Never mind the greens – it’s the spiritual climate that needs changing

From Magna Carta to the abolition of slavery: the development of Britain's biblical laws.

Last week we looked at how the Gospel spread around Anglo-Saxon England and, independently, the Celtic fringes of Wales, Cornwall, Scotland and Ireland. We saw that Christianity was readily adopted by successive Anglo-Saxon kings, influencing their law codes and building into our developing nation early on a close relationship between Church and state. By the time of the Norman conquest, England could be viewed as one nation under God.

Over the next centuries, enormous battles proceeded as our political structures developed and matured. Major upheavals condensed around the introduction of checks and balances to the power of the monarchy, the development of Parliament and the judiciary; also the English Reformation and our departure from Roman Catholicism; also the fragmentation of British Protestantism thereafter.

This week, we look at how, through all this turbulence and complexity, our ‘unwritten’ constitution nevertheless came to reflect biblical principles and beliefs.

Six Centuries in Brief

Foundational to the British constitution and rule of law is Magna Carta (1215, confirmed as statute law 1297) - particularly its clauses guaranteeing freedom for the Church and the right to due legal process for all citizens. However, even though Magna Carta established in principle that the king was not above the law, it took several centuries to move Britain from the absolute rule of one sovereign (reliant on advisors and the support of regional landowners) to a Parliamentary democracy with checks and balances in place to hold both monarch and government accountable.

Although no political system is perfect, the fundamental idea of limiting the king’s power introduced a notable principle of humility into Britain’s governmental system, framed by the Christian belief that all men are answerable to God. During Henry III’s reign our first elected Parliament was convened (1265), starting the nation on a journey towards a representative democracy. Meanwhile, a parallel move away from autocracy also began within the Church, first with protest against Catholicism and then with dissent against the Church of England, and always with criticism of corrupt and unaccountable clergy.

Through six centuries of upheaval, our ‘unwritten’ constitution nevertheless came to reflect biblical beliefs and principles.

Several turbulent centuries of both international and internal conflict eventually culminated in the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688, when the ascent of William and Mary to the throne led to a new Bill of Rights being introduced guaranteeing, not least, freedom of speech and free elections,¹ as well as a Toleration Act granting freedom of worship to Dissenters. Importantly, the Coronation Oath was also revised to include a promise before God to “maintain the laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel” – a promise still made by our current Queen, to which we believe the Lord holds her.

These were truly landmark moments in the history of Britain’s politics and her position before God. Though they did not rid the nation of violence, poverty and persecution, they undoubtedly laid the foundation for later outpourings of Christian belief and repentance, not least by ensuring key Gospel freedoms. Over the next two or three centuries, Britain saw mass revivals of religious fervour, from the grassroots right up to the uppermost echelons of society, led by evangelists both within and without the established Church.

It was these revivals which changed British culture sufficiently that a host of righteous laws could then be passed including the abolition of slavery, laws preventing child labour and cruelty to animals, and laws promoting family values and protecting the vulnerable, all of which were added to the statute books in the 19^th Century.

Reflections

There are many ways of analysing the developments outlined above, which were in reality far more complex than my brief summary permits. Here, I want to highlight two ways in which the Bible was brought to bear on Britain’s political system and thence its people - by force and by free will – and to ask where God was in all of this.

Faith by Force

The explosion of the Reformation in Europe under Luther galvanised pressure for Church reform across the British Isles. However, Protestantism’s top-down, politicised introduction to England through Henry VIII’s notorious split from Rome in 1534 over the matter of his marriages, did not reflect popular critiques of Catholicism but rather political wrangling, and led to several decades of violent conflict, persecution, execution, revolt and exile. Ambition and power play combined with varying levels of piety and zeal in the persons of several different rulers, passing England back and forth between the two branches of Christianity.

The 16^th-17^th Centuries were marked by attempts to enforce either Catholic or Protestant belief and practice on the general public. Under Elizabeth I’s God-given lengthy reign, Protestantism finally triumphed and was firmly embedded into our national consciousness, but in the process, dissent and genuine calls for reform of the Church of England were outlawed and punished.

Charles I’s attempts to force English Anglicanism on Presbyterian Scotland prompted numerous military conflicts and fuelled the English Civil Wars. Cromwell’s ascent to power led to Puritanical standards being imposed - albeit probably in good conscience, but without long-lasting success.

Landmark constitutional freedoms combined with popular revivals to transform the fabric of British culture, such that a host of righteous laws could then be passed.

Then, following the restoration of the monarchy in the 1660s and the return of traditional Anglicanism, dissent was once again stifled through a series of laws known as the Clarendon Code, together with the infamous Test Act. Dissenters (later known as non-conformists) may have been allowed freedom to worship, but they were barred from holding public office or attending Oxbridge. Unofficial small group meetings were also banned.² Thousands of non-conformist clergy resigned and nearly two centuries of discrimination against Dissenters ensued.

Faith by Free Will

These centuries teach us, amongst other things, that the top-down enforcement of any kind of religious practice by the state cannot change men’s hearts. God has given mankind a measure of free will and the Gospel was ordained to spread by the preaching and hearing of the word, not by violence and coercion. Nevertheless, true faith was alive and well during those centuries and the Lord did not reject entirely the zeal of our rulers, nor did he abandon our island to tyranny. Instead, in ways we cannot fully comprehend, he worked in the midst of the upheaval and conflict.

John Wesley, preaching outside the church walls. See Photo Credits.He did this, vitally, through successive generations of individuals and groups who were raised up, often from the grassroots, to campaign for repentance, reform and a return to the plain truths of Scripture. Through all the ups and downs of Britain’s history, as soon as any one form of the faith became codified and ‘established’, particularly in the sense of outward displays of religiosity not reflective of genuine inner transformation, the Lord raised up prophetic servants to hold the establishment to account.

From Wycliffe’s outspoken criticism of Catholicism (mentioned last week) through Puritanism in Tudor England to non-conformist movements of the 18^th and 19^th Centuries, it has been the faithful living and witness of ordinary Christians, often in the face of significant persecution, that has born lasting spiritual fruit in our nation and gradually steered our parliamentary and judicial systems in a godly direction.³

For example, I have already mentioned that the 19^th Century saw a host of righteous laws added to our statute books, such as those campaigned for by the Clapham Sect (including, most famously, the abolition of slavery). These laws were the culmination of decades of faithful campaigning but they also owed significant debts to a general evangelical revival throughout Britain that, in the space of a generation, completely transformed its socio-cultural fabric (more on this next week). The Lord had raised up John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield outside of the institutional Church, and inside vocal evangelicals such as Charles Simeon, Henry Ryder and JC Ryle, to thunder Gospel truths from their pulpits and in the highways and byways, saving and inspiring millions. Their faithful service laid the cultural foundation for laws which in turn blessed a countless number.

It has been the faithful witness of ordinary Christians, often in the face of significant persecution, that has born lasting spiritual fruit in our nation and gradually steered our parliamentary and judicial systems in a godly direction.

Blessing Through Struggle

Arguably, Britain has been the more blessed for having a professing Christian monarchy and government over the years, even though this has also brought bloodshed and sorrow and has been shaped by the vagaries of political necessity as much as genuine belief. However, although the development of Godly laws in our nation and the general acceptance of biblical principles into our culture are due in part to this overarching system, they are just as much if not more due to successive generations of faithful ordinary believers, raised up by the Lord as prophets to the nation, calling people to account and crying for justice in the streets and in the pulpits.

It is God’s faithfulness to Britain that the failings of our professing Christian establishment have always galvanised passionate believers to pray, speak and work for change, for his glory. We cannot forget, especially today, that our godly heritage developed as the Lord blessed the struggle and sacrifice of many believers over long centuries of difficulty, which forced people to think seriously about what they believed and what they were willing to live and die for.

In biblical terms, Britain has taken after Jacob/Israel, wrestling long and hard to receive the blessing of a God-given identity. And by God’s grace, the result of this struggle by the 19^th Century was a degree of individual freedom and popular religious fervour which, combined with Britain’s imperial might, led to the Gospel being taken to virtually the whole world.

Next week: How God blessed Britain through successive revivals.

Notes

1 The 1689 Bill of Rights is credited with inspiring and influencing the US Constitution and Bill of Rights in the 18^th Century.

2 Similar penal laws were introduced to Ireland in 1695, mainly affecting Catholics, who were not emancipated until 1829.

3 These dissenting groups have always been split between those seeking to reform the establishment from within and those seeking to work outside of it. History seems to confirm that both strands are needed.

How Britain began to unite into one nation, under God.

Last week, Clifford Denton reminded us that God blessed Britain very early on with the arrival of the Gospel to our shores perhaps not a century after Jesus walked the earth.

Thanks particularly to Roman Christians who travelled here as part of Rome’s settlement of the island (AD 43-410),¹ the Gospel began its work of conversion amongst the pagan Celtic tribes. But Britain remained a patchwork of warring tribes and religions, with no central government. Then, c.410, the Romans abandoned the island.

This week, we fast-forward through faithful persons in our island’s history who, overseen by divine grace, together established Britain as one nation, united under the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Early Missions

After the Romans abandoned ‘Britannia’, British Christianity did not die out, but spread independently and developed its own distinctive flavour. But the soon arrival of Anglo-Saxon invaders pushed the fledgling Church to the western fringes of the island complex – to Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

A depiction of Augustine of Canterbury preaching to Æthelberht of Kent. JWE Doyle, 1864.

While the Gospel continued to spread here thanks to the efforts of devoted missionaries like Patrick (who was converted at 16 through dreams and visions from the Lord), Columba and Aidan, England was subsumed under Germanic pagan rule until the late 6^th Century. But God did not forget England nor its history of faith.

In 597, at the direction of Pope Gregory I,² a troop of 40 intrepid monks led by a prior called Augustine arrived on the shores of Kent. These missionaries reportedly almost bottled out on their way from Italy, halting in Germany and nearly turning back but for further encouragement from Rome. Mercifully, they found the courage to continue to Britain, where they were received favourably by Anglo-Saxon King Æthelberht, himself a pagan, but influenced by his Frankish Christian wife Bertha. This oft-forgotten duo, moved by the Father’s hand, opened the gate for the Gospel to be brought back to England, permitting preaching and funding the building of churches.

Anglo-Saxon King Æthelberht and his Christian wife Bertha, moved by the Father’s hand, opened the gate for the Gospel to be brought back to England.

What followed was the remarkable conversion of almost the entirety of Anglo-Saxon England – still then split into warring tribes – within the space of a generation. Britain saw pagan kings as well as thousands upon thousands of ordinary people converted and baptised, with no force or bloodshed. The genuineness of these conversions may have varied, but certainly biblical living and thinking came to define the tribal monarchies of Britain in extraordinary ways.

This was particularly the case for the kings of Wessex, such as Ine and Alfred, who started to integrate inspiration from Scripture into codes of laws from the late 7^th Century onwards. Alfred the Great’s legal code was prefixed with the Ten Commandments and it was Alfred who really laid the foundation for state laws grounded in Christian ethics, applied evenly to rich and poor and even to relationships with enemies (he famously baptised the invading Vikings rather than slaughtering them).

By the Lord’s direction, it was the house of Wessex which eventually prevailed across the land and united England from regional tribal kingdoms into one nation, under God.³

The ‘Dark Ages’

It is from these centuries that we derive our historic close relationship between Church and state, which can be dated right back to the early discipleships established between the Gregorian missionaries and the Anglo-Saxon kings. But for God’s unfathomable grace, those missionaries might have stopped in Germany, or the kings may not have welcomed them, or the Viking invaders may have triumphed, and things would have turned out very differently.

Yet, it is easy to romanticise and smooth out this period of Britain’s history. Paganism still persisted, arguments erupted between the Roman missionaries and the ‘native’ Church, and undoubtedly clergy became embroiled in royal power play. Nevertheless, the so-called ‘Dark Ages’ were actually marked by an extraordinary spread of the Gospel by missionaries who were as concerned for the fate of ordinary souls as for those of kings.

In the process, the Christian faith became inseparably intertwined with the development of a new nation. Biblical beliefs and ethics clearly influenced nascent codes of law, integrating into Britain’s early political culture Judeo-Christian principles of justice and mercy. Surely Almighty God was overseeing all of this.

The so-called ‘Dark Ages’ were actually marked by an extraordinary spread of the Gospel.

Speaking Truth to Power

After 1066, when the Anglo-Saxon elites were deposed by the Norman conquest, God made sure that England’s budding legal and administrative system was not tossed aside, but kept and gradually institutionalised by royal charters.⁴ Many of our major cathedrals were built, as well as Oxford and later Cambridge (both as religious schools). But these centuries were also flavoured by a corruption of both Church and state, civil unrest at home, power struggles abroad and tension with the papacy in Rome, which by then had become supremely dominant in Europe.

Under Norman rule, the Church became sought after for its wealth and political influence. However, God did not give Britain over to corruption, but chose this time to raise up reform movements calling for justice, greater autonomy for the Church from royal influence and greater independence for England from Rome.

John Wycliffe, Washington National Cathedral. The text is a variant of 2 Timothy 2:4: "No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer." See Photo Credits.It was against this backdrop that Bishop Stephen Langton led a protest movement of local landowners to pressure King John to sign the Magna Carta, which he did in 1215. In doing so, Langton raised the ire of both King and Pope, since Magna Carta checked the powers of the monarchy and represented a rebellion against Rome. However, crucially, it established protections and liberties for the Church and for ordinary citizens, laying a firm and just foundation for English statute law and later inspiring the US Constitution. Thanks to Stephen Langton, Magna Carta not only applied biblical ethics, but also gave glory to God, proving to be a foundational document in the establishment of Britain as a truly Christian nation.

Nevertheless, while Magna Carta guaranteed important freedoms, it did not prevent the continued corruption of the Church from power and wealth. Less than a century after Magna Carta was inscribed into English statute law by Edward I (who was also, less wonderfully, responsible for expelling Britain’s Jewish population in 1290), the Lord raised up a powerful prophetic figure in the form of Yorkshire scholar and dissident John Wycliffe.

Wycliffe’s writings vociferously attacked the pomp and corruption of the clergy. His criticisms of Roman Catholicism – he has been dubbed the ‘morning star’ of the English Reformation⁵ - brought him into constant conflict with the established Church.⁶ However, Wycliffe had the support of many priests and itinerant preachers who ministered outside of the institutional Church in a sort of non-conformist exile, suffering poverty in order to preach the Gospel to ordinary people. In Wycliffe, the faithful remnant around the nation found a spokesperson raised up by God to protest the ways in which British Christianity departed from the truths of Scripture.

In Wycliffe, the faithful remnant around the nation found a spokesperson raised up by God to protest the ways in which British Christianity departed from the truths of Scripture.

In fact, convinced of the centrality of the Bible as God’s revealed truth to all men, Wycliffe set about translating it from Latin into English, completing the project in the 1380s. And so, God chose this time and this man to make his word available to the masses, who before had been beholden to priests and unable to study Scripture for themselves.

Though the death penalty was eventually levied against those found in possession of an English Bible, Wycliffe jump-started the nation’s journey towards Protestantism which, according to Professor Linda Colley, “was the foundation that made the invention of Great Britain possible”.⁷

Faithful Servants

Æthelberht, Bertha, Augustine, Patrick, Columba, Aidan, Ine, Alfred, Stephen Langton, John Wycliffe…Britain’s Christian heritage is a wonderful and complex fabric made up of the faithful service of individuals guided by the Lord’s hand. These servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, many now forgotten or side-lined in historical accounts, were used powerfully of God to bear the truths of the Gospel to this land, into its laws and culture, and into the hearts and minds of its people.

As we look over the broad expanse of our history, whether we understand it fully or not, we witness the hand of God at work and the Spirit brooding over our nation. Surely it was not on account of our own righteousness, but on account of the Lord’s grace, that Britain was established over the centuries under the stabilising influence of the Bible, with freedom given to the sharing of the Gospel, and with faithful men and women being raised up to hold our institutions to account.

Next week: The establishing of biblical laws.

Notes

1 As well as archaeological remains of church buildings, Roman villa chapels have been uncovered, suggesting that house churches were alive and well in Roman Britain. See John Bradley’s The Mansion House of Liberty: The untold story of Christian Britain (2015, Roperpenberthy).

2 According to the Venerable Bede, Gregory had been moved by the sight of Anglo-Saxon boys being sold as slaves in the Roman marketplace, and resolved to send a mission to their place of origin. If this is true, how much we have to thank the Lord for arranging this encounter and moving the heart of the future pope.

3 This is generally attributed to Alfred’s grandson, Æthelstan, who also outlawed paganism in 927 and arranged for the Bible to be translated into Anglo-Saxon (Old English).

4 E.g. William II (1093), Henry I (1100).

5 Michael, E, 2003. John Wyclif on body and mind. Journal of the History of Ideas, p343.

6 Wycliffe distinguished between the visible, institutional Church and the true, redeemed Body of Christ, just as we would today.

7 Britons: Forging the Nation: 1707-1837. 1992, revised 2009, Yale University Press.

Greg Stevenson reviews Magna Carta Unlocked (DVD, 2015).

This time two years ago, we were celebrating a major anniversary of the Magna Carta, the document which founded so many of Britain’s Christian legal principles and freedoms. In view of the election, this week we are highlighting a resource released then which is still extremely pertinent now to Christians wanting to better understand the Judeo-Christian foundations of our nation.

This DVD set is a five-part documentary released by Sceptred Isle Productions. It examines the politics, science, society, law and warfare related to the Magna Carta, especially in areas of freedom, democracy and the rule of law. It is written and presented by Philip Quenby, who was a partner in an international law firm.¹

The DVD was issued to mark the 800^th anniversary of this powerful document of democracy, sealed on 15 June 1215 at Runnymede. Magna Carta established the basis for no man being above the law, for limiting the power of the king, for laying down the principle that punishment should be in accordance with the law and for assuring access to justice for all accused.

The document to which King John attached his Great Seal was the 48 paragraphs of the 'Articles of the Barons', later re-issued as 63 clauses by Henry III in 1217 and named 'Magna Carta'. Although the Charter focused narrowly on the concerns of a small elite, it established free men's rights to justice above the will of the king, and was a bulwark against oppression.

The English Battles for Freedom

The DVD throws us in at the deep end - in 1643, the middle of the battles of the English Civil War. This was the only English 'revolution' that re-affirmed the primary aims of the Charter, and established that the king (Charles I) could not rule by divine right with no opposition. It defined the limits of feudal rights of the Crown, brought an end to the sale of justice, protected the privileges of the church, and addressed due process of law.

As 'native rights' there was to be freedom of conscience, freedom from conscription into the armed forces, and equality for all before the law. Authority was to be vested in the House of Commons rather than the King and the Lords. The cost was the lives of 5% of the population (equivalent to 3 million of today's population).

Magna Carta established free men's rights to justice above the will of the king, and was a bulwark against oppression.

The freedom for which men fought was enshrined in the 'Agreement of the People' argued out by Cromwell's men in 1647 at St Mary's Church, Putney Bridge. When President Adams (USA) visited the site in 1786, he said: “Do Englishmen so soon forget the ground where liberty was fought for? Tell your neighbours and your children that this is holy ground; much holier than that on which your churches stand”.

But the battle for freedom was not over. The DVD moves through James II’s attempt to suspend laws against Roman Catholics, the transfer of the Crown to the Dutch Protestant Prince William of Orange, the Bill of Rights (1689) which further confirmed free elections and the rights of Parliament, and the impacts of these developments on the most famous written constitution of all, drafted in Philadelphia in 1787.

Two Different Champions for Liberty

Finally, the DVD gives examples of two champions of liberty, both fighting against the Establishment of their day, but with very different results: Wilkes and Rousseau.

John Wilkes, born in London in 1727, argued for religious tolerance and scorned the vested interests, bribery, and corruption he saw in England. In spite of a scurrilous lifestyle, he succeeded in removing the Crown's unfettered control over judicial appointments. Thus the freedom which Magna Carta sought was fought for in the courts.

In a Wilkes trial for outlawing, he prompted the famous comment by Lord Chief Justice William Murray (Lord Mansfield): 'Fiat justitia ruat caelum' - 'Let justice be done, though the heavens fall' (regardless of the consequences). This sentence was inscribed in American courts, though many are being removed in these present secular humanist times.

The Foundation for These Freedoms

Unlike the American Declaration of Independence, English political settlement did not rest on 'In the Name, and by the Authority of the (good) people of these colonies…' but acknowledged a higher, Divine, authority.

This principle goes back even earlier than Magna Carta, to the Legal Code compiled by King Alfred the Great (the Doom Code, c.893 AD), to which he prefixed the Ten Commandments, together with rules of life from the Judeo-Christian code of ethics. This is the connection between English law and God's laws; Christian values have thus a key role in English law.

Christian values have a key role in English law.

As we have seen in America, the idea of law having an objective standard derived from the Bible was not to everyone's taste, however. In Europe, Jean-Jaques Rousseau believed that Man had been corrupted by civilisation, and published his 'social contract',² arguing that man has only one authority to which he should submit – 'the General Will of the people'. Contempt for convention in France led quickly to rebellion and revolution (1789) and a new humanist constitution, to which Edmund Burke commented that the moral code of the law was then irrelevant.³

Thus law can override personal opinion, if the general will decides that it disturbs public order, and there is no freedom of conscience (as we have recently seen in Northern Ireland). All supposed protection of the law is thus worthless. Rousseau's brave new world was soon seen in the 'New Republic' (1793) and led to brute force, terror and totalitarian revolution, with no restraint or accountability. Even though in England there was loss of life, at least Cromwell prevented this tyrannical result in our sceptred isle, for which we must be thankful.

Rights, Justice and Security Based on God's Law

The DVD's conclusion is that Magna Carta set up some principles for a sense of law based on right and justice (albeit at that time for a very limited section of the populace) and was in accordance not with royal or parliamentary prerogative, nor with ‘the general will of the people’ who espouse their own sense of right (or none), but with God's laws (cf. Deut 12:8; Jud 12:15).

Overall, it gives a well-presented, balanced view of the fight for justice, although this struggle is far from over, for the world is not clear of revolutions or totalitarian governments. But God's word will stand (Isa 40:8). With no vision, the people will (and do) cast off restraint (Heb. let loose, perish); happiness is found in keeping the law (Torah means teaching/instruction for life) – Proverbs 29:18.

In areas of right and justice, God's word is our yardstick and our security, and Philip Quenby's presentation in this double DVD set underpins this truth.

Magna Carta Unlocked is available from the publisher to stream for £5 or to buy on DVD for £12.50 (also available from Amazon). Rated 12. Click here for more details.

References

1 Philip Quenby. Magna Carta: The missing link in the EU debate. Heart of Sussex and Surrey, June/July 2016, p15.

2 Jean-Jaques Rousseau. Principes du droit politique, 1762.

3 Edmund Burke. Reflections on the French Revolution, 1790.

Magna Carta Unravelled (Wilberforce Publications, 2015, 217 pages, £7.99)

This book, a joint venture between Wilberforce Publications and Voice for Justice UK, is a collection of essays by eight experts in various fields (eg politics, law, the Church) largely based upon talks given at a conference held in May to commemorate the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. Among the better known contributors are Baroness Cox, Lynda Rose, and Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, but all those involved have distinguished reputations and are highly experienced.

Six of the original talks were expanded by the speakers into written form and to these were added two extra chapters. The overall result is a comprehensive survey covering the origins of Magna Carta, the development of its ideas throughout history, and its relevance today. The whole makes an important contribution towards the discussion on the contemporary challenges we face in our nation regarding our freedoms.

The opening chapter provides an excellent overview and sets the scene, declaring that "what we need to recognise today is that we are in the middle of a predominantly three-stranded ideological war: between Christianity, secularism, and Islam" (p29). Society is now in the grip of competing belief systems as the ruthless imposition of non-Christian values with their own ideas of 'rights' and 'freedoms' are being selectively applied. The result is a vigorous shaking of our foundations which is causing many to wonder what the eventual outcome will be.

This is an important contribution towards debating the ideological war currently gripping British society."

Other chapters cover the historical and theological background to Magna Carta, its Christian origins and legacy, the role of the State concerning freedoms, and the rise of Islam and sharia law in the UK. The final parts focus on the current challenges to individual liberty. On reflection, not all sections are of equal interest or engagement; some are more difficult to follow and rather stolid. Certainly, there are also many anecdotes and testimonies, including up-to-date personal stories, but often these have been well covered elsewhere and are over-long in the context of this particular book. There is even some overlap between speakers, which may be one of the disadvantages of a book produced from a conference. Overall it is difficult not to be disappointed at times that this is not a more enjoyable read.

However, the book clearly has a place within the current re-assessment and evaluation of Magna Carta. It is of a suitable length to fit between short introductions and fuller studies, and above all it does ask the right questions. Realising that the UK is "at a crossroads, with the soul of our nation at stake" (p17), it is very pertinent to consider the relevance of Magna Carta. Clearly it is an important historical document but what about now, eight centuries later, in our multi-cultural society? The fundamental principles and freedoms that it established have recently been attacked, dismantled and shattered. How did this happen and why? And where do we go from here?

This book asks the right questions about the present situation and future outlook in Britain, showing how Christian principles and values are not just being eroded and marginalised, but being branded as dangerous."

As the authors show, Christian principles and values are currently being marginalised, rebranded as hate speech and provocation if expressed publicly, and even portrayed as dangerous to a liberal and secular modern society. At the very least the likelihood is that there will be continuing attempts to contain Christian views and eventually eliminate them in the cause of new freedoms and ideas of tolerance. The ultimate fear is that we will lose our specifically Christian freedoms altogether.

Is this unduly alarmist or a wake-up call? You decide! Either way here is an informative and valuable resource for those seeking to think through these vital issues.

A summary of Prophecy Today's coverage of Magna Carta, including some extra resources...

Books and Publications

Magna Carta Unravelled (Voice for Justice/Wilberforce Publications)

Collection of recent essays together providing an important contribution to the current debate about freedom in Britain. See full review here.

The Church and the Charter (Andrew, 2015, Theos)

Pocket-sized book setting out in comprehensive detail the Christian influences on Magna Carta. An accessible but thorough account of its forgotten roots...see full review here.

Magna Carta, Religion and the Rule of Law (Ed. Griffith-Jones and Hill, 2015, CUP)

This scholarly collection is a heavy read, but provides an unequalled dissection of the significance of Magna Carta that testifies to its iconic power and lasting legacy...see full review here.

Magna Carta: R.I.P.? (Meritus, 2015)

New e-book available on Amazon Kindle, written by one of our own readers. A well-researched lay-person's response to the gradual erosion of the freedoms enshrined in Magna Carta. Chapters look at topical issues including the family, freedom of speech, secularism and Islam, as well as reflection from a more personal perspective. Available to purchase from Amazon for £2.29.

Articles

Magna Carta and Christian Freedoms (Lynda Rose, Voice for Justice)

How real are Magna Carta's hard-won freedoms for us today, 800 years on?...click here for the full article.

Magna Carta: Beacon for this Nation's Future and Guide for the Church (Anthony Busk)

Anthony opens up the story behind the Charter's Christian principles, and asks what they mean for us now...click here for the full article.

'The Church and the Charter: Christianity and the Forgotten Roots of the Magna Carta' by Thomas Andrew (Theos, 2015, 60 pages, £5)

This book demonstrates, using many references to other writers and sources, how the Christian Church and theology were influential in the making of Magna Carta. Andrew first poses the question - why have the Christian sources of Magna Carta been so neglected? His book seeks to explore this position and show how Magna Carta reflected the theological ideas of the day and the important contribution by Archbishop Stephen Langton. In so doing the author provides useful information and encouragement to the general reader who wishes to maintain that our Christian heritage still plays a vital role in society today.

The introduction makes the point that "it is in the Magna Carta ('The Great Charter of the Liberties of England') that we first see rights language extended to 'all free men', rather than restricted to an elite group" (p10). The first chapter (The Road to Runnymede) deals with the tyranny of King John, his corrupt court and his fights with the rebel barons. The version of Magna Carta sealed at Runnymede hints at the struggle between King John and the English Church but contains the clause "the English Church shall be free, and shall have its rights undiminished, and its liberties unimpaired".

This book seeks to explore the question: why have the Christian sources of Magna Carta been so neglected?"

After Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered and Stephen Langton eventually succeeded him, the 1225 version of Magna Carta (issued with Langton's backing) formed the basis upon which the language of rights and liberties could be built, and Langton made sure that the rights of the independence of the Church would be maintained. "The history of political thought and the history of theological thought developed separately" (p31); the gap needed to be bridged and Langton sought to do just that.

The last chapter concerns the importance of "due legal process", which places the authority of the law above that of the king. This, again, was a major theological concern for Langton.

"The final version of the Magna Carta was not a charter for the privileged few, but a charter for the whole community of England..." This extension of the language of rights was greatly influenced by Gratian in his Decretum who put forward important principles for the understanding and use of canon law by the 'golden rule': "All things whatever that you would wish other people to do to you, do the same also to them." (p42, also Luke 6:31). To Gratian, this 'lies at the heart of justice'.

This brief book sets out in comprehensive detail the influences of Christian theology and the Church on Magna Carta- an encouraging account of Britain's Christian heritage."

The extension of rights language for all, as it became the common law of England, gave legal protection and rights regardless of status. It is important to remember that the principles enshrined by Magna Carta were rooted in Christian theology and the Church: "This fundamentally egalitarian message was central to the Christian gospel" (p43). As we celebrate the history of the Magna Carta on its 800th anniversary we can cherish the thought that the influence of the Christian Church played a major part. This pocket-sized book belies its brevity by setting out in comprehensive detail how this all came about. Theos have served the general public well in providing an accessible but thorough account of the forgotten roots of the Magna Carta.

Notes

The Appendix to the book has a translation of the Magna Carta made available by the British Library.

Theos is a Christian think tank that seeks to influence public opinion about the role of faith and belief in society. Launched in Nov 2006, Theos provides: high-quality research, reports and publications; an extensive events program; news, information and analysis to media companies, parliamentarians and other opinion formers. For more details visit www.theosthinktank.co.uk.

'Magna Carta, Religion and the Rule of Law' (Ed. R Griffith-Jones and M Hill, CUP, 2015, 414 pages)

Paperback ISBN 9781107494367, RRP £24.99, hardback ISBN 9781107100190, RRP £64.99

This volume contains seventeen essays on a variety of topics from a wide array of expert contributors - jurists, theologians, historians - each with a worldwide reputation in their field. Together with an introduction by the two editors and a fascinating and informative keynote address by Lord Judge, the result is a substantial offering towards the anniversary debate on the relevance of Magna Carta and its relationship to religion and law.

The book has been compiled from talks given at a 2014 conference at Temple, London, with additional papers by other scholars unable to attend. The overall theme of the well-attended gathering was that of faith and governance, a critical topic for today. Within that overarching agenda, there were three main subsections into which the book has been organised.

The opening chapters concern the birth of Magna Carta and the spread of its principles. Included here is an account of the role and influence of Magna Carta on ideas about religion and the rule of law in the colonial and revolutionary periods of American history.

The following section debates comparative religious approaches to Magna Carta's rule of law. The conference's brief was to take account of religious diversity and included contributors from non-Christian faiths. Here are discussions, perhaps rather tangential to the main theme, on the origins of the rule of law in Islam, justice in Islamic legislation, Sharia and the rule of law. There are also lessons drawn from India as well as Magna's Carta 'still small voice' in Christian traditions.

Whilst the book is grounded in a respect for today's pluralistic religious culture, the chapter on Magna Carta's biblical principles is especially illuminating."

The final section focuses on the contemporary inheritance of Magna Carta, including the development of human rights from then until the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Of particular interest are essays on the possible links between Magna Carta and the European Convention on Human Rights, and Strasburg's approach to religion in pluralist European democracies.

The chapter on Biblical principles and Magna Carta, written by former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, is especially illuminating. Sacks insists that although Magna Carta can be read as a historical, constitutional or legal document, "it was first and foremost a religious document." (p301). Highlighted here is Archbishop Langton's original desire to create a Biblical, covenantal kingship in England, based upon what Moses had commanded in Deuteronomy. In this chapter we learn that "the torch handed down from Magna Carta to the present day is a torch that Langton had fuelled from the Bible he knew so well" (p302). Sacks strongly advocates that a covenantal basis for society founded upon the Judaeo-Christian ethic is just as relevant today.

In summary, the book's particular vantage point is the "monolithic English Church as it existed in 1215 and the plural and diverse faith communities of today's more secular age." (p3).

The appendix provides translations of the original 1215 version of Magna Carta side-by-side with the fourth version of 1225, showing how the charter developed in its early life. The book concludes with an extensive bibliography and a substantial subject index, very helpful for those wanting to pursue a topic across the many diverse chapters.

It is difficult to disagree with Lord Judge's assertion: here is an analysis of Magna Carta's significance unlikely to be equalled elsewhere."

This compilation might be rather technical and advanced for the casual reader but it is difficult to disagree with Lord Judge's assertion that here is a dissection and analysis of the significance of Magna Carta unlikely to be equalled by any other group of scholars. Certainly there is a wealth of factual information and ideas to ponder, and the whole project is a testimony to Magna Carta's iconic power and lasting legacy.

Continuing our celebration of Magna Carta 800, Anthony Busk opens up the story behind the charter's Godly principles, and asks what they mean for us today...

Celebrating 800 Years of Freedom

On 15 June 1215, in a meadow near Windsor, King John had to accept the demands of strife-weary earls and barons, and bring in political reform. It was not an amicable meeting. The king was autocratic and used to overriding justice with lawless, arbitrary judgements. Heavy taxation to pay for his wars in Europe, plus a legacy of debt left by his brother Richard (the 'Lionheart'), were threatening civil war.

King John had also interfered with Church elections by refusing to accept the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton (1150-1228). Instead, he wanted a man more amenable towards his own conduct. This had incurred the wrath of the Church of Rome which, by the 13th Century, claimed to be the supreme monarch over all Christendom- including kings and emperors.

The papal assertion of absolute authority led to power struggles across Western Europe. But there were theologians who disputed it. John of Canterbury (1162-1181) believed there was a biblical basis for a monarch to have direct accountability before God in his own right (Rom 13:1; 1 Pet 2:13-14). John was followed by Stephen Langton, who also concluded that kings should lead a nation in the fear of God. In Langton's view, the Church's role must be limited to providing godly advice, based on the Scriptures –but not political involvement. His attitude would have great significance for the future progress of Magna Carta.

The Legacy of Stephen Langton

When Stephen Langton was eventually accepted as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1213, one of his first acts was to rally the nation's disillusioned barons, leading them in pressuring King John to seal Magna Carta. This limited his powers and provided measures of protection for the English people.

Stephen influenced Magna Carta as both as a peacemaker and an intermediary. For instance, an earlier list of demands to the king from the earls and barons was entirely secular. Stephen's influence meant that the preface to the final draft now commenced: 'Know that before God, for the health of our souls...' It also included the phrase: 'at the advice of our reverend fathers Stephen, Archbishop of Canterbury...': the Church was not imposing but advising.

Thanks to Stephen Langton, Magna Carta was re-drafted from an entirely secular document into one infused with reverence for God."

This complemented Magna Carta's assertion that the monarch, as the secular authority, must respect that the Church is to be free from political interference- a very important guide for the future. This principle became accepted within Parliament during the Reformation, with the ascendency of the Church of England, and was eventually granted in law to all Christian denominations.

Christian Wisdom

Thanks to Stephen Langton's influence, Christian wisdom permeated Magna Carta's principles. As these principles became enshrined in English law, government and culture, so Godly values came to underpin the nation.

For instance, through his studies of Scripture, Langton developed the principle of 'due process', where someone cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property without appropriate legal procedures and safeguards. This appears in several of Magna Carta's 'chapters'. Ch 39 reads:

No man is to be arrested, or imprisoned, or disseised (fined) or outlawed, or exiled, or in any way destroyed, nor will we go against him, save by the lawful judgement of his peers, or by the loss of the land.

This is the principle which led to the present day trial by jury. Addressing the vexatious approach by the king to tax with impunity, chapter 12 also points towards a future Parliament of the people: 'No 'scutage' or 'aid' may be levied in our kingdom without its general consent...' To assess tax levels there would be individual summons by letter of the good and the great 'to come together on a fixed day (of which at least forty days notice should be given) and at a fixed place...' (Ch 14).

The Role of Scripture

Magna Carta's strength down the centuries has lain in its application of Scripture, particularly the Old Testament. Stephen Langton believed that Scripture contained good principles of law that were applicable within any culture– not only Israel. For example, to reduce theft:

Neither we nor any royal official will take wood for our castle, or for any other purpose, without the consent of the owner (Ch 31/Deut 5:19).

False weights and measures were also condemned:

There shall be one measure of wine throughout all our kingdom...and one measure of corn; and one width of tinted clothes...Moreover for weights it is to be as for measures (Ch 35/Deut 25:13-15).

Magna Carta's strength through the centuries has lain in its application of Scripture."

In Jeremiah 18, we find an explicit illustration of the universal principles of God's governance:

The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in my sight, so that it does not obey my voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it (v10).

Here, we find the defining of behaviour as evil or good, which in turn requires a fabric of 'legal' guidance (given in the Ten Commandments). It also makes clear that Almighty God does reveal himself, and if there is no response to his merciful warnings, the nation will break down.

One may summarise this as whether a country – especially its leadership – has a true fear of God, or has contempt for his laws. Romans 1 and 2 demonstrate in New Testament times that there is a 'common law' for all humanity, which when ignored provokes the wrath of God.

Challenges Today

Through Magna Carta, many biblical teachings have become legally embedded within British culture, becoming the law 'common to all'. Today, its legal message and social implications are still highly significant. This year, both the Law Society and the Bar have claimed that the Charter underpins the Rule of Law in England and Wales.¹ They quote Lord Denning, who described it as:

the greatest constitutional document of all times –the foundation of the freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority of the despot.

In today's culture, however, Magna Carta's principle of the rule of law is being undermined, because the objective template of law itself is being denied. Centuries of commonly-held Judeo-Christian principles, enriched through the influence of Scripture embedded heroically over the years by our forefathers, are being stripped away as a medieval anachronism.

Today Magna Carta's principle of the rule of law is being undermined, as the foundation stones of right and wrong are being replaced with the shifting sands of personal feelings and the barometer of being offended."

The foundation stones of right and wrong are being replaced with the shifting sands of personal feelings, and the barometer of being offended. The legal grounds to determine righteousness from unrighteousness are becoming transient. Justice can now be dependent on where the judge sits within a cacophony of shifting equality and human rights themes. The Church, its institutions and doctrines are under attack because the rule of law, which formerly gave it protection, is itself struggling.

Lessons to Apply

What are the lessons of Magna Carta? Perhaps most important is for the secular authority to recognise it is directly under a higher authority, and must never gravitate into a dictatorship, impervious to the laws of God and arbitrary in judgement. This is precisely summarised in prayers held prior to the sittings of both the Lords and the Commons. The latter includes the words:

Lord, the God of all righteousness and truth, grant to our Queen and her government, to Members of Parliament and all in positions of responsibility, the guidance of your Spirit. May they never lead the nation wrongly through love of power, desire to please, or unworthy ideals...Amen.²

Another message is the freedom of the Church, which must protect its integrity and independence from State interference. However, it also has responsibilities towards the State. It must persistently assert the responsibility of politicians and their hierarchy of civil servants to recognise God's sovereignty over nations. The Church must pray hard and speak up, to provide an anchor of righteousness of which politicians and civil servants can grasp hold.

Magna Carta not only affirms the Church's need for freedom from state interference; it also reminds us that the Church has responsibilities: to pray hard, speak up and provide an anchor of righteousness for the nation."

If we abandon Judeo-Christian values, there will be consequences. "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (Pro 14:34).

Jehovah Nissi

The Church, the people of God redeemed through Christ's sacrifice, has a duty to both teach and encourage those who rule. It was God-fearing Christians 800 years ago who laid down the foundations of our democracy. There is a requirement for this generation to follow their example. New, Holy Spirit-breathed initiatives are required to assist MPs and others in authority to maintain and develop laws relevant to our culture. Individual Christians and churches also need to recognise the great importance of prayer for both national and local government. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 is very clear on this matter.

It is true that radical groups, not fearing the true God, have infiltrated politics at a high level, and are wreaking havoc upon the young and vulnerable. It is also true that through a gross distortion of the biblical principles of equality and respect, the fabric of law and order is being undermined. Unchecked this will lead to anarchy. However, a casual study of history demonstrates that no brutal assault is impossible to conquer, though it may seem it at the time.

800 years go, God-fearing Christians helped lay the foundations of our democracy. This generation must follow their example- we are the living Church for today."

We are the living Church for today, the infantry God wishes to use. His role has not changed, but remains Jehovah Nissi – 'the Lord is our banner'! Christians must follow our forefathers' example, engaging with a broken world, co-operating with the Holy Spirit and particularly blessing those in governance.

About the author: Anthony Busk has a background in ministry and a keen interest in the relationship between the Church and secular government. Through his own journey from secularism to whole-hearted commitment to the authority of Scripture, Anthony is overwhelmed by the real love and compassion Jesus has for a broken world, and of our need to press forward despite the darkness - proclaiming righteousness and reconciliation with God through the empty cross.

References

1 Caplen, A and MacDonald, A, 2014. Magna Carta: The Foundation of Freedom 1215-2015. Joint Law Society/Bar Council Special Edition, Third Millennium Publishing.

2 Parliament prayers.

As we approach the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta, Lynda Rose asks: how real are its freedoms for us today?

On 15 June 1215, with England on the brink of civil war, King John met with the barons at Runnymede and put his seal to what was in effect a peace treaty: Magna Carta. Today, that Charter has become one of the most celebrated and influential documents in history, rightly seen as the foundation for Democracy worldwide. Lord Denning described it as "...the foundation of the freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority of the despot."¹

But just how real are those freedoms in 21st century Britain? Does the spirit of Magna Carta live on...or has it been destroyed by secular totalitarianism?

Rights for all?

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the United Nations calls 'a Magna Carta for all humanity', human rights are:

rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status.²

Those rights include: freedom of belief and religion, the right to life, the right to be treated equally before the law, the right to freedom without imprisonment for just cause, the right to marry and have a family, and the right to education.

Globally, we talk a lot about 'rights' these days. In fact, "It's my right!" has become almost a mantra, justifying any and every imaginable behavior in the worldwide quest for self-fulfillment. But the reality in present-day secular and multicultural Britain is that 'rights' are extremely selectively applied, and increasingly Christians are finding themselves not just marginalized, but no longer allowed to speak in public about their faith.

Ideological war

What many do not realize is that the situation today is the direct result of an ideological war; between Christians on the one hand, and Secularism on the other. It is a war that will allow no quarter, and that has as its goal the complete annihilation of Christianity.

The ideological war being waged by Secularism will allow no quarter: its goal is the complete annihilation of Christianity."

Moral rebranding in the name of tolerance and diversity is part of a much larger strategy that started at around the beginning of the last century, when the Soviet Institute for Social Research – later rebranded the Frankfurt School - identified the Judeo-Christian legacy (seen as both the foundation and buttress of Western society) as the reason why the revolution had not spread, as expected, across Europe. Based on this analysis, they devised a complex strategy aimed at completely destroying the beliefs and institutions on which Western society rested. As well as religion, in particular they targeted the Family, which they identified as one of the main building blocks.

It was a strategy designed to produce mass hopelessness and alienation, destroying faith in God and any idea of transcendent purpose that might provide some sort of unifying force for the common man. In the words of Muzenburg, one of the founders of the movement, "We will make the West so corrupt that it stinks."

In 1969, following the Stonewall riots, this same strategy was taken over and developed by the Gay rights movement, brought to a peak in 1989 by Kirk and Madsen. In their book 'After the Ball: How America will Conquer Its Hatred and Fear of Gays in the '90s', the pair devised a strategy designed to rebrand morality. Their express aim was to recast gays as victims – where necessary rewriting history – to achieve not just acceptance, but to make homosexuality the norm. So began the demolition of the establishment from within.

Moral rebranding in the name of tolerance and diversity is part of a much larger strategy that has been going on for over a century."

A carefully orchestrated strategy

This is not to say that everyone who embraces secularist, humanist or LGBT ideas today is signed up to the Frankfurt School or is deliberately attacking Christianity, but this actually is the agenda that, consciously or unconsciously, such people have been seduced into following. It is an organised and carefully orchestrated strategy for totalitarianism, which wants at base the complete overthrow of Christianity and Western society. Hardly surprising then that freedom of speech is being re-cast to demonise anything that implies criticism of the new dogma, with anything outside of that – whether personal opinion or a quotation from the Bible - being re-cast as hate speech.

It is important that we understand this, because we too, in the name of 'tolerance' and love, have been subjected to psychological conditioning. And, sad to say, many in the Church have succumbed. This is why the Church is weak – because we have lost our way. But endorsement of behaviours prohibited in the Bible, far from demonstrating Christian love, makes us complicit in sin.

Freedom of speech is being re-cast to demonise anything which criticizes the new dogma, re-positioning it as hate speech."

So, what can we do?

First, and most obviously, we have to start by recovering the truths of our faith. Which means that we need to go back and read the Bible. Carefully. And we need to repent where we've gone astray. Because only then will we have the clarity to understand our spiritual heritage, and what God has done for us uniquely in Christ. Only then will we be able to stand against the lies!

Second, we need to fear God rather than man, and to stand up for our faith. Because if we don't, then not only do we betray the One who died for us, but we condemn our fellow human beings to unimaginable torment that will last forever. This is the truth for which we stand guardian.

We need to recover the truths of our faith, reclaiming what has been stolen from us, and standing up for it!

Third, we need to reclaim the language that has been stolen, and refuse to be cowed into accepting the lies and misinformation put about by those who want to drive Christianity from the public arena. Whatever we tell ourselves, we will not remain 'relevant' or retain influence by adapting our message. No, God did not get it wrong, and times have not 'moved on'! The Bible is expression of eternal and transcendent truth, and only by following its precepts will men and women be free and find true fulfillment.

In the words of Jeremiah (6:16):

Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.

In the current ideological struggle, there is no such thing as a safe middle ground where we can remain neutral. Let us make no mistake, this is a spiritual war, and we are either on one side or the other. It's as stark as that. We either defend our rights and our faith – which, as seen in Magna Carta, has made Western society what it is – or we lose those rights altogether, and see a different, intolerant and harsh value system come into force: a system that will only allow the expression of views that validate itself, with everything else suppressed!

In this struggle, there is no such thing as a safe, neutral middle ground. Make no mistake, this is a spiritual war- we are either on one side or the other."

On 15 June, to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the actual signing of Magna Carta, VfJUK is organizing a Rally outside Parliament. We are asking a question: How free are YOU today? And, based on Magna Carta, we are saying enough is enough. Please join us in defending the Christian foundation of this country and our Christian freedoms, as we call for 'real' freedom of speech and of belief. Come yourself, and bring along ten friends – and ask them to invite ten more!

It's time to make a stand for our faith. Together we can make a difference.

For details of the rally, visit the Voice for Justice website, or register to come on Facebook.

References

1 Magna Carta and the Law Society and Bar Council

2 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights