Trip wraps up at Christian sites, bird sanctuary

CAPERNAUM, ISRAEL — Prime Minister Stephen Harper toured some of the most important sites in biblical history Wednesday — including where Jesus is said to have delivered the Sermon on the Mount.

He also travelled to the Hula Valley, where a bird sanctuary is located and its visitors’ centre, to be built in the future, is being named in his honour.

In a scene reminiscent of a tourist park, Harper and his wife, Laureen, were driven into a field packed with thousands of cranes that filled the air with high-pitched caws.

Later, Harper flew by helicopter to Tel Aviv, where he received an honorary doctorate at a university and answered questions from a moderator about economics and foreign affairs.

It was the last day of his trip to Israel, and he spent most of it in the northern part of the country, far away from the world of politics in Jerusalem, where he had met leaders and spoke to the Knesset earlier in the week.

Here, he and his wife walked along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, which has long attracted Christians because of its central place in the Bible.

It was here that the New Testament describes Jesus performing miracles more than 2,000 years ago. Harper also visited the Church of the Beatitudes, built on the hill where Jesus is said to have delivered his sermon.

The Harpers were accompanied by several nuns as they toured the church. As they neared the end, one of the nuns pulled out her iPad and asked a Canadian journalist to take a picture of her with Laureen Harper, prompting laughs from the touring group.

The prime minister is a Christian who is a member of the Evangelical Missionary Alliance, but who rarely talks about his personal faith in God.

In December 2012, he was asked by a TV interviewer how his faith informs his decisions and world view.

“I guess like most religious people, I pray regularly and ask for strength and wisdom,” he said at the time.

“You know, at the same time, as a political leader in a multi-faith country, I try to be very careful not to look like I’m trying to impose my particular theological views on our country.”

Harper told the interviewer he tries to “encourage my fellow Christians” in the political arena to look at the “shared values” that so many faiths have.