Protests, confusion and cries of abuse have a common root.

In the week that we have been remembering the 500^th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, it is appropriate to look at Europe today where we see the widespread rise of protest movements. Luther’s challenge to the practices of the Catholic Church was a direct challenge to its authority. Today we are seeing challenges to authority in almost every part of Europe – but these stem from a very different spirit.

In Britain, our media never ceases to inform us of the chaos and confusion surrounding the Brexit negotiations. The confusion is not just in Westminster; it is also in Brussels. We are facing so many ‘unknowns’ – political, legal, commercial, as well as ideological. Our politicians and media commentators spend their time consulting their crystal balls trying to discern the future, but only succeed in generating greater confusion.

But Britain and the EU are not the only centres of confusion. Throughout Europe there are signs of growing discontent and dissatisfaction with policies that have been followed by traditional leaders for decades.

Uprisings Against Traditional Authority

Young people in particular are exerting influence, rising up to challenge traditional authority. France, Austria, Italy and the Czech Republic have all voted for young leaders; part of a populist uprising across Europe.

The Catalan declaration of independence, challenged by the Spanish Government, has rapidly descended into chaos with their leader running away to Brussels. Austria voted last month for Sebastian Kurz, a 31-year-old right-wing leader who is said to be talking to the far-right Freedom Party in an attempt to form a government.

Throughout Europe there are signs of growing discontent and dissatisfaction.

The Czech Republic has also voted for an anti-establishment leader, Andrej Babis, who obtained 30% in last month’s election.

In Germany, the far-right ‘Alternative for Germany’ (AfD) party won 94 seats in the Bundestag in September’s elections, which was the first time any such party has made gains in Germany since the 1930s. In Italy the two northern regions are seeking to organise a referendum to gain greater autonomy and the populist five-star movement (M5S) also elected a 31-year-old leader.

Abuse and Loss of Trust

Defence Minister Michael Fallon has lost his position because of the recent allegations about sexual misconduct at Westminster. See Photo Credits.Back in Westminster, confusion is not confined to the Brexit negotiations: politicians are greatly concerned by allegations of sexual impropriety among MPs, which has attracted much media attention with women queueing up to tell tales to journalists. ‘Someone touched my knee 20 years ago: I lost my confidence and it ruined my life.’ What a load of codswallop! Has the world gone completely mad?

Of course, if there are incidents of serious sexual malpractice or harassment there should be a safe place where complaints can be lodged and dealt with professionally, but the current politically correct hysteria is ridiculous. Is our society not sufficiently adult to be able to sort out relationships between the genders?

Two days ago I was in my study with the door shut and the young woman who does some cleaning for us was hoovering in the dining room. I heard her phone go and then she burst into loud crying. My wife was out so I immediately went to her and between uncontrollable sobs she managed to say that someone in her family had died. I had hardly ever spoken to her before but I simply took her into my arms and let her cry on my shoulder.

When she quietened down I told her I believe in prayer and could I pray for her? She nodded and I prayed, which brought about a total transformation. She said she used to go to Sunday School as a child but hadn’t been to church for years; so I talked about the love of God and gently gave her the Gospel. Far from accusing me of ‘inappropriate behaviour’, she was profuse in her thanks. We were just two human beings – one in distress and the other offering comfort.

Incidents of serious sexual malpractice should of course be properly dealt with, but the current politically correct hysteria is ridiculous.

Breakdown of Relationships

Surely, all the major problems we see in modern society come down to human relationships which have failed, broken or been abused in some way. The ongoing drama over Brexit and the political instability right across the Western world are but symptoms of this deeper, more systemic problem of human relationships.

In the same way, the current wave of sex scandals delighting the media has its origins in broken human relations – particularly the breakdown of marriage, but also a broader disintegration of trust and commitment to faithful and loving relationships. This is where Christian churches have much to teach secular humanists. In most churches, relationships are a strong uniting factor and churchgoers regularly exchange greetings with hugs or kisses, with no fears of sexual impropriety. Even in Anglican churches, often regarded as formal and cold institutions, sharing ‘The Peace’ is usually an opportunity for hugs all round!

When human relationships are based upon mutual respect and trust, we do not have to worry about political correctness or ‘inappropriate behaviour’. We can just be natural and free from inhibitions and fear of being misunderstood in our relationships with others.

Getting Our Relationship with God Right

But it is vital to recognise that these ideal human relationships are the outcome of a right relationship with God: recognising him as Creator, who made us all (both male and female) in his own image; as Father, who designed us for intimate relationship with him as his sons and daughters; and as Lord, who alone is the true authority, setting out right from wrong and holding us all to account.

When we get our relationship right with God, this automatically puts right our relationships with other human beings, because our whole attitude is different.

We do not seek to ‘lord it’ over others, because we know that we ourselves are no better or worse than they, and all are subject to God. We are enabled to love others and given wisdom to handle difficult times – dealing with differences, misunderstandings, or complex negotiations. Mutual respect in personal relationships leads to the same spirit prevailing over wider issues involving whole communities and nations.

When we get our relationship right with God, this automatically puts right our relationships with other human beings.

The basic problem in Western society today is that we have abandoned this biblical authority structure – once a fundamental part of our Judeo-Christian moral, social and political foundations, enjoyed by our forefathers. These were passed on to us, but they have been despised and rejected. We have rebelled against God’s good plan, inverting his model for right and blessed relationships and deleting God from the equation.

The Apostle Paul went to the heart of this issue by saying “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.” (Rom 8:7, ESV). The answers to our difficult personal relationships and our complex international relationships all lie in getting our relationship with God right.

It’s worth just meditating on a few verses from Psalm 119:

Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end.
Give me understanding and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart.
Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.
Turn my heart towards your statutes and not towards selfish gain.
Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. (vv33-37)

The only way to understand what is going on in the world is through the lens of Scripture and through prayer.

The great shaking of the nations continues unabated as Western post-Christian civilisation crumbles and scenes of carnage in Syria, Iraq and Yemen are almost too horrific to view or describe. Boris was right when, describing the situation in the Middle East, he said:

"There are politicians who are twisting and abusing religion and different strains of the same religion in order to further their own political objectives. That's one of the biggest political problems in the whole region...that's why you have these proxy wars being fought the whole time in that area...There are not enough big characters, men or women, who are willing to reach out beyond their Sunni or Shia group to the other side and bring people together again..."¹

The Truth About Diplomacy

The Prime Minister had just returned from the Gulf where she had been promoting trade and had dined with the Saudi King, thanking him for the security services he provides to Britain. The last thing she wanted was her Foreign Secretary to tell the truth. The British Foreign Office is renowned for its diplomacy – not for speaking the truth!

So Downing Street stated firmly that Boris was not expressing the Government's view. The PM knows that there is too much at stake to speak so candidly: the more weapons Saudi uses in bombing women and children in Yemen, the more we can sell them and provide jobs for our workers. That's what diplomacy is all about! If Boris wants to keep his job, he will have to learn the art of not speaking the truth - just being polite and friendly.

The British Foreign Office is renowned for its diplomacy – not for speaking the truth!

But what is the truth about what is happening in the Middle East - and other parts of the world that are being ripped apart by violence, such as Nigeria and Pakistan?
What is the truth about the people who are living in fear of war in the Ukraine and the Balkan states where Russia is poised to retrieve her much-coveted Empire; or the people of South Korea and Japan as North Korea and China flex their nuclear muscles? What is the truth about the socio-political revolution that is taking place in Europe and the USA?

Political Instability in EuropeVirginia Raggi of the Five Star Movement, now Mayor of Rome.

Of course, our political journalists and social analysts will give us copious explanations. Austria and Italy are the latest nations to be shaken with elections during the past week. It was the first time in 70 years that the two main parties in Austria were unable even to field a candidate in their presidential election. Their candidates were eliminated in the early rounds of preliminary voting. Van der Bellen has become the first 'Green' to head a European state.

Sunday's referendum in Italy was bad news for Prime Minister Renzi who had staked his political future on proposed far-reaching constitutional reforms. Like David Cameron, he immediately resigned after a crushing 'no' vote which confirmed the rise of the anti-globalisation Five Star Movement, or M5S (now the second most popular party in Italy). Earlier this year, M5S won 19 out of 20 towns and cities where its candidates stood for mayor - including Rome and Turin.² 37-year-old lawyer Virginia Raggi, now Mayor of Rome, promises that the city is entering a new era in its history.

This surge in support for populist parties is likely to be reflected electorally right across Europe in the near future, with France, Germany and the Netherlands all due to hold parliamentary elections next year. 2017 promises to be a year of massive political change in Europe. Those EU politicians who have threatened to make Brexit very difficult for Britain may find themselves swept along by a tide of change and financial instability that will create a dramatically different political landscape across the continent.

2017 promises to be a year of massive political change in Europe – we may end up with a dramatically different landscape.

Uprooting to Build Up

Anyone seeking to understand the truth of what is happening in the world today will need to see the whole situation in the context of the purposes of God. The psalmist sets the scene when he says "The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm for ever, the purposes of his heart through all generations" (Ps 33:10-11).

It is God's desire that all people should know him and understand his nature and purposes – including his good plans for his covenant people, through whom the world will receive the message of salvation, as the Lord planned from the beginning of Creation. Habakkuk neatly sums this up when he says "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Hab 2:14).

In order to achieve his purposes, God sometimes has to do some demolition – to break down barriers and get rid of the things that are directly contrary to his will. Jeremiah was told this at the beginning of his ministry; God said to him, "See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant" (Jer 1:10).

This is why God is shaking everything now. There comes a point where human beings, exercising the freedom he granted them from the beginning of Creation, are in danger of destroying the world through the wickedness and violence of their unredeemed nature. At that point God has to say, "enough is enough".

Out of Exile...for a Purpose

He had to do this with his chosen people Israel by allowing the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem. Jeremiah perceived this and actually rejoiced to see God at work: "O great and powerful God, whose name is the Lord Almighty, great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to all the ways of men" (Jer 32:18-19).
Out of the tragedy of the exile in Babylon God brought back a redeemed company of people who would be a light for the Gentiles, "that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth" (Isa 49:6).

Immediately after the exile, the Prophet Haggai foresaw the time coming when God would need to shake everything in order to carry out his purposes of salvation and bring his message of love to all people. "This is what the Lord Almighty says: in a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations" (Hag 2:6).

It is God's desire that all should know him – but in order to achieve his purposes, he sometimes has to do some demolition of barriers and things that are directly contrary to his will.

Great Opportunity for Us

Of course, it is uncomfortable when God is seemingly shaking everything around us. But this is where it is essential for Christians to understand what God is doing and to be active and vocal in teaching those who do not know the God of the Bible. We need to develop our trust in God, so that as things get more difficult, we will not be shaken from the knowledge that the battle truly belongs to the Lord.

This Advent season when we celebrate the birth of Jesus and the light that has come into the world to scatter the darkness, we have an immense opportunity to bring a message of hope, love and joy into the lives of our families, friends and neighbours - to all with whom we are in contact.

References

1 Published by The Guardian, Thursday 8 December 2016. Click here to watch the video.

2 Italy elections: Big win for Five Star protest party. BBC News, 20 June 2016.