The title of this new blog-page has its origin in an early European opinion, namely, that of Voltaire, a.k.a. François-Marie Arouet (1694–1778), about the value of Canada. In his famous novel Candide, he sneeringly refers to Canada as “a few acres of snow” (“quelques arpents de neige”—an arpent is an old French measurement that is actually about 85% of an acre) [Candide ou l'optimisme (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1961), chapter 23, page 87, where Voltaire is complaining about the stupidity of France and England being at war "pour quelques arpents de neige vers le Canada"]. Voltaire’s point of view, repeated on more than one occasion in his various writings, well captures the way far too many in our world today view the Canadian nation. In the larger historical scheme of things, Canada seems little more than an insignificant backwater.
In this new blog-page, however, I would like to do my bit to respond to this perspective and that by reflecting as a Canadian Christian on my nation’s history. Given the fact that I am a church historian by training and inclination, it is only to be expected that musings on Canadian church history will occupy much of what is posted here. But I do not want to restrict myself simply to church history, hence the generous wording of the subtitle: a “Canadian Christian reflecting on his nation’s history.”
I hope that my Canadian brethren will visit often and get food for thought and prayer about our great land, and also that my American brethren will frequent this site and learn more about the land to the north of them, and that they too might pray for Canada. And dare I hope that others in this world might be interested in these “few acres of snow”!
P.S. A big thank-you to my dear friend David Daniels, pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Richmond Hill, Ontario, for encouraging me in a conversation in early February to do something like this!