Anna Coxon reviews ‘The Virtue of Nationalism’ by Yoram Hazony (2018, Basic Books)

Basic assumptions of the Greek worldview

The twin movements of social change turning British society upside-down.

I’m sure there must be days when our Prime Minister regrets having won the leadership contest for the Tory Party when David Cameron departed in 2016, after he backed the wrong side in the Referendum. The media assault upon Theresa May has intensified since her success in negotiating the first stage of Brexit with Brussels.

Those who are determined to keep Britain under the authority of the European Union are using every weapon at their disposal. They are actively seeking to destabilise the country by concentrating their fire upon Theresa May and her leadership in the hope of creating such confusion that public opinion will swing around against Brexit.

The central issue is not political and it is not economic. In fact, all the prognostications of gloom and doom from the Remainers have not happened. Unemployment has not soared, it has fallen; the economy has not collapsed, it is doing moderately well; we are not back of the queue in doing trade deals with America and other parts of the world; both the USA and China are eager to make trade agreements with Britain.

The central issue, as we have said many times before on Prophecy Today, is spiritual. In fact, the battle for Brexit is part of a much bigger spiritual war for the heart and soul of Britain - and the West at large. This war is changing the fundamental structure of our nation, and yet most people, even if they are aware of it, do not understand it.

The battle for Brexit is part of a much bigger spiritual war that most do not understand.

A Tale of Two Movements

If we are to understand the battle currently assailing Mrs May and the Brexit process, therefore, we must zoom out and take a longer-term perspective. Such a perspective reveals that there are two movements of social change running parallel in British society, which are also visible across the whole of Western civilisation.

One is the philosophical movement of secular humanism, the roots of which go back to 18^th Century Enlightenment philosophers, and through which emerged both the pseudo-scientific theory of Darwinian evolution and the political ideology of Marxism. Secular humanism seeks to set society free from the restrictions of religion and elitism to enable each individual to make their own decisions and to determine their own destiny in line with secularised principles of liberty and equality.

The second movement is far more deadly and destructive because its objective is simply social anarchy. This is the LGBTQ movement – the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and queer movement. Their major objective, quite publicly stated since the early 1970s and the rise of the Gay Pride Movement, is the destruction of the family, which they see as a fundamental ‘source of oppression’.

If the LGBT movement can destroy traditional family life based upon the covenant of marriage with its roots in Judeo-Christian biblical teaching, they can achieve their goal of a society entirely free of all restrictions, in which all forms of sexual activity, including paedophilia, are legal. That is what they are aiming to establish and that is what lies behind the most recent campaign to promote ‘transgenderism’ as a normal part of society, starting with little children in infants’ school.

There are two movements of social change running parallel in British society – secular humanism and the LGBT movement for sexual liberation.

Both of these movements of social change have a spiritual basis, being driven by the powers of darkness rather than philosophical concepts. Both became entwined about 30 years ago and since then have run parallel, feeding upon each other and causing confusion in the public square, such that the true objectives of each are not discerned. Both are fundamentally connected in with the EU project. So, the danger of the destruction of all our social institutions and the collapse of social order in the nation is not being perceived.

Church Decline and Weakness

All this has happened during a period of Church decline and weakness and when biblical truth has not been taught to children in schools or at home. We now have a situation where half the population have virtually no knowledge of the God of Creation and ultimate standards of truth. Only a tiny minority of those under the age of 50 have any knowledge of the Bible, upon which the whole basis of Western civilisation is founded.

It is this spiritual vacuum in the nation that has paved the way for a major assault upon truth, which has also given us today’s fake news, driven by the enormous power of social media.

Sadly, we have a generation of clergy and preachers who have little or no understanding of what’s going on. I remember my confusion when I began in my first church in London. I was fresh out of college and I was expected to preach twice on Sundays and minister to an ethnically mixed working-class congregation among whom I had never lived or had any experience. Virtually none of my theological education and training was any use to me. I had won my university’s prize in classical Greek, but it was about as much use as yesterday’s newspaper in dealing with the issues I now faced on a daily basis.

It was for this reason that I enrolled at the LSE to do a Masters in Sociology leading to a doctorate. I was determined to understand the forces of social change that were sweeping through society at a bewildering pace.

While forces of change have swept society at a bewildering pace, the Church has been in decline and weakness and biblical truth has not been taught to children in schools or at home.

As far as I’m aware, theological education of clergy has not changed much since my day, so most of them are like King Saul’s army facing the Philistines – “On the day of battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them” (1 Sam 13.22). If church leaders are not armed for the battle they will not be able to teach their people to understand the complex mission field that faces us today, nor equip them to fearlessly declare the truth to a dying nation.

Unconditional Affirmation?

Hence, we have the appalling ignorance of an Archbishop and a House of Bishops who have just declared, “The House of Bishops welcomes and encourages the unconditional affirmation of trans people”. Clearly, they do not understand either the biblical and theological significance, or the sociological significance, of what they’re doing. They are like the religious leaders who Jesus faced, “though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand” (Matt 13:13).

Writing about the new ‘liberal democracy’, which he sees as a quasi-religious movement that has swept away most of our Christian traditions, Dr Joe Boot says:

The seemingly unstoppable and rapid advance of this neo-Marxist and neo-pagan worldview, aided by a largely unprepared and ineffective church pulpit, means a religious revolution has left many Christians stunned, confused and often afraid to do anything but retreat or concede.¹

The plain fact is that we don’t know what to do to stop the total secularisation of our society in which, once the older generation has gone to glory, Christians will become a tiny, persecuted minority. Our greatest need is for clear direction from the Lord. In this editorial we have simply outlined the problem and not attempted to offer a response. That is what we hope to seek the Lord for in the next few weeks. We would greatly appreciate feedback from readers.

References

1 Boot, J, 2017. GOSPEL WITNESS: Defending and Extending the Kingdom of God. Wilberforce Publications, London, p2.

Paul Luckraft reviews the second instalment in Steve Maltz's trilogy on the Western Church.

This is a natural follow-up to Maltz's previous book, How the Church Lost The Way. One consequence of having lost The Way is that certain truths have not fared well on this erroneous journey and have inevitably got lost themselves.

The main part of the book forms an analysis of five key battlegrounds where the truth has faced enemy attack: creation, Israel, salvation, hell and the end times. But before we can engage in these battles, the author asserts that it is necessary to examine the Bible as the ground of our truth, and then embark on a tour of Christian history to discover how things have gone wrong, who the enemies are, and what weapons they have.

Setting the Scene

Part One provides an argument (for those who need it!) of the value of the Bible, especially the Old Testament and Torah. For those who don't need such convincing it can be skipped or skimmed quickly.

Part Two contains four chapters on the usual evaluation of Greek thinking on Church history. In many ways this is similar to Maltz's first book, but it is actually a very worthwhile read in itself, with some helpful extra information especially in areas not always covered in such detail (eg the Medieval period). Maltz shows how philosophical analysis and Greek rationalism won the day over Hebraic faith, and highlights the outcome of mixing up Holy Scripture with Aristotle. There is also a very good summary of Aquinas and his influence.

The main part of the book analyses five key battlegrounds where the truth has faced enemy attack: creation, Israel, salvation, hell and the end times.

Christianity had become "a philosophical system, fuelled by rational argument rather than the supernatural acts of God" (p77). Early on in Church history a genie had been unleashed from the bottle which not even the later Reformers could put back. The Reformation was also stunted by Greek influence and continued the rejection of Hebraic roots. The later trends of higher criticism and liberal theology were also based on Greek methods and the slide from truth continued.

The author apologises that these chapters may seem a chore but argues they are necessary to "set a context, a framework for us to be able to see where the Church went off the rails" (p100). He needn't have worried. Far from being irksome, this section is a delight to read, both satisfying and inspiring as he brings out of the storehouse treasures both old and new. Here is excellent knowledge and analysis - it would be difficult to find a better overview.

To ease his own worries, Maltz provides a separate summary chapter (just three pages) of the previous four chapters, in case you found them tough or want to skip them to get to the main action quickly. A useful idea perhaps, but don't feel the need to take this option!

Five Key Battlegrounds

Part Three shows how to fight back against the errors and bad influences, starting with the creation/evolution debate. He points out that evolution has become the most reasonable explanation for many, whereas creationism is to be ridiculed and denigrated. Here is the dilemma: we want to believe one thing but 'reason' might divert us away. This illustrates the challenge we face.

Regarding Israel, the dilemma is between chosen forever, or rejected and replaced. Maltz provides the usual information on this theme, then throws down the challenge: God has made his choice, what is ours? Do we agree or decide that our attitude can be different?

The issue of salvation has also been subjected to analytical thinking which rejects the exclusive claims of Jesus. Is he The Way or just one of many?

Maltz calls hell that 'horrible doctrine', one we naturally want to ignore or tone down. However, it stubbornly remains "the festering corpse of the elephant in the room of the Christian faith" (p160). He surveys various opinions from Jesus onwards, showing how Greek thinking has reduced its impact or eliminated it in favour of a sentimental view.

New ideas such as limbo or annihilationism aim to reduce our embarrassment or move us away from an ancient imagery that suggests cruelty or indifference. Maltz describes how he tried to find out what the various denominations believe these days and how difficult that task proved to be. It seems hell is no longer appropriate!

For each of the battlegrounds Maltz outlines, he unpacks the dilemmas modern Christians face and how we should fight back against error.

As for the end times, a literal millennium is now seen as too Jewish (Messianic) or too unbelievable. The dominant ('reasonable') view is to deny it as a real period to come. The negative Greek prefix 'a' provides a much better alternative – amillennialism! A simple verbal change, but with such profound consequences. Maltz does an excellent job sorting out what people have said on this topic over the centuries and why they have said it. Once again, a Hebraic approach will restore the truth of what God will one day do.

Fighting the 'War on Error'

The final section is a good review of the 'war on error' and what has happened over time to the truth.

Maltz accepts we may disagree with him in places - he makes no claim to have a monopoly on truth - but he has done his homework. In the end he simply wants us to ask ourselves from where our ideas and beliefs stem and how much of our current thinking is really grounded on faith.

'How the Church Lost The Truth' (2010, 206 pages, paperback, Saffron Planet) is the second book in a trilogy by Steve Maltz on the state of the Western Church (tune in next week for our review of his final instalment). It is available from Saffron Planet Publishing for £10 .

Over the next few weeks we are pleased to feature the work of Steve Maltz. This week, Paul Luckraft reviews Maltz's 'How the Church Lost The Way...And How it Can Find it Again' (2009, Saffron Planet)

In this engaging and entertaining book, the author is very clear about his agenda: "to restore the understanding of the Hebraic roots of Christianity that has been lost, since the early days of the Church" (p43). Equally clear is that in this book he has succeeded in making a considerable contribution towards what is an immense but vital task.

Maltz's style is chatty, but not trite. He pulls no punches – he admits he may not just be upsetting the occasional sacred cow but disturbing the whole herd – but his aim is analysis, rather than attack. Certainly at every point he makes you think, and feel, and search for a proper response.

His title is apt in two ways, suggesting a straying from a correct path, but also reminding us that the early Christians were originally called The Way (Acts 9:2, 24:14), rather than the Church. Maltz points out that there has been a process of stripping out every trace of Jewishness from the established Church, starting early in its history and developing over time. The Body of Christ was meant to be One New Man (Eph 2:15) with both Jewish and Gentile elements in balance, and without this it is greatly diminished and largely unfulfilled.

How We Wandered

In Part One, the author tells 'a tale of two summits', taking us to two important councils: Jerusalem in AD 49 and Nicaea in AD 325. In an entertaining fly-on-the-wall (or rather peering-round-the-pillar) account, Maltz contrasts these two occasions, the former advocating the inclusion of Gentiles into the Church, the other the exclusion of Jews.

The most telling quote is from Constantine's letter circulated to churches throughout the Christian world concerning the timing of Easter: "Let us then have nothing in common with the most hostile rabble of the Jews" (p48).

In chapter 2, Maltz provides a fascinating potted history of the main Greek thinkers: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, highlighting their 'big ideas' and the equally big consequences of those ideas on Church history. He demonstrates how the early Church fathers reconstructed Christianity in Platonic terms, mixing the Bible with Platonic thinking.

Maltz provides a potted history of the main Greek thinkers – Socrates, Plato and Aristotle – and the influence their ideas have had on Christian thinking.

As we are shown the long slide away from our Jewish roots into Greek dualism we are given excellent summaries - neither too long nor too short - of Philo (and allegory), Origen, Augustine, and Aquinas. In each case there is just enough detail to convince us that "the great doctrines of Christianity had become a philosopher's playground" (p42).

This may only be an introduction to a very large topic, but the main point comes across clearly. The Church is "far more Greek in its outlook than people could ever imagine and this is not a side issue, but very much a key battleground for the truth" (p60).

Reclaiming Our Heritage

Part Two is largely comprised of a series of vignettes highlighting different aspects of the Hebraic worldview that we need to reclaim.

Maltz starts by looking at the Bible itself and how it should be interpreted from a Hebraic perspective, and then goes on to examine the Hebrew language, family life and marriage, the Sabbath and especially the Jewish festivals and calendar. This latter section is the longest and most informative. The Jewish biblical festivals are "so instructional, so rich in meaning, so bursting in Jesus, that it can do us nothing but good to be aware of them" (p106).

Part Three revisits the idea, mentioned earlier in the book, that the body of Christ is meant to be One New Man. Here is a fascinating discussion on what this should entail, namely a balance between the two distinctive elements of Jew and Gentile. Not a blurring into one but a partnership, and a preparation for heaven!

Maltz's discussion is fascinating, looking at the balance that should exist between the two distinctive elements – Jew and Gentile.

No Apology Needed

At one point towards the end the author seems to apologise that he has meandered all over the place (though he adds hopefully, not randomly). In fact, there is no sense of meandering as you read through this book. It can be taken as a whole, or in parts. Although there is no index, there is an appendix of recommended further reading, helpfully arranged to coincide with the chapters of this book.

It covers its main themes well, and also ends with a plea for each Christian believer to take personal responsibility to examine the Bible through the eyes and experiences of the early Jewish believers, rather than the contact lens of Greek philosophy.

If we all individually re-evaluate our image of God and attitude to worship and fellowship then, as the subtitle suggests, the Church can find The Way again.

'How the Church Lost The Way' (190 pages, paperback) is the first of three books by Steve Maltz on the state of the Western church. Steve's website, Saltshakers, can be found here. It is available from Saffron Planet Publishing for £10.