A frosty February for the Church of England

Putting fear in its rightful place

Scriptural truth is being sacrificed in the cause of unity

Mixed messages on same-sex provided BBC with an excuse

Britain continues to abandon its biblical heritage.

A dysfunctional House of Commons voted in Westminster this week to impose same-sex marriage and abortion upon the people of Northern Ireland – the only part of the United Kingdom that respects biblical teaching on these issues. MPs, aided and abetted by a rebellious Speaker of the House, took advantage of the fact that Britain at present is effectively without a fully functioning Government, to pass amendments to the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill.

The amendments threaten to impose LGBTQ demands upon the people of Ulster by 21 October this year unless the Stormont Government has been reinstated. The DUP, who are the main representatives of the people of Northern Ireland in the House of Commons, and the only Bible-believing political party in the British Parliament, strongly opposed the measures, but they were nevertheless approved by large majorities.

Sinn Fein (who refuse to take their Westminster seats), the political party with whom the DUP have to cooperate if the Northern Ireland Assembly is to be reactivated, immediately expressed approval of the Westminster votes, which is unlikely to make it easier for Stormont to rise from the ashes after 2 ½ years of dormancy. The future for Northern Ireland is further complicated by Brexit and the failure to agree a solution to Irish border issues in the event of Britain leaving the European Union.

The Shaking of the Political Scene

The political scene in the United Kingdom is also struggling to cope with strong opposition to Brexit from Scotland, and growing demands from the SNP for another Scottish Referendum, with the threat of breaking up the Union. Adding all these political tensions together presents a graphic scene of dysfunction over the whole of the United Kingdom where we have a powerless Prime Minister with only days to run and two men vying to be the next leader of the Conservative Party, neither of whom appear to have the outstanding qualities required to unite the nation in a time of crisis.

Adding all the political tensions together presents a graphic scene of dysfunction over the whole of the United Kingdom.

But what about the official Opposition? The most shocking revelations of the week came in the BBC Panorama programme investigating the rise of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party since the advent of the Corbyn leadership. The evidence all came back inexorably to Corbyn himself and his personal hostility to Israel and ambivalent attitude towards Jews. Clearly the Labour Party itself is falling apart and, like the rest of the House of Commons, it is utterly dysfunctional and unfit to be Her Majesty’s Opposition at a critical time in the nation’s history.

See Credits

Another big story of the week has been the unpatriotic action of a Sunday newspaper in publishing leaked reports from the British Ambassador in Washington that have done immense harm to Anglo-American relationships resulting in the Ambassador’s resignation. Boris Johnson’s hesitation in giving unqualified support to the Ambassador in his televised leadership encounter was quite understandable. The subject is far too sensitive for an off-the-cuff verdict. I’ve no doubt that Sir Kim Darroch’s assessment of the dysfunctionality of the Trump Administration is accurate. But the difference between the White House and the Westminster Parliament is simply that Westminster has been exposed to the world whereas Washington has so far been more successful in covering any cracks.

Hypocrisy and Rebellion

But perhaps an even more significant story of the week has been the intervention of Sir John Major saying he would take court action to stop Parliament being prorogued in order to achieve Brexit by the end of October. Why should we listen to the opinions of a man who strongly campaigned to remain in the EU and was not renowned for his moral integrity?

The plain fact is we have a Parliament that is refusing to honour the wishes of the nation as expressed in the 2016 Referendum to leave the European Union. Parliament is in rebellion against the will of the nation and has been totally unable to find collective agreement on any issue concerning Brexit. It has therefore proved itself to be utterly dysfunctional and unable to provide effective government of the nation. Surely such a parliament should be prorogued if that is the only way to achieve the will of the people – that is democracy!

Parliament is in rebellion against the will of the nation.

I went to a meeting of the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group in the House of Commons on Wednesday. The whole of Parliament Square was choked with hundreds of taxis on strike blocking the traffic, and protest groups with all their different messages. It really was a pathetic scene of confusion matching the scene inside Parliament and indeed the condition of the buildings themselves with an abundance of scaffolding!

The Fall of the Empire

Looking back at history it is astonishing to think that the nation at the head of the British Empire, upon which the sun never set, has now come to this pathetic situation where our Parliament is in greater disarray than many banana states, and even the pound is almost at the lowest ebb it has ever been. We are not making a case for colonialism, but simply highlighting the obvious fall in the influence of the nation on the world stage. How are the mighty fallen! What has brought Great Britain to this critical state?

There is only one answer to this question. It is there, written large in the history of the nation – the abandoning of the Judaeo-Christian biblical heritage that was established by our forefathers and for which millions of young men gave their lives to preserve in two world wars during the last century.

The abandoning of its Judaeo-Christian biblical heritage has brought Great Britain to a critical state today.

I lived through one of those wars – as a child I remember the bombing, the bloodshed and the hardship – we even had to grow our own food and keep hens in the back garden – but we were leaner and healthier then than we are today with our fast-food culture and our overindulgence.

Hope in Humility

In wartime we were united in faith: we were a praying nation, and we were fighting to uphold standards of righteousness and truth. Today, we have a rebellious generation that does not even know the meaning of truth. As Jesus said: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand” (Matt 13:13). We have “exchanged the truth of God for a lie” (Rom 1:25).

Is there any hope? As a patriot I would love to be able to answer that affirmatively! But, after many years of studying the Bible and the history of God’s dealings with his covenant people Israel, I have to say that the only hope for the nation lies in repentance and turning back to the truth. For Israel, it only came after the tragedy of exile in Babylon, so it may be that we have to experience tragedy befalling Britain before eyes are open and people cry out, “O God, what has gone wrong?” Then, there can be a spiritual awakening transforming the nation and its fortunes.

The only hope for the nation lies in repentance and turning back to the truth.

The words of the Prophet Joel offer hope even in a desperate situation: “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing” (Joel 2:13-14).

Rebellion – not revival – is a key sign of the times.

Two items in the news this week are significant for the future of the gospel in Britain.

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

As polling day for the 2015 General Election draws closer politicians are becoming more desperate in their search for votes. For many months the pollsters have been predicting a Hung Parliament. Why is this? The Times editorial back on 7 February asked this question.

The answer given was that it was a difficult economic time for any Government to be in power and that the Coalition had not eradicated the deficit during their five years at the helm.

The Times also blamed the rise of smaller parties, noting that back in 1951 the two main parties, Labour and Conservative, scooped up 96% of the nation’s votes. By 2010 this had shrunk to 66%. The last five years has accelerated the fragmentation of the political vote with a sharp rise in the fortunes of UKIP and the Greens.

The Establishment in Trouble

The Times failed to offer any explanation for this rise. But it is the rise of the smaller parties that holds the key to understanding the reason why neither the Conservatives nor Labour are not ahead in the polls and why the nation lacks confidence in the main parties. The plain fact is that people have lost respect for the establishment: we no longer trust our political elite.

"The plain fact is that people have lost respect for the establishment: we no longer trust our political elite."

The nation wants to see change; and they’re willing to trust the newcomers who offer something fresh and unknown, on the grounds that anything might be better than what we’ve had! It’s really the greed, corruption and lack of vision among those who have been ruling the nation for so many years that has finally produced a backlash of disillusionment among voters.

A Problem of Trust

There is a major problem of trust between the electorate and the political leaders of all three main parties. Labour voters have never forgiven Ed Miliband for ousting his brother David, whom they would have much preferred as leader, believing that he would make a better Prime Minister. LibDem voters have never forgiven Nick Clegg for reneging on his promise to cut student fees. That was one of the most blatant pieces of political double-crossing in recent years which could even lead to the wiping out of a political party that has had a great history of serving the nation in former centuries.

MPs Warned

David Cameron will go down in history as the man who not only defied the majority of his own backbenchers and the older generation of Conservative voters; but as the man who defied God! In order to please a tiny minority of the country he chose to deeply offend his own core supporter-base by introducing the Same-Sex Marriage Bill, which actually ‘redefined' marriage (part of God’s act of creation).

                  "David Cameron will go down in history as the man who defied God!"

You cannot mess about with God’s laws without bringing judgement upon the nation. Christians right across the country warned their MPs that this would inevitably lead to disaster. More than 100 Tory backbenchers defied the whips and voted against the Prime Minister. Despite this Cameron succeeded in passing his infamous bill with the aid of Labour and LibDem votes (unsurprisingly, the latter parties both have atheist leaders).

The Price of Victory

But the price of this victory has yet to be paid. 1 million evangelical Bible-believing Christians in the older generation have not forgotten their vow never to vote Tory again so long as Cameron is in charge, unless he publicly apologises to the nation for his folly. This does not mean that Christians hate homosexuals. The reason is that the family- as God defines it -is one of the foundational parts of the social structure of every nation. 300,000 children have their lives devastated every year by family breakdown. The nation needs measures to strengthen family life not to undermine it!

So Who’s Going to Win the Election?

We believe the pollsters are right in predicting no clear result. But this is not just because of the rise of UKIP, the Greens and the SNP; it is because as a nation we have offended God. This is not just because of same-sex marriage. In Deuteronomy 28 there is a list of consequences of deliberately going against the word of God; one of which is ‘confusion’ in the leadership of the nation:

The Lord will send on you confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. (Deut 28:20)

  "As a nation we cannot go on breaking moral laws without incurring the inevitable penalties."

The sudden ruin is most likely to be the collapse of the economy which is riddled with greed and corruption, and driven by unrighteousness and injustice, all of which are offensive to God and all right-thinking people. As a nation we cannot go on breaking moral laws without incurring the inevitable penalties. In moral issues, we reap what we sow. But where will we find politicians who really are squeaky clean?