The Post Millennial reached out to Ray Tinsman, the Chief Apostle of the Church of God. One of their churches near Steinbach, Manitoba recently chose to defy provincial lockdown orders which demand that churches close their doors to their adherents, going as far as to dispatch police to prevent the faithful from attending services from their cars.
The Post Millennial asked Mr. Tinsman why the church chose to defy these orders and why he thought it was important to do so?
"Thank you for reaching out to me regarding the situation in Steinbach, Manitoba," Tinsman replied.
"Our congregations are standing up for the rights of Canadians and against the abuses of government overreach. The events of this past week should alarm freedom-loving individuals. A minister of the gospel is fined for attending a peaceful rally in town. The same minister is fined for leading worship. The congregation is then fined for exercising their rights of religion and free assembly.
"One wonders if this is Canada or Cuba?
"While officials say it is not safe to have a drive-in parking lot service, they deem it acceptable to have a full parking lot at Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, and other venues. While they say gatherings are unsafe due to the virus, they allow the sale of health harming products like alcohol and tobacco. They preach concern for life, but abortion and physician-assisted suicide are supported.
"Contrary to what they say, churches are being targeted in the current lockdown. And the people are taking notice. We appeal to the rights guaranteed to us in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
"True Christians have always resisted the encroachment of worldly governments into their affairs. The public assembly is so integral to the identity of the church, that its members have risked everything down through the ages—property, custody of children, and their very lives—to gather in the face of government edicts forbidding them to do so. So, the fight we are engaged in is not a new one. The attempts to wrest the rights of Christians to gather in worship has been a stratagem of power-hungry leaders before. Dressing it up under the guise of compassionate concern is just its newest manifestation.
"Repression in the name of public health is still repression.
"In a time of crisis, the church is needed the most. It is in moments of fear and panic that people require the closeness and consolations of faith. Government has no right to define the parameters of that faith. It has no right to change the definition of worship. And it is outright criminal of it to try to destroy the church’s identity by forbidding its central tenant of public assembly. It has no right to do so in a free country such as Canada or anywhere else in the world."
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