The slippery slope of the new assisted dying Bill

God will hear the cries for justice – but will we?

It seems that our divided, weakened, chaotic Government is able to unite, occasionally, over things that really matter. Like matters of life and death. Last week, the Commons voted overwhelmingly to pass a measure which included the imposition of legalised homosexuality and abortion on Northern Ireland, where a strong biblical stance on the latter has hitherto saved 100,000 lives.

This week, despite impassioned speeches from pro-life peers and outcry from tens of thousands of Northern Irish citizens, the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill passed through the House of Lords with ease, including a further amendment from Baroness Barker agreeing even more relaxed abortion rules. The amended version was passed by the Commons on Thursday, 328 to 65.

The bill was intended to allow more time for Stormont to reconvene its devolved government, but has been hijacked to serve both pro-abortion and LGBTQ+ agendas. Taking advantage of Stormont’s political crisis, politicians in Westminster have displayed utter contempt for devolution by taking Northern Ireland’s social matters into their own hands (an amendment to give members of Stormont a say was not passed).

In a display of flagrant political opportunism, our MPs have fast-tracked through Parliament the imposition of one of the world’s most extreme abortion laws on Northern Ireland presumably because, like the BBC and the rest of the metropolitan liberal class – they genuinely believe they are morally right. They have a duty, in the ominous words of the BBC, to make sure that Northern Ireland is ‘brought into line’ with the rest of the UK.¹ They must ‘force the people to be free’.

On the Altar

Two biblical incidents have come to mind in these last few days as I have been pondering this truly terrible state of affairs. One is the infamous time in the history of Judah when the nation had degenerated to such an extent that even the kings began to sacrifice their children in pagan fire – affirming a practice for which Israel had already been judged (2 Kings 17:17) and which the Lord detests.

Both Ahaz and Manasseh sacrificed their sons to the Canaanite god Molech (see 2 Kings 16, 21), incinerating them just as today’s aborted babies are incinerated, looking to safeguard their own prosperity just as today’s parents choose abortion because children are considered too expensive, too inconvenient.

These kings provoked the Lord’s fierce anger and helped to seal his judgment upon Judah, with the promise that Jerusalem would be wiped out “as one wipes out a bowl – wiping it and turning it upside-down” (2 Kings 21:10-15, 23:26).

Both Ahaz and Manasseh provoked the Lord’s fierce anger and helped to seal his judgment on Judah by sacrificing their sons.

If this was the case for God’s covenant nation, how much more is judgment inevitable for Britain? To the Lord “a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Pet 3:8). Here children have been sacrificed on the same altar of convenience and prosperity for more than 50 years – and now we are exporting this detestable practice around the world – not just to Northern Ireland, but to poorer nations through our international aid and development programmes.²

Cries Drowned Out

When children were sacrificed in the flames to Molech, priests standing around the family would bang and clap, making so much noise that the child’s screams were drowned out.³ Just so today, the moral claims of the unborn are being drowned out by a cacophony of voices affirming to parents that they are doing the right thing – that it is their right to choose.

Meanwhile, the majority of people in the UK (who support a reduction in the upper limit for abortion, not its extension) are also being distracted from the cries of the unborn by a chattering, chaotic media class determined to keep all the focus on Brexit, on money matters, on Trump, on climate change, on sport…on anything else, really. “‘But I have been watching!’ declares the Lord” (Jer 7:11).

Your Brother’s Blood

This brings me to the second passage that has been on my mind this week: the story of Cain and Abel. Abel may not have been murdered in the womb, but he was murdered in secret, where his screams could not be heard, and by a blood relative, Cain. Adam and Eve may not have witnessed the attack, but the Lord saw, and the Lord heard:

Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. (Genesis 4:9-11, emphasis added)

The word used for ‘cries out’ in this passage is the same word that is used to describe the Israelites crying out to God for deliverance from Egyptian slavery and from the oppression of the Canaanites. It connotes a screaming out for justice, for help, for intervention. In that vein, it is also the word used to describe the summoning of fighting men to go to war (e.g. Judg 7:23, 10:17) – a rousing call for aid in a time of distress. The implication in the story of Abel is clear – the spilling of innocent blood shrieks out to God’s sense of justice, summoning a fierce response.

As our MPs and peers casually nod through contemptible, murderous legislation, you can be sure that the blood of the innocent will scream out to the Lord – and that it has been doing so, from British soil, since 1967. How long will the Lord delay his response? Surely the chaotic turmoil of our current Parliament is the very least that we deserve – and likely only the beginning of judgment to come.

The blood of the innocent has been screaming out to the Lord from British soil since 1967.

Saving Souls

Elsewhere in this week’s issue of Prophecy Today, our editorial comments on the importance of Britain changing her attitude towards Israel and taking opportunities to confess our historic failure to support the Jewish people. This is indeed of vital importance to our nation’s future. But before God, do we not also deserve to be torn apart for what we are doing to these little ones – and for all the other ways in which sin is being allowed to pervade and corrupt our culture? If we supported Israel wholeheartedly, but did not repent in these matters, would he let us go unpunished?

For Christians, juggling these various claims on our prayers can be overwhelming. But the final point that needs to be made is this: the Gospel must head up our struggle for truth in all of these areas. Without the Gospel, we are fighting a losing battle on every issue – from abortion to freedom of speech, from sexuality to euthanasia.

“You have one business on earth,” said John Wesley to his fellow Methodists, “to save souls”. How much was Britain’s godly culture a wonderful outflow of the evangelical labours of such as Wesley? Conserving its last vestiges may buy us some time, but we cannot recoup what has been lost without true revival touching this land once again. This means not just political activism on our part, but Gospel witness. If the cries of the blood of the innocent do not galvanise us to this end, what will?

References

1 See here.

2 E.g. see here and here.

3 According to the Midrash.

The Government’s sticking-plaster solution for domestic abuse.

Our Victorian forefathers used to boast “An Englishman’s home is his castle”. What went on in the home was nobody’s business outside the family. Family life was closely guarded and anything that damaged the image of the family was considered a public disgrace.

That desire to keep family life hidden from the public is still very much evident today but it presents great danger for many women and children. This is highlighted by a Government bill on domestic violence drafted this week. The intention is to increase the penalty for domestic abuse through tougher sentences on offenders. But is tagging offenders and longer prison sentences the right way of dealing with this issue?

Shocking Statistics

The statistics are quite shocking – some 2 million women in England and Wales suffer some form of domestic violence every year, according to the ONS. They say that one in four women will suffer abuse at some point in their lives. So what goes on behind closed doors and shutters is far more serious than is generally recognised.

Most women who suffer abuse do not report to any of the authorities; they keep quiet. It usually takes numerous acts of violence before a woman goes to the police to report her partner. Statistics show that on average two women are killed every week in England and Wales by their partner or ex-partner.

Clearly this is a situation that cannot be ignored and greater protection needs to be offered, not only to victims but to children growing up in family homes where there is constant violence. Untold harm is done to these children that affects their education and their emotional and mental health, and leaves lifelong scars.

The ONS says that one in four women will suffer abuse at some point in their lives – but most do not report it to the authorities.

We Reap What We Sow

How have we reached this point where a quarter of all households shelter a violent abuser? I can remember the strong warnings that Mary Whitehouse used to give when she constantly opposed violent programmes on TV and scenes of extreme violence on film and video. She was vehemently opposed by secular humanists and libertarians who said that there was no harm in watching violent films – it was just harmless entertainment.

But the statistics for violent crime tell a different story. The plain fact is that we reap what we have sown! If the public absorb a regular diet of violence, pornography and various forms of perversion, this will be reflected in the behaviour of a significant proportion of the public – particularly those who do not have happy and stable family home lives.

It’s probably much too late to do anything about curbing the vast quantity of obscene material available on the internet and other sources of entertainment, including violent video games for which many young people have an obsession. But sadly, even the Government’s bill, hailed by both the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister as a ‘ground-breaking’ piece of legislation, will do little to solve the continuing problem of domestic violence.

A Much Bigger Problem

The new law will allow offences committed by British citizens anywhere in the world to be prosecuted in UK courts. Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, said “These measures will help bring us justice to women who experience these abhorrent crimes anywhere in the world and shows perpetrators there is nowhere to hide”. Theresa May said that the new law would “completely transform the way we tackle domestic abuse.”

Of course, we welcome measures to strengthen the law dealing with offenders but we cannot share the optimism of the Home Secretary or the PM. If we are really to see ground-breaking changes in behaviour, we have to change the culture that gives rise to domestic violence and abuse in family life.

If the public absorb a regular diet of violence, pornography and various forms of perversion, this will be reflected in behaviour.

If we are to tackle the problem of domestic abuse, we have to recognise that in a single generation we have grossly devalued marriage and family life in the nation! What we are suffering from today is the deliberate destruction of the biblical values of the sanctity of life – of human beings, both male and female created by God in his own image – and of the covenant of marriage that unites a man and a woman in a lifelong bond of love, providing the ideal environment for the procreation and nurture of children.

These biblical values, part of Britain’s godly heritage, have been deliberately destroyed by powerful secular humanist lobbies whose objectives are to create anarchy, breaking down the mores that have given stability to the nation for centuries. What we are seeing now is only the tip of the iceberg of the lawless chaos of the next generation, when all restraints on the behaviour of individuals are removed.

One Hope for Salvation

The churches in Britain have been complicit in the corruption of society and the destruction of national biblical foundations by allowing liberal values to corrupt and weaken the proclamation of the Gospel.

At Billy Graham’s funeral last week his daughter Anne Graham gave a strong and courageous call to Christians to recover confidence in the Gospel and declare the word of God fearlessly in a corrupt generation. We echo this call for Christians no longer to be bound by political correctness, but to declare the truth that will set people free from the tyranny of moral and spiritual corruption that is driving the nation to national suicide.

Christians need to no longer be bound by political correctness, but declare the truth that will set people free.

What will save Britain? Not a hard Brexit, or a soft Brexit, or remaining under the dominance of the EU! Those who are listening to the Lord today are hearing warnings similar to those God gave to Jeremiah:

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth” (Jer 25:32)

The only thing that will save the nation from destruction is to hear the word of God and for the light of its truth to shine upon the great issues of state that confront us. We need to hear the word of the Lord proclaimed - in Parliament, in the public square and in the churches!!

Whatever their motives, MPs chose to 'Keep Sunday Special' this week. Clifford Hill comments.

Sunday trading has always been a toxic issue in parliament. It was the only issue on which Margaret Thatcher lost a vote in the House of Commons. That was in 1986 when the Shops Bill was defeated in a revolt by 72 Tory MPs who felt strongly that this was an issue of conscience.

From 1986 to 2016

The 1986 vote in parliament was strongly influenced by a successful campaign 'Keep Sunday Special' initiated by Dr Michael Schluter, which was strongly backed by churches of all denominations and had considerable prayer support from Christian organisations.

The successful rebellion against the government this week was led by David Burrowes MP, well-known for his Christian commitment, who said that he had listened to the concerns of his constituents. "I have many shop-workers, many faith groups and many others saying: why are we doing this? Why are we trying to unpick something that's fairly settled?"¹ He also said that for him this was "an issue of conscience" which he could not ignore.²

David Burrowes proposed an amendment which was supported by 317 to 286. The amendment was supported by MPs from across the parties, including Labour, the SNP, the DUP, Lib Dems and 27 Tory backbenchers who voted against the government.

Shameless Economic Agenda

The proposed changes to the Sunday trading laws would have benefited the larger stores who currently are only allowed to open for six hours on a Sunday. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said that it was "a major win" for small businesses in England and Wales as its members were "unconvinced of the economic case for relaxing Sunday trading rules".³

The defeat was greeted with delight by John Hannett, General Secretary of the Shopworkers Union USDAW. He said, "This is the third time in five years that Conservative ministers have attempted to permanently change Sunday trading regulations and the third time they have been unsuccessful."⁴ He added, "We hope now that the Government will leave this great British compromise alone and focus on providing real support for the retail sector, not the unwanted and unnecessary bureaucracy that devolution would have resulted in."⁵

The argument in favour of scrapping restrictions on Sunday trading was shamelessly economic – largely designed to favour big business operators – and showing little concern for the views of shop-workers and the broader negative impacts Sunday trading has upon family life. It is this latter point that is of particular concern for Christians who have watched with dismay over the past 40 years the disappearance of regulations protecting the spiritual health of the nation.

In the past 40 years, Christians have watched the disappearance of regulations protecting the spiritual health of the nation. Increased Sunday trading would have struck a further blow.

Keep Sunday Special

Anything that weakens family life is a blow to the physical, mental and spiritual health of the nation. The pressures of commercialisation have left little opportunity for families to spend time together to relax and simply to communicate with one another. Surely most people should be able to organise their shopping habits to satisfy their needs in six days without encroaching on Sundays at all. Our present regulations are by no means ideal but complete deregulation would finally destroy even the protection that our present Sundays give for at least part of the day to be different from the rest of the week.

This was surely the intention of God in the creation of the world: to have one day free from the pressures of work when there could be a reflection upon things other than merely making a living. This is why honouring the Sabbath is included in the 10 Commandments: because it is important for the health and well-being of all humans.

God instituted the Sabbath for the health and well-being of all humans – to keep one day in the week free from the pressures of work, giving space for reflection on other things.

Corruption and Injustice

In the history of Israel, when the nation ignored the regulations protecting the Sabbath it always resulted in a wide range of social problems that included the exploitation of the poor and vulnerable by the rich and powerful. Greed and corruption led to injustice that enslaved the powerless and destroyed family life.

This was one of the reasons why the prophets strove to protect the people from those who wanted to destroy the Sabbath. Amos told of market traders wanting to end the Sabbath so that they could get on with their trading – "skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat" (Amos 8:5-6).

Nehemiah believed that failing to observe the Sabbath led to God removing his cover of protection over the nation. He saw people in Jerusalem buying and selling on the Sabbath and said, "What is this wicked thing you are doing – desecrating the Sabbath day? Didn't your forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity upon us and upon this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath" (Neh 13:17-18).

In Israel's history, when the nation ignored Sabbath regulations it always resulted in the poor and vulnerable being exploited and greed and corruption becoming rife.

The Government has criticised MPs for playing political games in voting against changing the Sunday trading rules. But they still did the right thing - even if their motives were not right!

References

1 Sunday trading changes defeated by Commons rebellion. PSE, 10 March 2016.

2 Government facing battle in Sunday trading vote. BBC News, 9 March 2016.

3 Sunday trading defeat for government as MPs reject changes. BBC News, 9 March 2016.

4 Mason, R.No 10 concedes Sunday trading defeat after Commons rebellion. The Guardian, 9 March 2016.

5. Ibid.

So there's still some common sense among our Members of Parliament – and maybe even the remnants of Christian faith!

Victory for Common Sense

The widespread fears that many of the new MPs are unknown and may have secular humanist values have been dispelled this afternoon. The House of Commons has voted by a large majority to throw out the Private Members Bill put forward by Rob Marris, Labour MP for Wolverhampton South East.

The Vote

Voting was 118 in favour and 330 against which effectively kills the euthanasia debate for the rest of this Parliament. Sarah Wootton, the chief executive of Dignity in Dying, said it was an "outrage" that MPs had gone against the views of the majority of the public (which should surely be questioned!). No doubt those who have passionately campaigned for this Bill will try again at some time but for the moment it can go no farther.

A Voice for the Voiceless

Dr Peter Saunders, director of the 'Care Not Killing' campaign, celebrated the result saying the current law existed to protect the elderly, sick and vulnerable, especially "those who have no voice against exploitation and coercion".¹

Welcome Surprise

The result is surprising as it is a larger majority (212) than the last time the house voted on this issue nearly 20 years ago. It is a welcome victory against the relentless secularisation of the nation and the undermining of its centuries-old Christian heritage. The nation would indeed have crossed a rubicon if this Bill had been passed into law.

It would not only have caused many people who are sick and frail to feel pressured to end their lives to spare their carers, but it would have meant that the nation no longer has respect for human life which is the precious gift of the God of Creation and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It would have been a rejection of the whole of our biblical heritage and the belief system and values upon which this nation is founded. But it wasn't to be – a result for which we should be giving thanks to Almighty God!

References

1 BBC News, Assisted Dying Bill: MPs reject 'right to die' law, 11/09/15.

Clifford Hill responds to the Irish vote for same-sex marriage.

"You can fool some of the people some of the time but you cannot fool all the people all the time." It looks as though the Irish have disproved this platitude. The campaigners, a small group of homosexuals who joined forces with a determined army of secular humanists, themselves said that this could not have happened five years ago. In an incredibly short time they have succeeded in creating a social revolution in Ireland. But what they hail as a "victory for equality" is in fact a victory for deception!

Victory for Equality?

Same-sex marriage has nothing to do with 'equality'. You can have equality in the law of the land simply by legalising same-sex partnerships; but you cannot 're-define' marriage, which is part of God's act of creation, any more than you can redefine the moral law of truth, or the natural law of gravity. The state may call a same-sex relationship 'marriage', but it will not be marriage in the sight of God.

Amidst all the campaigning for 'equality', there has been a huge cover-up of the health risks associated with actively gay lifestyles."

It is amazing how the campaigners have been able to deceive the nation. At the public celebrations a number of Government Ministers were interviewed – all hailing the result as a victory for 'equality'. The Minister of Health welcomed the result: but he did not acknowledge the great deception – the cover-up of the health risks, that by encouraging boys to engage in homosexual practices they are reducing their life expectancy by over 20 years because the human body is not designed for penetrative anal intercourse.¹ But the medical facts are ignored.

Discrimination Unacceptable

In my work in the community over many years I've had countless conversations with both men and women with homosexual tendencies or in active relationships. I have a great deal of sympathy for their desire to be accepted on the same terms as everyone else. All discrimination is totally unacceptable. But most of the people I have talked with are not simply concerned with equality: even if they are not practising Christians, they want their relationship of love to be both recognised by others and blessed by God. The blessing of God is the one thing of which I have never been able to assure them.

All discrimination is totally unacceptable. But we cannot assure people that God blesses homosexual relationships as marriage"

A true love relationship between two people of the same gender is not wrong and can be blessed by God who is the very essence of love. But the Bible emphatically states that homosexual acts are wrong. It says, "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable" (Lev 18:22).

Most of these sexual regulations relate to the health of individuals and society: for example, to prevent inbreeding in a small community. But the teaching of the New Testament is equally clear on what is regarded as sexual deviance, "Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor 6:9).

SSM and the Church

In biblical terms, 'marriage' is between one man and one woman and can never be redefined- whatever laws are passed by human parliaments. I have a great love for the Irish people, but I recognise that many of them have a very limited knowledge of the Bible because the Catholic Church in Ireland has never encouraged people to study the word of God for themselves. Most people have just left 'religion' to the priests.

There have also been many cases of abuse of children and of harsh treatment of single mothers in care homes. In fact, this huge vote in favour of homosexual marriage may well be an expression of the way the ordinary people in Ireland have reacted against the Catholic Church for the way the hierarchy desperately tried to cover up their sins. The same-sex marriage vote may be an anti-church vote as much as a vote for social change.

The same-sex marriage vote in Ireland may be an anti-church vote as much as a vote for social change"

The Tide of Secular Humanism

Sadly what has happened in Ireland will affect other nations in the Western world as it adds force to the tide of secular humanism sweeping Europe and undermining the Judaeo-Christian foundations of the nations. As I watched the scenes of rejoicing in Dublin I remembered the warning given to Abraham "the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure" (Gen 15:16).

The sin of the Amorites began with homosexual practices and degenerated into all kinds of sexual perversions. In several Western nations, pressure groups are already lobbying for the age of consent to be lowered- and some even for the legalisation of some form of paedophilia.² They say that young people below the present age of consent at 16 are increasingly engaging in sexual activity and it is wrong to criminalise them. They argue that society should recognise the social revolution that has taken place and therefore all forms of sexual activity for any age group should be legalised.

Once again their argument is based upon 'equality'; but once again it is deception, as they ignore the immense harm they are doing, not only in weakening family life but also in endangering the physical, mental and emotional health of every individual caught up in the so-called 'social revolution'.

References

1 Eg Cameron, P and Cameron, K, 2007. Federal distortion of homosexual footprint (ignoring early gay death?), Family Research Institute, CO. Please note that this research is largely rejected by the pro-LGBT community.

2 Age of consent reform, Wikipedia