Agenda 21 and US Elections

Good Morning and Welcome to this week’s Gospel and Culture update, by Alan Vink

Agenda 21 and US Elections

Monday 9th November, 2020

Agenda 21

For various reasons, some parts of the evangelical Church in New Zealand have an anxious preoccupation with a United Nations resolution called ‘Agenda 21’ It has run quite ‘hot’ in a few precincts of the Church during our recent election, and in its aftermath. So I asked my good friend David Collins if he would take a closer look into this issue. He agreed to do so. Here is a summary of his 1600 word report:-

• Agenda 21 is a non-binding resolution sponsored by the UN with goals to achieve sustainability, equality, environmental and health-driven goals - agreed by practically every nation and significant international organisation in the world.
• In 1992, when Agenda 21 resolution was agreed at the Rio conference, the New Zealand Prime Minister was Jim Bolger. In 2015 it was reaffirmed as Agenda 2030 by then PM, John Key.
• Agenda 21 led to conspiracy theories of totalitarian world government that started to circulate again on social media this year after being rebooted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Even if Agenda 21’s objectives are scientifically unattainable or politically impossible, the point is, they have been elevated beyond “unattainable” and turned into a sinister conspiracy.
• Careful fact-checking reveals no link between Agenda 21 and some ‘new world order’ plot. Such a plot is generally only believed by persons with a pre-disposition toward a presumed dystopian future.
• Agenda 21 is not a treaty or covenant a government can “sign up to”. It is a non-binding aspirational vision with which local and national governments, various organisations, and charitable Christian missions (e.g. World Vision and Tear Fund) have agreed, and implement through a diversity of policies and initiatives.

David end’s his report with an appeal to Christian brothers and sisters to think differently, more positively about the sincerity of these goals for sustainable development, to distance themselves from the conspiracy theory that has arisen about it, and to do so for the sake of the message of Christ and our mission to reach every generation with the gospel. I endorse his appeal 100%.

David’s full 1600 word report is available by either emailing me or David at davidgcollins@mail.com and we will send it to you as a pdf.

US Elections

As at this morning the result summary is:

Electoral College Votes: Biden = 290, Trump = 214

Popular Votes: Biden = 75,215,326 (50.6%), Trump = 70,812,355 (47.7%)

In his Victory speech yesterday (Saturday night US time) President Elect Joe Biden said:-

“I don’t see red States or blue States, I see The United States”

“This is the time to heal in America”.

“I will be a President for those who voted for me and for those who did not”.

“ We will lead not by the example of our power but by the power of our example”.

POV Though the Biden/Harris team win the US election it is by no means a resounding victory. Nearly 71 million people voted for Trump. That is something a lot more will be written about, that you can be sure. But for now I think it would be wise that we all pray for 1) a peaceful handover of power and 2) extraordinary wisdom for in coming President Joe Biden and that the words he spoke yesterday might quickly become reality.

There are NO copyright restrictions on this email update. Got some feedback about this Update, or anything in the news? Would you like us to cover a story then drop me a note at alan.vink@leadershipworx.org.nz Alan is Executive Director of LeadershipWorx and blogs here.

Alan Vink is currently the Executive Director for LeadershipWorx. Prior to this role he has been the Executive Director of Willow Creek Association NZ (WillowNZ), a Baptist pastor (23 years), Bible College teacher, and church consultant.