The major federal political parties are all funded by people and companies who think that they are making the right choice. These thousands of decisions include:

As Christians we know the Truth. We serve God who has imparted the proper way for people to live together harmoniously. The Bible reveals hundreds of proven principles for governing correctly. It clearly spells out our obligations to our families our neighbours our country and ourselves.

A political struggle erupted this summer in Elmira. Elmira racetrack owners hoped to install slot machines. The need to keep up with all of the other racetracks was obvious. Operating without slot machines would be risky and probably result in the closing of the racetrack, putting over 100 employees out of work. The townspeople of Elmira opposed extra traffic on their streets and of flocks of people who at least had a weakness for gambling and perhaps other limitations too. A provincial government decision upset the natural balance among the townspeople causing competition for the best solution.

How did this dilemma arise? Ernie Eves, our Finance Minister, opened a door for the introduction of slot machines at racetracks. This was seen as a harmless method of taxation. It looked like a safe area for introducing a new, hidden tax. Deceptive taxation invites complications. Gambling confuses the public into thinking that their present life is insufficient. Gambling is not a new problem.

The roots of gambling in Canada go back further. In August we marked the passing of Jean Drapeau. Mr. Drapeau was the mayor of Montreal at the time of Expo '67. The desire existed for a world exposition to be held in Canada. But Canadians had only a decade earlier become free of the debt of World War II. It was a tough sell to convince Canadians to pay for Expo '67. The brainchild of Mayor Jean Drapeau was to promise something for nothing. Gambling promises to deliver, but rarely does. The first Canadian lottery began and Canadians have been conned into thinking that they are getting something for virtually nothing ever since.

Poor people gamble away their pension fund. Christians gamble away their tithes and offerings. Addicted gamblers lose everything, especially their self-esteem. Winners usually lose faith in human nature. Our nation suffers from an empty pastime. Morals decline as some steal to finance gambling debts.

We do not get something for nothing. Moral neglect in government has had a profound impact upon our quality of life. Neglect of government by Christians has allowed sweeping changes to inconvenience and discourage those who choose to do what is right. Our subject matter could have just as easily been pornography, abortion, homosexual activism, treatment of the poor and homeless or government deals. The decline of morals in government affects all Canadians. We are promised freedoms for virtually no investment, but the poor, the needy, those with no voice and all of us inconvenienced by gambling suffer. Broad is the path, which leads to destruction. (Matthew 7:13)

National Leader of the Christian Heritage Party, Part Two

Interviewer: Mr. Gray, why is there a reluctance to support the Christian Heritage Party by the ones who know God, believe in His word and hold high ideals? Why is there a sense when it comes to the polls and voting, they will cast their vote to the N. D. P., the Conservative or Liberal party and the Christian Heritage Party is thought of as a byword, hardly thought of at the polls?

Ron: Two reasons, and one I have already mentioned. That is thoughtful Christians who misunderstand what we are trying to do, if they think that we are trying to do something that they consider to be wrong, they will oppose it. They need to become more informed about what we really intend to do. We don't intend to put the nation under the gospel. We intend to put ourselves under the authority of the gospel as we try to govern.

By habit, over 50 years or more, Christians in the western nations have bifurcated their spiritual life. They have split it into public and private realm. Jesus is the Lord of my heart, but when I go out to do business or when I go out to do politics, business is business and politics is politics, and that has nothing to do with my life as a Christian. My contention is that if your Christianity does not govern every part of life, it isn't really real. That doesn't mean that you are not saved, it just means that it is not fully submitted to the lordship of Jesus. I never asked a pastor to endorse the CHP from the pulpit and I wouldn't ask anyone to do that. But I do ask pastors and Christians who work with other Christians to challenge and to make their citizenship a part of their Christian life. Now if they look around for a place where they can do that with a clear conscience, I think that a substantial number of them will wind up finding themselves in us. That is not to say that there are not Christians in the other parties. There are. I have some wonderful Christian friends in other parties. But Party discipline at Ottawa is such that those men and women are by and large silenced when they try to bring their Christian principles into their work.

There are occasional flashes, for example, Aldina Guarnieri, a Liberal has succeeded in putting before the House and it is now before the Senate, a bill that would as she puts it deny volume discounts to serial killers. That is an expression of her faith and she managed to get that through. But so often we have seen good Christian men and women silenced by their caucus because what they believe is not politically correct. They are not allowed to say it. They can say it in the caucus, but not in the

House of Commons, and not in public interviews. It was precisely because of that throttling of the conscience of Christian legislators that this party had to be created to create a place and a party that would support them in bringing their convictions into the public arena. I don't know if you've ever had a chance to read Richard John Newhouse's book, The Naked Public Square. He talks about the pressures in Western society to sanitize the public square by taking all faiths out of the dialogue about what kind of nation we going to build for our children. Well that is asking some of the best people in the nation to leave their best ideas at home and it's asking people of faith to surrender to the secularist minority.

Right now 12% of Canadians in the last census declared themselves to be secularists, atheists or agnostics. But that little minority controls the education establishment, our governments, our courts, and our media. Those are the four institutions that most powerfully impact our lives on a daily basis. We have simply got to create a place for people of faiths to express their faiths in the daily life of the nation.

Interviewer: Mr. Gray, what do you sense will be the big issues facing the party in terms of platform issues that Christians will need to unite on and have a greater sense of political unity to give Christians a sense that the party is addressing the types of issues that are on Canadians' hearts?

Ron: There is one that is on the abstract level that I've been talking about and that is the statement in the preamble to the Charter and that is will we as a nation acknowledge the supremacy of God? It's in our constitution. Will we acknowledge it? I took a resolution to the United Alternative meeting in Ottawa in February and urged them to take a stand and publicly acknowledge the supremacy of God in their policymaking and they voted 95% against it. This left us as the only party in the field that will take that stand. For the average Canadian that has to work out in practical nuts and bolts legislation. We have a very broad range of policies. We've got a 52-page policy book that describes all of the things that we would do, and that is available to people if they want to get in touch with our national office. The toll-free number is 1-888-VOTE-CHP.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS OR BECOME ONE FOR $50.