relationship where abuse of any kind is involved? That helps society how?

Lorrie in his infinite wisdom suggested that  Tommy Douglas would be dismayed at today’s happenings:

After all, this would come as a shock — were he alive — to NDP founder Tommy Douglas, a Baptist minister and the father of medicare, as well as to the Christian preachers instrumental in founding the NDP’s forerunner, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation.

Lorrie, you comparing Tommy Douglas to  Reverend Meikle and/or politicians like Maurice Vellacott, Stockwell Day, Vic Toews, Darrell Reid et al?

When Tommy Douglas went into politics, he left religion behind. He was no longer a minister.  Whatever religious beliefs he maintained and how he kept his faith was kept secret fromt the way he governed.  Somehow, I don’t think only followers of Christianity were entitled to medicare in his world. No, he created that for all citizens paid for by tax dollars is all.

From what I’ve found about Rhema ministries, I’m not so sure that conversion or attempts to conversion are not part of the package. Here is Rev. Meikle’s  and Rhema ministries website .

As for those socon Harpercon politicians, I’m not so sure they can keep their religion separate from governing if let loose with a majority.

So, Lorrie, I’m really left with one question, Ezzy should answer this too. Given that Christian evangelicals, and Rhema ministries are no exception,  preach that if one doesn’t believe in Jesus Christ as the son of God, they’re lost.  Jews don’t believe in Jesus Christ as the son of God. Do you both believe in Jesus? If not, according to your Christian evangelical friends, you’re as lost as Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and other world religions that don’t recognize Jesus as the son of God.

If Lorrie were to lose his column and have a string of bad luck happen to him like losing his family and/or his health and becoming downtrodden, would he accept being converted to Christianity to have their help? Or would he rather turn to  a government or a secular community program that would offer help and not demand he take conversion classes?

And Lorrie,  he offers tax deductible receipts to donors, meaning he does indirectly receive government help, whether Reverend Meikle admits this or not.

Just as we wouldn’t want Canada to be under Sharia law (I believe a former NDP candidate actually suggested this), nor would we want to encourage Islam extremism, or any kind of extremism for that matter, the evangelical Christian far-right sub-culture should never have any role in government or policy. Christian extremism is just as dangerous, if not, more so.

Lorrie, I would love to know what you think of a whopping near half million dollars going to bible translators  instead of say bonafide anti-poverty groups and organizations involved with social justice who help all the disenfranchised without conditions. I would love to know what you think of our tax dollars going to Youth for Christ, instead of AIDS vaccine research.