Sunday, August 17, 2008

more astroturfing for Christ (perhaps 37 or 36?)

To continue.

Among Rushfeld's 42 39 38 socially conservative groups demanding that Supreme Court Justice Beverley McLachlin be dismissed are these three (they are 8th, 24th, and 25th in the list):
Canada Christian College is an evangelical bible college and seminary (wikipedia article here). The college and its president, Charles McVety, have been at the vanguard of the social conservative movement in recent years. The College is located in Toronto at 50 Gervais Drive, and its phone number is 416-391-5000.

The Evangelical Association, as you can see if you follow the link, is a credentialing organization directed by Rondo Thomas, who is VP of Student Affairs at Canada Christian College. For $50 per year and a processing fee, you can be ordained or licensed as a pastor, provided you are of good moral character and either have a theological education or are open to classes at the Canada Christian College. The Association's address is 50 Gervais Drive, Don Mills, Toronto, and its phone number is 416-391-5000.

If you follow the link for The Institute for Canadian Values, you'll see that it has the same address (50 Gervais) and same phone number (391-5000) as the CCC and Evangelical Association. In addition, the president of the ICV is Charles McVety, president of CCC.

Now, this rather looks like between the two of them, McVety and Thomas have attempted to make one organization (CCC) look like three. The Evangelical Association seems to function as a credentialling department for the College, while the Institute is a think-tank located there. The fact that they share an address and phone-number makes them look too closely related to be listed independently.