Who is the Prime Minister of Canada?

[Eli Brayley]

Often times to illustrate a point I will ask students (crowds of dear American students) who the Prime Minister of Canada is right now. On all the campuses I have been on, and we're talking hundreds of university educated individuals, I have not yet found one person able to answer the question. It is amazing to see the whole crowd stumped on such an agonizingly easy question; one they ought to know. By asking that I play up on the ignorance of Americans towards Canada and tie it in to the ignorance most people have towards the Bible.

By the way, I don't tell them the answer either.

[sermonindex]

prime 1 |pr?m| adjective 1 of first importance; main : her prime concern is the well-being of the patient. • from which another thing may derive or proceed : Diogenes' conclusion that air is the prime matter. 2 [ attrib. ] of the best possible quality; excellent : a prime site in the center of Indianapolis | prime cuts of meat. • having all the expected or typical characteristics of something : the novel is a prime example of the genre. • most suitable or likely : it's the prime contender for best comedy of the year. 3 Mathematics (of a number) evenly divisible only by itself and one (e.g., 2, 3, 5, 7, 11). • [ predic. ] (of two or more numbers in relation to each other) having no common factor but one.

minister |?min?st?r| noun 1 (also minister of religion) a member of the clergy, esp. in Protestant churches. • (also minister general) the superior of some religious orders. 2 (in certain countries) a head of a government department : Britain's defense minister. • a diplomatic agent, usually ranking below an ambassador, representing a state or sovereign in a foreign country. 3 archaic a person or thing used to achieve or convey something : the Angels are ministers of the Divine Will.


Perhaps this will confuse people more then help these definitions are from the oxford dictionary.

[Eli Brayley]

Haha, it would only add to the confusion.

[evanschaible]

I know, I know, I know.........

[jginn]

Hey Eli,

As a Canadian who has lived in the U.S. for 9 of the past 10 years I am not shocked at all. Many of my friends cannot name important American government figures and match them with their titles. They are slightly sheepish when I name the govenor, congressional reps and senators for our state as well as the key heads of the current administration.

Of course it helps that I am fascinated by politics and its relationship to culture, faith, and such. As a matter of fact, I plan on doing a masters in political science with a focus on its relationship to theology.

Unlike Canada, many evangelicals in the United States believed that if they could just get a Christian in the White House, and in other key government offices that America would be restored as a "christian" nation. Organizations such as the Moral Majority hyped that if we could simply legislate morality all would be ok.

Any student of the Bible should know that Legislation cannot change the heart. 'Solus Christus' is the sole hope for changing a nation.

[biblethumper]

Oh ... the PM of Canada is me, Mr. BibleThumper