Counting the other costs of the pandemic

They murdered his brother; he responded by sharing the gospel

Veteran preacher’s freedoms curtailed - at Speakers’ Corner!

Episodes in the battle for truth.

Eco-warriors take to playing with fire engines and fake blood. 

Frances Rabbitts reviews Samuel Burgess’ timely defence of Britain’s political heritage.

Mention the word ‘conservatism’ these days in the context of politics and many will automatically assume you are referring to the Conservative Party. The word may also trigger an adverse reaction, as it has gathered some negative connotations: unfettered greed, elitism, obstinate refusal to accept change.

In this timely, concise volume from Wilberforce Publications, Samuel Burgess pares away the vagaries and peculiarities of party politics from the much longer-standing (even ancient) political/philosophical tradition of conservatism, acknowledging where the former and the latter have coincided over the years, but also where they have parted company.

In so doing, Burgess ‘rediscovers’ conservatism as a rich heritage of principles and values with a huge amount to offer in modern-day Britain. His contention is that politics is a moral endeavour (being concerned with the bettering of individual, civic and national life) and that only conservatism is morally substantial enough to guide us in the days ahead.

A Valid Philosophy for Our Time

At 190 pages this is a relatively slim volume, but the prose is considered, eloquent and thought-provoking. Complex subjects are dealt with cogently, though it is by no means a light read.

Burgess starts by dispelling the myth that conservatism is just about preserving the status quo, unpacking its substantive principles, its historic roots in English common law and its debt to the ‘father’ of modern conservatism, Edmund Burke, who is quoted regularly thereafter. Eight subsequent chapters consider matters of civic importance in Britain today, including the idea of the nation-state, the market, freedom under law, culture, religion, the environment and even the idea of beauty, showcasing in relation to each the virtues of a truly conservative approach.

Burgess does not provide comprehensive accounts of these subjects (or the book would be far longer than it is) but offers succinct outlines in accordance with his core argument. As such, this is a book that will start conversations more than finish them. But Burgess undoubtedly achieves his overall goal: to set conservatism back on the table as a valid philosophy for our time (and, presumably, to remind those who ally themselves with the ‘Conservative’ Party what they ought to be standing for).

Burgess ‘rediscovers’ conservatism as a rich heritage of principles and values with a huge amount to offer in modern-day Britain.

Refreshingly Constructive

In unpacking the goods of conservatism it is obviously necessary to highlight how and why other approaches have failed. Burgess strikes a good balance, not indulging in excessive debunking of philosophies like liberalism and socialism but letting the virtues of conservatism speak for themselves. As such, the book is a refreshingly constructive, uplifting read.

The beauty of conservatism, according to Burgess, is that it is not so much a grand political project as a common-sense set of principles, rooted in an objective view of reality and morality (i.e. truth really exists, as do objective standards of good and evil). These principles can be applied to the specifics of any issue or circumstance. Conservatism is therefore a creative, flexible philosophy which allows for society to develop according to the uniqueness of individual places and people – provided they remain rooted in the soil of morality. Conservatism is, according to Burgess, “a political expression of a belief in moral order” (p162).

Unlike liberalism and socialism, conservatism recognises that human nature contains both good and evil and seeks to harness this complex, messy moral reality for the betterment of society. This realism gives conservatism appeal to everyone, not just to Christians. However, throughout the book we catch glimpses of conservatism’s Christian roots – for instance its understanding that true freedom is not about license and permissiveness, but about deference to legitimate authority and flourishing within good moral boundaries.

As the chapters unfold, we discover that conservatism is a friend of gradual, organic change (rather than overnight revolution) and is innately social, recognising the importance of kinship and community. Indeed, we discover that conservatism has people and their best interests at its heart.

Because each chapter is relatively brief given the depth of the subject material, it would have been good to have some further reading recommended at chapter ends. In places, Burgess could also do more to connect his comments back into his main argument about conservatism, especially for readers without a grounding in political philosophy. But these criticisms are minor and do not detract from the overall worth of the book.

Unlike liberalism and socialism, conservatism recognises that human nature contains both good and evil and seeks to harness this complex, messy moral reality for the betterment of society.

High Stakes

Today, the stakes are high. Transnational governance threatens to supersede the nation-state, libertarian individualism is leading to community disintegration and aggressive secular liberalism is stifling freedom of speech. We desperately need to recover a more reasonable, positive, common-sense approach. More than this, we need to have the confidence to put morality and belief back at the heart of politics, recognising that this is the only route to social order and true flourishing.

These are complex issues, but Burgess provides a robust, hopeful defence of why conservatism’s framework for a flourishing society is unparalleled. Today, we seem intent on throwing away its hard-won benefits, accrued over centuries, and these will not be recouped overnight. Our challenge is not to recreate the past, however, but to learn from it and look to the future. The first step is to re-envision ourselves, strengthening our confidence in values which have been much derided and ‘deconstructed’ in recent years. In this, Burgess has done us all a great service.

Whether or not we can recover what has been lost without wholesale repentance and return to belief in God, Burgess leaves unanswered. Nevertheless, the book remains an empowering reminder that Christian beliefs birthed a rich political tradition in Britain with much to commend itself to our modern age. Conservative principles are grounded in timeless truths and will still be standing when all other ideologies have crumbled.

This book is a must-read for those in government, for anyone concerned about how to blend faith with politics and for all who seek a better understanding of how Judeo-Christianity has blessed our politics in the past and could yet do so again.

‘The Moral Case for Conservatism’ (2019, Wilberforce Publications, paperback, e-book) is available online for £10 (£5.49 on Kindle).

You may also be interested in Samuel Burgess’s first book:

‘Edmund Burke’s Battle with Liberalism’ by Samuel Burgess (2017, Wilberforce Publications)

The British people benefit from an extraordinary political heritage, but few know very much about it, or about the debt we owe to the faithful individuals who went before us and helped to create it. 18^th-Century Irish statesman Edmund Burke is one such giant, on whose shoulders we now stand.

In this, Samuel Burgess’s first book, we are treated to an in-depth look at the ‘father’ of modern conservatism and his political legacy. Edmund Burke sought to uphold a biblical approach to politics at a time when the tyranny and moral anarchy of the French Revolution were threatening to spill across the Channel into Britain, ideologically and physically.

Burke’s political defence of the realm was influential at the time, but his was also a prophetic voice. Though libertarianism was rejected in the 18^th Century as too radical, it enjoyed a resurgence in the late 20^th Century and now dominates our politics, media, language and culture, paving the way once again to coercion and authoritarianism.

Burke’s political defence of the realm was influential at the time, but his was also a prophetic voice.

In seven chapters, Burgess unpacks Burke’s Christian beliefs and how they shaped his approach to politics. As he goes, Burgess shows how unique the Christian conservative tradition is in its beliefs about humanity and the world and what it offers in an era of political turbulence and confusion.

In the latter part of the book, there is some similarity with material in ‘The Moral Case for Conservatism’, but the difference in focus between the two means that both books are still worthwhile purchases. ‘Edmund Burke’s Battle with Liberalism’ lays a good historical foundation for ‘The Moral Case for Conservatism’ and the books can be seen as companion volumes.

Burgess’s first book is perhaps a little less accessible and more academic than his second, but no less important. Apart from anything else, it is a solid encouragement that the path we tread today has been trodden before: that great men of faith have gone before us, battling the same powers, learning the same lessons and shining a light on the way forward which we would do well to heed. Edmund Burke is not a well-known name outside the realm of political theory, but it ought to be. We owe him much.

‘Edmund Burke’s Battle with Liberalism’ (180pp) is available from Amazon for £9.99 (paperback) or £4.99 (Kindle). Find out more on the Wilberforce Publications website.

Passion for the Gospel must be our motive in spiritual warfare.

My recent visit to the birthplace of the Welsh Revival has prompted me to add a third reflection on that great movement – with particular reference to the ministry of Rees Howells, whose biography I have recently rediscovered; a veritable treasure half-hidden on our bookshelves.¹

Rees was a product of the 1904 revival whose influence spread across the globe, but is perhaps best remembered for the intercessions he led during World War II which, in the opinion of many, probably did more for Allied victory than any amount of military firepower.

But when Rees and his Bible College students fought the great battles of the war on their knees, it wasn’t just for our freedom. Their prime motivation was to clear obstacles to the preaching of the Gospel, because Hitler’s regime blocked the path to fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission.

Not only was the Nazis’ atheistic ideology the very antithesis of Christianity, but the upheaval of ongoing war would continue to distract people everywhere from a consideration of their soul’s destiny.

Clear Scriptural Goal

And because the Swansea college’s chief concern was for the Gospel, they were also greatly burdened for the Jewish people, who were under threat of genocide. After all, the gospel is “to the Jew first…” (Rom 1:16). And if the Jews were destroyed, they could never be restored to their ancient land as the prophets had predicted, and Jesus could not return, for the Bible clearly states that the Jews must be back in the Holy Land before this happens (see Zech 12-14).

Rees and his students fought the great battles of the war on their knees – not just for our freedom, but to clear obstacles to the preaching of the Gospel.

The college company, however, knew what must take place (it is so important that Christians are familiar with scriptural prophecy) and thus had confidence to pray for victory as the Holy Spirit led them.

Their prayers during the Battle of Britain, for example, were informed by a very clear scriptural goal: “Every creature is to hear the gospel; Palestine is to be regained by the Jews; and the Saviour is to return.”²

An illustration of the influence of the Welsh Revival on the United Kingdom is among exhibits at the Moriah Chapel, the church where it all began in October 1904. Photo: Linda GardnerLaying Their Lives Down

Time and again the German forces were on the point of winning crucial battles when, quite inexplicably, the tide suddenly turned – and the only reasonable explanation was that God must have intervened miraculously in response to prayer.

These Bible students were laying down their lives as much as those young men at the front. From the time of Dunkirk, through the rest of the war years, the entire college (about 100 strong) prayed every evening from 7 o’clock to midnight, with only a brief interval for supper, in addition to an hour-long prayer meeting every morning, and very often at midday.

Passionate Young People

I have already mentioned how the Welsh Revival was ignited (humanly speaking) by passionate young people determined for God to come down and use them as his instruments.

Tragically, few of the UK’s young generation have even heard the Gospel, but among the few are outstanding men and women whom God has already touched, and the mantle is falling on them to usher in a new era of radical Christianity, filling the vacuum created by the hopeless, lifeless and meaningless ideologies of secular-humanism.

Will they be up for the task? Remember Gideon, who only needed 300 men to defeat the enemy, and young David – the anointed ancestor of Messiah Jesus – who required just a single well-aimed stone to slay an intimidating giant. I have met, come to know and even work with some passionate young people who are up for the fight.

These Bible students were laying down their lives as much as those young men at the front.

Just as the 1939-45 battles were fought chiefly by young men, so must the spiritual warfare for our nation be fought in the main by millennials.

If we are to pray for nations, we must first have the kind of passion for individual souls that Rees possessed in bucket-loads; he would fast and pray for a tramp, or drunkard, or village trouble-maker until he had gained victory – however long it took. He also learned to walk by faith for every move he made, refusing to make his financial needs known, trusting God for every penny. In the case of the Bible College, he began with just two shillings and saw God send him £125,000 (the equivalent of millions in today’s money) over the next 14 years.

In 1915 he and his wife Elizabeth went out to Africa as missionaries and witnessed marvellous revivals, accompanied by extraordinary healings, blazing a trail for a future student, Reinhard Bonnke, who would see millions drawn into the kingdom through his huge rallies across the continent.

Even the Queen of Swaziland came to faith. Rees reported: “I told her that God had one Son, and he gave him to die for us; and we had one son, and had left him to tell the people of Africa about God. She was very much affected by hearing that my wife and I loved her people more than we loved our own son.”³

The Bible says: “Anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matt 10:37). It’s that sort of commitment to which we are called.

Same Battles Today

Some of the issues that burdened the intercessors at Swansea are very similar to those we are faced with today. Anti-Semitism is once again raising its ugly head all over the planet, though no longer led by Nazis but by an unholy alliance between the hard left and fanatical Islamists. Are we going to let these tyrannical groups complete what Hitler failed ultimately to achieve – the destruction of the Jewish race and of civilisation as we know it?

Those wartime intercessors prayed Israel back into their own land, where they would be safe. But now the 70-year-old Jewish state is surrounded by implacable enemies bent on their annihilation. And even in Britain their future is threatened as a potential Prime Minister is apparently unable to deal with anti-Jewish sentiment in his party.

If we are to pray for nations, we must first have a burning passion for individual souls.

How can we forget? We hold Holocaust Memorials every year so successive generations will learn from history, but it cuts no ice with God-haters. The reason they despise the Jews is because they reject the God who has chosen them as the apple of his eye. He is, after all, the God of Israel, whom we Christians also worship. He wrote the Law on how to live – summed up in the Ten Commandments – at Mt Sinai. But the brave new world has replaced it with an ideology that makes our genes responsible for bad behaviour.

We are no longer categorised as either male or female, but there are now some 70 other ways to identify our gender – all of which makes Alice in Wonderland sound positively sane. No wonder we are faced with a shattering breakdown of family life along with a vicious attack on the sanctity of life and sexual morality.

But the word of God teaches that we are born sinners whose natural tendency to rebel needs dealing with. This was achieved by Jesus on the Cross, where he took the full punishment for our sins, paying for it with his blood. God’s own precious Son chose to die in our place so that we would not perish, but inherit eternal life.

The devil tries every trick to prevent us from acknowledging our deep need of life, love, hope and peace which can only be found at the Cross.

Sharpening Our Vision

When, as a Church and nation, we recover a passion for the Gospel as the only means of mending our broken society and restoring truth and righteousness to our once great country, then I’m sure revival will follow.

Most Western Christians have only a blurred vision of what the Gospel stands for, but our focus must be sharpened to the point where we are prepared to lay our lives on the altar for its truth, and for the freedom to proclaim it on our streets, in our prisons, in our churches, and in our schools and universities.

With such a sharpened vision, we will also gain a fresh understanding of God’s great end-time purpose for the Jews and be better prepared for the return of our Lord to this troubled world. Come, Lord Jesus!

Notes

1 I am indebted to Rees Howells, Intercessor by Norman Grubb (published by Lutterworth Press) for much of the background to this article.

2 Quoting the prayer journal entry for 14 September, 1940.

3 Samuel was brought up by Rees’s uncle and aunt, and later succeeded his father as Bible College Director.

The World Cup, Brexit and what really matters!

They say that if you can’t beat them, you should join them! So if you don’t mind, I’m taking a little rest from ‘important matters of state’ to indulge in fond reminiscing over the joys of sport. But there is a serious point to it – a goal even! So bear with me.

I was a sports journalist for much of my career and know how incredibly addictive it can be. So when I stood up to lead a workshop at a recent Christian conference, I was in direct competition with Harry Kane and his heroes – as we kicked off at similar times – and I guess I was no match for the Three Lions.

I was later informed that half of those who had earlier indicated interest in my seminar had absconded to watch the football instead – in the chapel of all places! Which surely blows away any lingering doubts that football has become a religion in our country.

But back then I was delighted to hear the quarter-final result, rendering England a clear winner over Sweden. And I feel I contributed to that by virtue of my absence as the only game I had watched until then was against Belgium (in the group stage), which we lost 1-0.

Faith on the Pitch?

The national excitement stirred by a game which the churches of England helped launch into the stratosphere is amazing indeed. Many of our major football teams began life as church youth clubs to foster fellowship and healthy exercise as an alternative to drinking!

What on earth did we start? Many have become so passionate for the sport that they have forgotten about the source of all goodness. And yet good has still come out of it. For many of today’s football stars have come to know the Lord of glory and put him first in their lives.

In recent years, the world-beating Brazilians have made no secret of their faith, though this is likely to become less evident now - not only due to their shock exit from this year’s competition, but because FIFA, the game’s ruling body, has handed a ‘red card’ to expressions of faith on the pitch – in order not to give offence (at least six members of Brazil’s current squad are born-again Christians and, in 1994, the Brazilian team publicly honoured the Lord following their win)!

Many of our major football teams began life as church youth clubs to foster fellowship and healthy exercise as an alternative to drinking!

But when all the hoopla has finally died down, as worship leader Robin Mark puts it in one of his songs, “There is just one thing that matters: did I do my best to live for truth; did I live my life for you?”

As I said to my depleted audience last Saturday, there is something more important than the World Cup. There is also a world waiting to see if Britain will again take up the baton she dropped several generations ago when she forsook her love for the Gospel.

Meanwhile, in Westminster

But with the serious matter of Brexit still not finally, or effectively, resolved, Prime Minister Theresa May held a reception for LGBTQ+ supporters, assuring them that the Government would ease the path for those who want to change their gender.¹

Cabinet ministers who resigned this week over the Government's Brexit plans.

Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic springs to mind. I don’t blame David Davis and Boris Johnson for rocking the boat by resigning over Mrs May’s plan to keep us at least partially moored to the godless EU monstrosity. Was this perhaps a bid to bury bad news – Mrs May’s betrayal of the 17.4 million people who voted Leave in the 2016 Referendum – while everyone is glued to the football?

Undermining her ministers, as she has clearly done with David Davis,² and threatening them with the suggestion that they would have to take taxis home (rather than their chauffeured cars) if they didn’t toe the line, is no way to run a democracy.

She even stands accused of being a Judas. In his Daily Mail column, Richard Littlejohn said she had turned Britain into an international laughing stock, and asked: “How does she square that with her Christian conscience? How can she live with the knowledge that she has betrayed the British people? Every week this vicar’s daughter parades her piety, pictured leaving the Sunday service at her local church in Berkshire. Who knew her role model here on earth was Judas Iscariot?”³

Enough of Compromise!

If we wish to ‘rule the waves’ again as a global power worthy of respect, we need to rediscover our godly heritage.

And we can’t do that by being ‘unequally yoked’ with Europe (see 1 Cor 6:17). I appreciate this Scripture relates specifically to believers not being ‘hitched’ in marriage or business with unbelievers, but our nation does have an exceptional Judeo-Christian heritage, which has inspired all its great institutions and is unmatched in the rest of Europe. Witness, for example, the Latin inscription on the floor of our Parliament – itself the envy of the world – which translates: “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain” (Ps 127:1).

If we wish to ‘rule the waves’ again as a global power worthy of respect, we need to rediscover our godly heritage – and we can’t do that whilst ‘unequally yoked’ with Europe.

Enough of compromise, dilly-dallying and appeasement of Brussels bullies who, when push comes to shove, have no teeth anyway. For the truth is, Europe needs Britain more than Britain needs Europe.

It’s time to break off from our European moorings – we are island people after all – or the ship of state will sink, just as the house of sand collapsed for those who heard the words of Jesus and failed to put them into practice (see Matt 7:24-27).

Heavenly Priorities

In conclusion, I return to my point about the importance, or otherwise, of the World Cup. A family member, presently going through the mill, rang me up from the other side of the world to congratulate me on getting through to the semi-finals – as if I had anything to do with it, apart from not watching it, that is!

But when he told me that he and his wife were trusting Jesus in their difficulties, I was filled with a joy no amount of sporting glory could ever give me. As Jesus said, heaven holds a party each time someone turns to the Lord (Luke 15:7, 10).

He also said: “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet lose his soul?” (Mark 8:36).

Notes

1 Daily Mail, 5 July 2018.

2 John Stevens in the Daily Mail, 9 July 2018, pages 1 & 2.

3 Daily Mail, 10 July 2018.

Charles Gardner reviews ‘Faith, Freedom and the Future’ by Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali (Wilberforce Publications, 2016).

The Church of England faces a stark choice of either conforming to current fashion with “easily swallowed soundbites” or of being vigorously counter-cultural, according to one of its most outspoken bishops.

Hitting Out at Dumbed-Down Baptism

In a new book, Faith, Freedom and the Future, Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali comments on what he describes as a “dumbed-down” version of the christening service.

In a desire not to offend, the Church was in danger of “capitulating to whatever is fashionable”, he writes.

The new ‘alternative’ service for baptism “almost entirely does away with sin and the need to repent…We are not told anything about the Christ in whom we are to put our trust. There is no acknowledgement of him as Lord and Saviour. In general, there is a reluctance to declare that the Bible sees the world as having gone wrong and needing to be put right. This is done by the coming of Christ, and baptism is nothing less than taking part in this story of salvation, no part of which can be sold short.”

And he concludes: “This is a choice for the Church of England – either to become simply an attenuated version of whatever the English people happen to believe and to value, or to be full-bloodedly a manifestation of the ‘one, holy, catholic and apostolic church’ it still continues to confess in the creeds. Which way will it choose?”

Nazir-Ali writes that in a desire not to offend, the Church is in danger of capitulating to whatever is fashionable.

Thorough Analysis

The book is also a thorough analysis of a number of moral issues facing us, and the Bishop’s diagnosis is a breath of fresh air which could help to revive our broken society.

In challenging the increasing marginalisation of Christians, he asks why a law originally based on Judeo-Christian principles is being used to silence them.

He also tackles radical Islam – with his Pakistani background, he is well qualified to do so – and raises the issue of blasphemy against the prophet (Muhammad), punishable by death in many of the Arab countries who have signed up to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion as well as the right to change beliefs.

“What is the difference between Asia Bibi and numerous others on death row, having been convicted on blasphemy charges, and the killings on the streets of Paris and Copenhagen?…Why does the international community tolerate one but not the other? Is it because Westerners are involved in one but not the other?”

Forceful and Passionate

The esteemed author can be laboured in the build-up of his arguments which I sometimes found difficult to follow, but when he gets to the point, he makes it with a forceful flourish and obvious passion for both the Gospel and the Anglican Church, which is no doubt why he has become a popular choice for radio and TV discussions.

This is a theological book with considerable intellectual appeal, but which does not shy away from unpacking CofE politics and driving home the stark choice currently facing the established Church.

Faith, Freedom & the Future (330pp) is available in both paperback and e-book forms. Click here to find out more.

The Ashers Bakery case goes to the Supreme Court.

This week, the Supreme Court left its usual place in London and has been sitting in Belfast to hear a case that has fundamental significance for the future of free speech in Britain. The Ashers Bakery case dates back to 2014 when an LGBT activist ordered a cake from the bakery with a message in the icing stating "Support Gay Marriage".

The owners of the bakery, Daniel and Amy MacArthur, who are committed Christians, refused to do this on the ground that it was against their beliefs. The initial judgment found that they were guilty of ‘discrimination’ and this was affirmed by the Court of Appeal. The case has now gone to the Supreme Court, but the Northern Ireland Attorney General, John Larkin QC, has already expressed his own opinion that the Court of Appeal was wrong in their judgment.

The case has attracted an enormous amount of interest because of its significance for our cherished freedom of speech. The central question is whether the law can force someone to make a statement that they do not believe.

The Law vs. Freedom of Speech

Does the law have the power to force a Catholic to make a statement criticising the Pope? Does the law have the power to force a Muslim to make a statement that is insulting to Mohammed? Does the law have the power to force any citizen to make a statement that is directly against his or her personal convictions?

This is a question that, for Christians, goes back 2,000 years to the time of the Roman Emperor Domitian in the year AD 95 when all citizens were required, on a certain day, to go to the local shrine dedicated to the Emperor and say "Caesar is Lord".

The case has attracted an enormous amount of interest because of its significance for our cherished freedom of speech.

Emperor Domitian.The Apostle John was in exile on the island of Patmos when he had a remarkable spiritual experience on the very day, known as ‘Lord's day’ (Rev 1:10), when he knew that many of his Christian friends would be signing their own death warrants by refusing to make a statement which would deny the Lordship of Jesus.

For the MacArthurs, being forced to make a statement declaring support for homosexual marriage, which the Bible declares to be "detestable” to God (Lev 18:22) would be equivalent to denying their faith in the God of Creation and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It would be the modern equivalent of saying "Caesar is Lord" and denying the Lordship of Jesus.

Significance for Equality Law

But there are significant legal aspects as well as moral aspects to this case, which is no doubt the reason why the five judges are not expected to announce their decision before the autumn and it may even be delayed to the beginning of next year. Their judgment has profound significance for the future of the Equality Commission and the interpretation of equality law in Britain.

This case is creating panic, not only among LGBTQ+ supporters but across the whole left-wing postmodernist philosophical camp, which has been driving the movement for social change and social engineering in the nation since the 1960s.

Suddenly, there is fear gripping the far-left political elite that they have gone too far, too quickly. They have had enormous success in achieving their objectives since the publication of the Gay Manifesto in 1972 declaring the LGBTQ+ intention of destroying the ‘family’ as the central pillar in the Judeo-Christian structure of the nation.

The judgment will have profound significance for the future of the Equality Commission and the interpretation of equality law in Britain.

The Idol of Equality

They have succeeded, probably beyond their wildest dreams, in persuading the nation that the supreme ethical values in society are ‘equality’ and ‘tolerance’ – that all ethical judgments should be taken at the bar of ‘equality’.

Hence, postmodernists have even succeeded in changing the legal definition of marriage by framing it as an issue of ‘equality’. This worshipping of equality is a recycling of Marxism, which falsely assumes that enforced equality will lead to justice and a better world. Jordan Peterson rightly calls postmodernism the “new skin that the old Marxism now inhabits”.¹

Marxism was totally discredited through the fiasco of Communism last century, but it didn’t disappear entirely - later reappearing under the guise of postmodernism, trying yet again to force upon the population the flagship lie of ‘equality’.

But forcing a Christian baker to declare his support for gay marriage may prove to be a step too far which could cause the whole of their false edifice of society to collapse. It is like pulling out a single brick from the base of the Tower of Babel, sending a shockwave right through its structure that brings the whole lot down!

Enough is Enough

The central tragedy of recent history over the past half-century is that neither Church leaders nor politicians have understood the philosophy of postmodernism, with its objectives of destroying Judeo-Christian civilisation. The great question facing us now is: will there be a great awakening of common sense among ordinary people in the general public before it is too late?

The central tragedy of recent history is that neither Church leaders nor politicians have understood that postmodernism seeks to destroy Judeo-Christian civilisation.

Will ordinary people arise and say, "Enough is Enough! We do not want to be driven by Big Brother political correctness. We cherish our freedom of speech and we will not let our children be educated in schools that brainwash them in the false values of ‘equality and tolerance’ and ‘political correctness’.”

Is it too late to reclaim the nation from the clutches of those who wish to destroy Western civilisation?

To the Church of Sardis

The Apostle John had a message for the Christians in Sardis who were facing persecution by the Roman Empire. He warned "You have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die” (Rev 3:1-2). The alternative was that their names would be blotted out of the Book of Life.

The warning signs are there today for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. If we do not wake up soon and challenge those who are driving the nation towards self-destruction, we and our children and grandchildren will perish in the forthcoming holocaust of social destruction.

That destruction has already begun, the evidence of which can be seen all around us, in the breakdown of the family and the consequent rise in crimes of violence, lawlessness and corruption. But this is only the beginning – unless we wake up!

References

1 Jordan B Peterson, Postmodernism and Cultural Marxism. Interview, The Epoch Times, 6 July 2017.