The Premise
For the past few years, I have been working on a Canadian History curriculum from a Christian perspective, aiming to put over 10 years of my research into a cohesive unit for ages from High School to Adult.
The premise for my course is that God used the Reformation in France to send the Huguenots to settle Acadia and New France. You see, I firmly believe that God is Sovereign over kings and nations. He sets up kings and deposes them. That’s what the Scriptures record.
The first time I read about Daniel telling King Nebuchadnezzar his dream, PLUS interpreting it, and subsequently seeing the entire prophesy unfold in history, hundreds of years later, I was amazed and astounded. After all, how could Daniel predict what would happen hundreds of years later by a dream?
Daniel acknowledged that the God of Heavens and earth, the Creator of the universe, had revealed it to him. Daniel predicted to Nebuchadnezzar that after him would come the kingdoms of the Medes, Persians, Greek, and Romans, and after that, Christ would come. When Christ’s everlasting kingdom came, it would overshadow every other kingdom on earth, and keep growing.
Biblical History shows God’s people going through cycles of believing God, obeying His commands for a time, becoming prosperous through their obedience to God, then turning away and falling into a period of apostasy.
When His people returned to Him, others in society who wanted to keep the status quo, persecuted them, forcing them to go to new places. That way, new people had a chance to hear about God, and the refugees had the opportunity to be a light to the Gentiles.
I have seen this pattern in the Old Testament where God used a small oppressed nation – Israel, to be a light to the Gentiles. They became cocky in the Promised Land, failed to consistently teach what God had laid out to them, and fell into apostasy.
They were sent to Babylon with the command to settle, do business and seek the welfare of the cities to which they were sent. Belief in God the Creator of the Universe probably influenced the Magi who brought gifts to Jesus, because they probably knew of Daniel’s prophecy. Not everyone who went to Babylon returned to Judah. But I digress.
Hundreds of years later, God used a small group of people (Christ’s disciples) to spread the gospel in the Middle East and Asia. Persecution scattered them throughout the known world. Generations after them fell into apostasy, so that knowledge of the Holy Scriptures became the purview of priests and monks.
God’s Word was again distorted until Martin Luther’s eyes were opened by studying Romans 5. A return to Scripture and intentionally putting Scripture in the hands of the common folk, led to the Reformation. This met with resistance.
The more I listen to other professors teach about the Reformation and its impact on Christianity, is the more convinced I have become that God used a small nation in ancient France (Navarre) to act as a catalyst to scatter His people who had come back to Him and wanted to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
I believe that God used persecution of believers in France to scatter them to the far corners of the earth. Persecution sent them to North America, to other parts of Europe, to South Africa, and Brazil. My focus will be on tracing God’s hand in sending them to Canada. It is a remarkable tale.
I would love to to help you discover tomorrow’s future from yesterday’s past.
Author’s Note; Lynette is the owner of ChristianRoots Canada. She has been developing this curriculum for over 10 years and is learning how to move from teaching History to small groups and 1-on-1, to teaching History digitally.