24 Minutes With Preston Manning
February 8, 2006
Matthew Triemstra
Fast talkers, gum chewers, people who are chronically late: chances are that at least one of these types of people has the potential to drive you up the wall. (Myself, I have a very low tolerance for hall walkers who abruptly stop or turn.) In light of this typology I decided to ask people what bothered them, and at random I decided to ask my good friend Preston Manning. His answer was “wacky people.” While I may not have real philosophical concerns about hall walkers, Manning is very concerned about wacky Christians discrediting the faith and doing things that reflect badly on others with a faith commitment. And while I may want to yell at those unpredictable walkers, that is the extent of my involvement. But Manning has decided to solve the problem of wacky Christians by holding a conference for people on navigating
what he calls the faith / political interface. More and more faith-orientated people are struggling with how to become involved in the political process, and Manning hopes that the conference will help “faithoriented Canadians to participate responsibly in Canadian politics.” I had the unique experience of having Manning call my cell-phone to talk about the conference in more detail, and here’s what he had to say . . .
Matt Triemstra: Your bio on the website states that you have “a lifelong interest in the relationship between faith and politics.” Why is this so important to you? Preston Manning: I’m rooted in the political culture of Western Canada and you cannot understand Western Canadian politics without understanding its connection with religion. Western Canada has created several alternatives to mainstream parties and, interestingly enough, they have all had religious elements. As committed Christians we are to be salt and light to the world and I am concerned with how we successfully do that within politics.
MT: What is the conference all about?
PM: This conference will provide training on navigating the faith / political interface. It is a pilot project that, if successful, will run across the country. Auditors from other faiths will be present to see if they want this conference run in their communities; their theology might be different, but the principles are the same.
MT: How did the idea for this conference begin? Why Trinity and Tyndale?
PM: I’ve been invited multiple times to give lectures at both schools, which I believe indicates a need for training, a need for more than a halfan- hour dinner speeches.
MT: What do you want students to take away from this conference?
PM: I hope they take away a bit of a plan of areas they want to be involved with. We want to give them the training they need to credit them, their employers and their faith. But the conference is also for Canadians citizens, and it is our hope for people to leave with a clear idea of not only how to understand/participate in the political process but how to
act responsibly as citizens.
MT: What is the Manning Centre for Building Democracy?
PM: It is a not-for-profit organization started last year that is particularity concerned with conservative parties that have become too market and consumer driven during elections. The budgets of these parties go extensively into getting votes and not enough money is put into generating ideas. The party is declining in support because the infrastructure is inadequate. In September of this year, a roundtable was held in Toronto and people were asked, “If you had 10 million dollars to put into the party, where would it go?” The answers dominantly address the need for better training and education, education for voters and training for poll workers and MP’s.
MT: Speak to the prevailing myth that Christians can’t be politicians.
PM: We are called to be salt and light to all stations of life; corruption and unethical behavior should just be further incentive for us to be become involved.
MT: How can the Bible be used to support legislation and policymaking?
PM: The Bible shapes believers themselves. It teaches us to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. We must use our spiritual resources, the ability to speak truth and to be honest. The Bible tells us what kind of person we ought to be. Christians make the mistake of applying it to the external situations and not internalizing it first.
MT: One conference session is about being wise as serpents and harmless as doves. How does that work?
PM: It’s all about language. We must be prepared to give shrewd and wise answers that are short and wise enough to make the evening news. Jesus’ conduct was harmless, non-threatening. He was not feared and wouldn’t ram the Sermon on the Mount down your throat. The number one fear of secular voters is that their opinion won’t be respected and that an agenda will be forced upon them.
Now you go...
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