If you ever had any doubts that The Gospel Coalition is an evil organization, their treatment of James Coates is confirmation. James Coates is the Canadian pastor of GraceLife Church who has been forced underground because of the Canadian government. Canada under its socialist prime minister has exercised ample tyranny in the form of lockdowns. James Coates and Artur Pawlowski have become heroes of the faith for defying tyranny in the name of Christ. Big Eva has turned a deaf ear to them. The Canadian Gospel Coalition and its writer Paul Carter wrote this:
With a few potential exceptions, the majority of the protocols we’ve had to deal with here in North America appear to have been enacted in the interests of public health. Has there been incompetence? Surely. Have there been missteps? Certainly. Has there been overreach? Probably. But has there been hostility and ill-treatment because of our religious beliefs?
No.
I’m not sure how any reasonable person could argue that.
The simple fact is that COVID19 spreads best in indoor environments, particularly those in which people are exerting themselves either through exercise or loud singing for extended periods of time. This virus almost appears to have been designed to shut down gyms and churches. Had the government only shut down churches, and left gyms open to the public, one might have a decent argument, but in fact, the opposite has been closer to the truth. Churches, by and large, have enjoyed far greater freedoms than health clubs and workout facilities over the last 14 months.
Instead of providing leadership, Big Eva simped for the government, in many cases to secure PPP loans. The Bible is clear on the commands to assemble. As James Coates said in court, “We determined that complying with AHS meant non-compliance with God.”
The Gospel Coalition is not stupid. They hate you. They hate God and His church. A “simp” is a gamer term that means a man that puts a woman on a pedestal and gets very little in return. It’s a sad form of idolatry. And Paul Carter is a simp for the Canadian government. He is evidently the pastor of a church.
3 Responses
In my teens, before I was a Christian, it was popular to think of right evangelicals as having been co-opted by the neo-cons for their utility in anti-communist cold war propaganda. This conviction was solidified when, after the USSR and satellites crumbled, the neo-cons couldn’t ditch the right evangelicals fast enough. TGC and other left evangelicals are clearly co-opted by neo-libs, who probably hope they will still have chairs when the music stops.
First let me say I like your blog title.
You are comparing apples and oranges.
As a Canadian, may I remind you that Canada is not the 52nd state.
We are a sovereign nation.
It’s apparent that GraceLife and Artur Pawlowski capture the imagination of the conservative branch of the church in the US, especially since Erin and James Coates chose to appear on right wing conservative media in the United States. That’s one of the few places they will get support, both financial and emotional.
I take it you didn’t read the May trial transcripts.
I won’t get into it with you except to say that very few Canadian churches have chosen to defy public health orders. The few that have made news, and Canadians aren’t cheering those outliers on.
Coates is a good poster boy for the JCCF (Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms), and they will lose all the way up to the Supreme Court of Canada. Making this a Charter issue was the wrong hill to die on, and GraceLife has attracted fringe groups that Albertans have little patience or time for.
Alberta has the highest rate of Covid-19 infection of any Canadian province, territory or US state. Very bad timing for a Charter challenge.
Artur P. Well known to police.
He doesn’t have theological training that anyone can find, but he can call himself pastor, act defiant and some people in the US fall all over themselves to praise him.
His ‘church’ is terrorizing the neighbourhood. Neighbours have received threats and harassment from attendees and anti-maskers who flock to the show. He is well known for his stunts, his hate speech and anti -authoritarianism. His previous ‘church’ had it’s charitable status yanked. That is extremely rare. I’ve no doubt Calgarians would be happy to see him move to the US, since they’ve had enough of him.
You might enjoy reading our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and how Public Health is structured in Canada, including division of responsibilities and checks and balances.
Do unto others, love your neighbour are truths in a pandemic that Canadian Christians believe and take seriously. Coates and Pawlowski are not Canadian religious freedom fighters. They are on their own pedestals, in their own bubbles and an embarrassment to followers of Jesus Christ.
You are a Branch Covidian, not a Christian. And Pawlowski may be a lay pastor but he and Coates are more qualified than the effeminate manginas serving the apostate churches up there.