Leaving a church that has departed from the faith

Scriptural truth is being sacrificed in the cause of unity

Mixed messages on same-sex provided BBC with an excuse

The nationwide attempt to re-programme young minds.

Last week we received a letter from one of our readers describing what is happening in an infant school where she was assisting the reception class teacher. The school used the occasion of Prince Harry’s wedding to do a project on marriage. But the whole focus was upon the marriage of two men! She said that she did not dare to complain because she would lose her job and no other school would employ her.

This is part of the strategy in infant schools of normalising the abnormal to create a ‘new normal’. In other words, brainwashing the children to accept the new standards of British values.

Earlier this month we heard of a Primary School in Croydon where parents were informed that their children would be taking part in a ‘Pride’ march to celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lifestyles. The school decreed that it would be compulsory for the children to take part and there was ‘no opt out’ for parents. Even the reception class of the youngest children were to be forced to take part in this march on the public streets of Croydon.

Many of the parents at the Heavers Farm Primary School voiced their objection but the school refused to change their plans, so on the day 110 pupils were absent in a display of parent power - forcing the school to cancel the parade and instead to hold a themed assembly for the children who did attend.

Concerned Parents Now ‘Extremists’

This is part of the moral and spiritual war that is taking place in Britain to try to force the nation to accept a new set of ‘British values’. Dame Louise Casey, who has led a Government inquiry into so-called ‘extremism and integration’, reported to the Housing Communities and Local Government Committee that parents at the Croydon Primary School who objected to what was happening to their children were ‘extremists’.

A moral and spiritual war is taking place in Britain to try to force the nation to accept a new set of ‘values’

She also said that all holders of public office should be forced to swear allegiance to the new set of British values, including same-sex marriage, because this is now the law of the land which has to be enforced. This sounds very much like what Paul foresaw when people give up believing in the God of Creation:

Since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity… (Rom 1:28-29).

Are we now becoming a totalitarian state? Will we soon have morality police enforcing the law? It was reported on BBC News this week (18 July) that there is to be a new drive to enforce the so-called ‘hate laws’. Police are to be retrained so that anyone who complains of being abused must be seen by the police within one hour!

Emotional Conditioning

Britain today is rapidly becoming a fully secular society. It has taken only 50 years, since the 1960s, to destroy almost completely the Judeo-Christian heritage of 1,000 years. The process of normalising the abnormal¹ has been extended right down to the primary school and the nursery. It uses a curriculum known as CHIPS – ‘Challenging Homophobia In Primary Schools’.

Brian Hadley says that CHIPS uses “heart-warming stories about lovable, cute and cuddly animals (e.g. the rabbits in ‘Rabbityness’; penguins in ‘And Tango makes Three’; and cats and kittens in ‘The Whisperer’) to plant and entrench ideas about ‘difference’ and ‘homosexuality’.”² It uses certain words frequently to implant them into the minds of small children. This is part of a process of ‘emotional conditioning’ to indoctrinate the children to accept homosexuality and gender transition as normal conditions of human existence.

It has taken only 50 years, since the 1960s, to destroy almost completely the Judeo-Christian heritage of 1,000 years.

Hadley states, “CHIPS starts to deconstruct the true meaning of ‘male’ and ‘female’ as being a person’s biological sex, by planting the idea in young children’s minds that they can create for themselves any gender and sexuality they wish.”³

But the great danger of what is being done to children in our schools is that they are disturbing their emotional balance at a formative time in a child’s life when they are just learning basic things such as how to read and write and tell the time. At this stage in development, children are also learning their own identity and how to cope with other children outside their own family.

Grooming Now Government Policy

This policy of deconstruction is creating enormous emotional strain upon children that will affect them for the rest of their lives. Already, in Britain our Health Services are almost at crisis point in dealing with the vast numbers of people in the population who are suffering from depression and various forms of mental illness. Last year, 300,000 people left employment due to mental health problems, according to Government statistics.

If our schools are allowed to continue deconstructing the emotional lives of small children in the nurseries and infant schools, the resultant level of mental health problems in the nation will be unbearable.

Those are the practical problems: but what about the moral and spiritual significance of Government education policy? There has been a huge public outcry at the revelations of gangs grooming of vulnerable young girls for sex and warnings have been given to children about paedophiles using the internet to target children and begin grooming them. As a nation we hate this kind of abuse. Yet it is now becoming Government education policy to groom the nation’s children in nurseries and primary schools to force them to accept new definitions of sexual relationships, marriage and family.

If our schools continue deconstructing the emotional lives of small children, the resultant level of mental health problems in the nation will be unbearable.

Moreover, all those who wish to hold on to traditional values are labelled “extremists” and made liable to prosecution. Are we becoming a nation of child abusers?

As Billy Graham once said, “If God does not bring down judgment on such a nation he will have to apologise to Sodom and Gomorrah”.

References

1 See: Nolland, L et al, 2018. The New Normal: The Transgender Agenda. Wilberforce Publications, London.

2 Hadley, B. ‘EDUCATION OR INDOCTRINATION? An assessment of CHIPS’, in Rose, L (ed), 2016, What Are They Teaching The Children? Wilberforce Publications, London, p140.

3 Ibid.

Same-sex marriage and the Church.

There is increasing pressure for the Church to adopt the secular world’s agenda and to ‘show love’ by agreeing to conduct same-sex marriages and show unequivocal support for LGBTQ+ people.

The LGBT agenda has already infiltrated the mainstream media and is increasingly directing Government policy, while any opposition is considered both unjust and immoral. Worryingly, this is extending forcefully into education where OFSTED is now penalising schools that do not teach LGBTQ+ lifestyles as ‘normal’.

No bastion of our society is exempt from this relentless onslaught, including the Established Church, where there are already determined efforts afoot to get it to accept same-sex marriage, following the examples of the Episcopal Churches in the USA and Scotland. As anticipated, the legalising of same-sex marriage in 2013 was the thin end of the wedge – and clauses allowing the Church’s right to opt out on grounds of conscience were never a final guarantee of safety.

Enormous Pressure to Succumb

Although the official policy of the Church of England is that same-sex marriage should not be performed in Anglican churches, some churches already offer services of blessing following civil ceremonies (indeed, the Diocese of Hereford has put forward a proposal that the Church should produce a formal liturgy for these services).

The General Synod has so far toed the official line, although it recently rejected a report upholding the traditional teaching on marriage and, last year, ‘sadness’ was expressed at discipline that had to be meted out on the Scottish Episcopal Church for its decision to flout the current rules.¹

There seems little doubt that the issue will be pushed repeatedly in Synod until opposition gives way. Earlier this year a Government Minister castigated the Church of England for not sanctioning same-sex marriage. Unless Bible-believing Christians wake up and call the Church of England to account, it will likely succumb to the enormous pressure – indeed, many bishops are already in favour.

Unless Bible-believing Christians wake up and call the Church of England to account, it will likely succumb to the enormous pressure.

The recent Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) resulted in a letter being written urging the Archbishop of Canterbury to speak the truth about the Gospel and sexuality - but Justin Welby gives the impression of striving for unity above all else, including biblical truth.Already, Ugandan Anglican bishops have said that they will not attend the 2020 Lambeth Conference because of the woolly thinking of the Church of England and it is likely that other African bishops will do likewise.

If so, the LGBTQ+ movement will have caused a major split within the worldwide Anglican community.

What Scripture Says

So what does the word have to say about marriage and homosexual practices? Paul reminds us in 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness” (remembering that Paul’s scripture was our Old Testament). In Genesis 2:24 it says “Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh” (and God graciously provided the anatomy to make this possible – and enjoyable). Jesus corroborated this statement in Matthew 19:4, so the principle is established that marriage is between a man and a woman.

What does the Bible say about homosexual practice? Leviticus condemns it - not once, but twice (18:22 and 20:13) - including it with various other sexual prohibitions. As homosexual practice was commonplace in the ancient world, this was radical teaching. In Romans 1:18-32 Paul describes a deterioration in moral behaviour as man abandoned what he knew about God:

Because of this God gave them over to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.

This shows us that a rise in homosexual behaviour is actually a stage in the disintegration of society. Strong stuff, but a scripture we should take to heart.

A Truly Christian Approach

Should we then ban people who practise homosexuality from our churches? By no means – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23), yet we are all welcomed into the church. But as church members we should acknowledge our sinful ways and, with God’s help, give them up – even if we fall woefully short. We would not welcome a bank robber and suggest that next time he has a job on we will drive his getaway car! We would try to get him to change his ways.

Romans 1 shows us that a rise in homosexual behaviour is actually a stage in the disintegration of society.

The LGBTQ+ agenda says that ‘love’ is paramount, and therefore so long as the couple is in a loving relationship the Church should welcome it. But Jesus said (in John 14:15-21) that love means obeying his commands – and the Father’s love will follow. His commands appear in Scripture, so to say that love conquers all does not wash.

Sexual behaviour is a matter of choice. Archbishop Hope, at a time when bishops were being ‘outed’ by the homosexual community, said that his sexuality was a grey area but that he chose to remain celibate. We live in a sex-mad society, but sexual activity is not the be-all-and-end-all of our existence. Self-control is essential if we are to prosper.

The World’s Agenda

We should take great care whenever an agenda popular in the world’s eyes is foisted on the Church, even from within. Over the years many spiritual authorities have issued warnings about this:

• “Almost everything the Church is doing these days has been suggested to her by the world.” (AW Tozer)
• “I looked for the Church and I found it in the world. I looked for the world and I found it in the Church.” (Horatius Bonar)
• “Worldliness is rampant in the Church. The devil is not fighting churches He is joining them! He is not persecuting Christianity he is professing it.” (Vance Havner)
• “That which the world likes best is sure to be that which God abhors.” (Charles Spurgeon)
• Finally, “God brings about reformation when his people return to the word of God as their sole source of doctrine and practice.” (John H Armstrong)

Within Scripture, there are many warnings against false, worldly doctrines infiltrating the Church. Paul writes, for example: “For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths” (2 Tim 4:3-4). Peter also warns against false teachers in his second letter (chapter 2).

We should take great care whenever an agenda popular in the world’s eyes is foisted on the Church, even from within.

Also noteworthy are the number of warnings in Scripture against outward displays of religion which mask and encourage underlying rebellion. For instance, Jeremiah warned (chapter 7) about complacency in the Temple, where there was an assumption that as long as people went through the external rituals of worship, everything would be all right – they could live how they pleased. And Jesus gave a stark warning in Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only one who does the will of my Father in heaven”.

The Road Ahead

The Established Church has so far chosen gradual compromise and synthesis with the ways of the world, when in fact stark decisions to hold firm to Scripture in the face of huge opposition are what is needed. It was Spurgeon who said:

Human wisdom delights to trim and arrange the doctrine of the cross into a system more artificial and more congenial with the depraved taste of fallen nature: instead however of improving the Gospel, carnal nature pollutes it, until it becomes another gospel and not the truth of God at all.

In months and years to come, God will sift and test the hearts and minds of all within the Church of England, to find out where they truly stand. How they respond will decide the fate of this once-great institution.

References

1 Mbakwe, T. Welby 'sad' to discipline Scottish Episcopal Church. Premier News, 3 October 2017.

All Bible quotes from the New Revised Standard Version.

Journalist under fire for asking awkward questions about a baby

As the great shaking of British society continues to turn our values upside-down, the Daily Mail has managed to seriously ruffle feathers with some elephant-in-the-room questions few have the guts to ask.

Richard Littlejohn, in last week’s Friday column,¹ has done us all a favour by tackling the ludicrous news that Olympic diver Tom Daley and his ‘husband’ are having a baby, focusing particularly on the fact that no mention is made of a mother (presumably the possessor of the womb featured in the much-publicised ultrasound scan) or who the actual father is.

The New Normal?

His great offence was no doubt in challenging fellow scribes to stop pretending this kind of relationship is the ‘new normal’. At any rate, he has succeeded in raising hackles to such an extent that major companies, including Honda, Morrison’s supermarket and the chemist chain Boots, withdrew their advertising.

Littlejohn also stated his belief “that children benefit most from being brought up by a man and a woman”.

I only hope the Mail stands by their writer, though I suspect editors may have their eyes blurred by pound signs, and thus be tempted to rein in one of the finest journalists among the fast-disappearing old school representing a press that was truly free to express its views.

The Truth Provokes Uproar

Most, if not all, of our treasured freedoms in this land are the product of our great Judeo-Christian heritage. So why are we (the Church) leaving it to secular journalists like Littlejohn and Melanie Phillips to do our ‘dirty’ work – i.e. taking the flak for challenging the accepted new norms of society.

Where is the Christian voice today? Where is the courage once displayed by Christian martyrs who willingly died for their faith?

Christians have historically been known for straight talking in addressing controversial social and other issues which was hardly surprising because they were following One who dared to accuse religious leaders of hypocrisy – in fact he compared them to “whitewashed tombs”, looking pristine on the surface but full of dead men’s bones (Matt 23:27).

The Gospel truth has always provoked uproar – often because it affects people’s pockets – as several instances in the Acts of the Apostles (the Bible’s account of the early Church) testify. Many businesses of the time were built on the backs of idolatry (i.e. worship of rival gods).

And in more recent times, William Wilberforce had to overcome decades of fierce opposition to his anti-slavery campaign because so much big money had depended on it.

People-Pleasing Church

Where is the Christian voice today? Where is the courage once displayed by Christian martyrs who willingly died for their faith? After all, these issues strike at the very heart of what the Gospel stands for – marriage, family, relationships (with God and one another).

But, for the most part, we remain silent and walk by on the other side of the road letting the ‘Good Samaritan’ tend to the wounds of society. Jesus, in his famous parable, deliberately chose a Samaritan (of mixed race and despised by Jews of the time) as the one who rescued the man beaten up by robbers.

With too few exceptions, many of us in the Church have become men-pleasers, not God-pleasers. If Jesus had been more concerned with appealing to men than in carrying out his Father’s will, he would not have died on the Cross and we would have been left with neither hope nor salvation.

For the most part, the Church remains silent and walks by on the other side of the road, letting ‘Good Samaritan’ journalists tend to the wounds of society.

Christian leaders who refuse to address these issues are clearly not crucified with Christ, dead to the world and refusing to conform to its standards (see Gal 2:20; Rom 12:2).

Dissent Not Tolerated

The furore sparked by Littlejohn’s piece was entirely predictable; and yet the very same (Daily Mail) issue carried a major feature exposing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s murky political past in meeting up with a Communist spy from behind the Iron Curtain. Was the metropolitan liberal elite much concerned about that? Evidently not.

Just as the frenzied backlash stirred by the Tom Daley article was kicking off (I was initially unaware of it as I was involved in a south London conference dedicated to evangelism), a Nigerian-born pastor was heaping praise on Britain’s great heritage,² mentioning in particular the Christian motivation of past businessmen like those who founded Cadbury’s, Guinness and, yes, Boots the chemist – the very firm that has now protested against critics of a non-Christian lifestyle!

Even some of our great football clubs, founded as part of the Church’s outreach to young people, are now in the hands of Middle Eastern nationals from countries which ban both Bibles and Christians, he lamented.

I notice that legendary Wimbledon champion Margaret Court is also in the dock for her stand on sexual ethics. Lesbian former champions Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova are campaigning to have a Melbourne arena re-named in protest. How pathetic!

It seems that with 50 years having now passed since both abortion and homosexuality were declared legal in the UK, they have now been officially ‘normalised’ and no dissent will be tolerated. Is this the fruit of a free society? Does no-one still cherish free speech?

50 years since both abortion and homosexuality were declared legal in the UK, they have now been officially ‘normalised’ and no dissent will be tolerated.

The Cross is Our Anchor

Well, all is not lost, if Sunday’s touching episode of Call the Midwife is anything to go by. One of the storylines followed a Nigerian sailor thrown off his ship because the crew believed he had smallpox, which was highly contagious.

Lonely and distraught, he prayed desperately as he hid in a drain, calling on Jesus for help, which duly came in the shape of the kind nuns who supply the dock area with midwives. It turned out that he actually had leprosy, which was treatable. And as he exulted in the answer to his prayers, one of the nuns handed him a Bible, saying: “In the cross is our anchor.”

Go and Sin No More

Although the letter of the law would have allowed Jesus to stone the woman caught in adultery, as her accusers pointed out, he refused to condemn her, but added: “Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11).

Christians who truly follow their Lord do not hate those who commit adultery (which includes all sex outside marriage), but neither can they affirm the practice. They would be betraying their faith if they did. Get used to it. Enough is enough.

References

1 Read the article here.

2 World Harvest Christian Centre, convened by Rev Wale Babatunde.

As same-sex issue divides, who will speak up for the truth?

The Church of England has once again failed to give a moral lead to the nation.

Their Synod (parliament) has voted against the Bishops’ recommendation that, in the face of huge pressure to allow same-sex ‘equality’, they should continue to take the traditional view of marriage.

Those within the Church desperately trying to honour the clear biblical teaching – that a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife (Gen 2:24) – have reached a discouraging impasse.

Heresy Within, Confusion Without

Is it not time to say: ‘enough is enough’? Undermining the authority of the Bible only leads to heresy within and confusion without. Sure, the watching world sees a Church divided, and some would say that is a bad witness. But there are surely issues over which it is impossible to compromise.

Endless debates create much heat, but bear little fruit. What, after all, is there left to debate? If the choice is whether or not to follow Scripture, then the advice from the Apostle Paul is: “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you” (2 Cor 6:17). Those pushing for same-sex marriage are surely touching something ‘unclean’.

At the end of the day, we will all stand before God to give account of the decisions we have made or haven’t made (Rom 14:12).

Undermining the authority of the Bible only leads to heresy within and confusion without.

Danger of Deception

The letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor recorded in the Book of Revelation give as much emphasis on teaching as on behaviour – the key doctrines of Christian belief are hugely important.

The Apostle John, in his first letter, reminds his hearers that those who were spreading false teaching had come from within the churches. “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us,” he wrote (1 John 2:19).

Heresy was a great danger in the early Church, just as Jesus predicted it would be in these latter days. When his disciples asked him about signs of the end of the age, the first thing he said was: “Watch out that no-one deceives you” (Matt 24:4).

Yes, Jesus prayed passionately for unity among his followers. It was never meant to be unity at any cost, however, but the sort of oneness about which Paul spoke in his letter to the Ephesians when he explained that the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers were there “to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature…” (Eph 4:12f).

The context is clearly about developing maturity within the body of Christ as disciples learn to walk in harmony with the Word of God.

But because the modern Church has failed to give a moral lead on the issue of homosexuality, the entire Western world is now in the grip of ‘redefining marriage’, if that is really possible.

Jesus prayed passionately for unity among his followers, but it was never meant to be unity at any cost.

Seek The Truth

We have seen the same thing happen over Israel. Undermining the authority of the Bible has led to the heresy of ‘Replacement Theology’, teaching that the Church has replaced Israel in God’s affections. As a result, there is very little understanding of Israel in the UK Church today, and yet God’s end-time purpose is for Jew and Gentile to work together for the Gospel! How far we have fallen behind God’s programme!

Tragically, the Church has succumbed wholesale to worldliness, ignoring the Bible’s directive: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2).

Isn’t it time we re-committed ourselves to seeking the truth, perfectly demonstrated in Jesus Christ – “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6)?

The Synod’s vote this week shows how compromised the established Church is on the issue of gay marriage.

It must seem utterly amazing to people outside the church that Christians could spend such a long time discussing the issue of same-sex relationships.

To young people in particular, it appears to be a non-issue – not even worth discussing. For most of them sex is sex – it’s just a fact of life and it’s entirely optional whether you have it with the opposite sex or the same sex.

So why has the Church of England Synod spent so much time this week discussing a ‘non-issue’?

Most young people, other than those educated in faith schools or home-educated, have been subjected, over the past two or three decades, to a process of social engineering that has radically changed the structure of society. The change has seen a fundamental shift from the centrality of the family as the building block of society to a form of individualism that diminishes the family to a kind of ‘optional extra’ that can take any shape or form.

In the brave new world of reconstructed families, marriage has no special significance and is just one of those relationships that can be entered or dissolved at the desire of the individuals involved, regardless of the effects this might have upon the lives of others.

In the brave new world of reconstructed families, marriage has no special significance.

The Truth of Scripture

It is against this background that the Church of England, as the established church, has been struggling for several decades. At root, it is a theological issue that is determined by one’s attitude to Scripture. If you accept the Bible as the unchangeable word of God, you believe that marriage is part of God’s act of creation and that it is only between a man and a woman who pledge themselves to each other in a lifelong covenant of love and faithfulness.

You accept that marriage is at the heart of family life for the pro-creation and upbringing of children and that this form of society is ordained by God for the health and well-being of humanity. It is not just the ideal – it is the only form of sexual relationship between the genders that is acceptable in the sight of God.

This is where the problem arises with LGBT people who defend this lifestyle but who also desire to be part of the Church. They often emphasise that love is part of the very nature of God and therefore assume that God will bless any form of love relationship between human beings whom he has created in his own image.

This is why homosexual people have been so persistent in pressurising Church leaders of all denominations to recognise same-sex marriage, which is now legally recognised by the state. Those living an LGBT lifestyle want to be assured of God’s blessing upon their relationships.

Not Denying Difficulty

Of course, these decisions are extremely difficult because they involve people’s hearts, identities and lives. No Christian hates or wishes to hurt their friends or family who choose to pursue an LGBT lifestyle. However, we must all also consider the wider implications of their decisions upon the health and well-being of the whole of society.

I saw at first hand the cost to Dr Rowan Williams, then Archbishop of Canterbury, when he made the decision not to appoint Jeffrey John (who was openly gay) as Bishop of Reading. On the day before his meeting with Jeffrey John and Richard Harries, the Bishop of Oxford, I spent three hours with him in prayer and seeking the Lord.

It was an agonising decision for Rowan, not simply in terms of affirming biblical truth but because he had been friends with Jeffrey since college days and yet he knew that such an appointment could split the Church and have implications for the worldwide Anglican Communion. The wider repercussions of Church decisions are far-reaching and long-lasting even in this secular age when so much of our Judaeo-Christian heritage has been eroded.

Marriage is not just the ideal – it is the only form of sexual relationship between the genders that is acceptable in the sight of God.

It is a plain sociological fact, demonstrated by hundreds of research findings, that faithful loving marriage produces the healthiest form of society. It is also true that family breakdown has disastrous consequences - not only for individuals, both children and adults - but also for the physical and mental health and even the economic prosperity of wider society.

Members of the House of Clergy, meeting earlier this week. See Photo Credits.This Week’s Synod Vote

The situation faced by the Synod of the Church of England is complicated by three major factors:

• Biblical truth
  
• The pastoral care needed for individuals, and
  
• The demands of the LGBT lobby
  

All three are represented within both the hierarchy and the Synod of the Church of England. There is no easy path for the Synod, which is reflected in what happened this week when all  three groups had members who voted against the report presented by the House of Bishops. Despite upholding marriage as only being between a man and a woman, the report was also presented as "a stepping stone toward greater inclusiveness".¹

Evangelicals voted against it because it indicated a departure from Scripture. The LGBT members voted against it because it did not give them the full equality that they wanted; and other clergy voted against it because they have concerns for the people in their pastoral care.

The Church of England always wants to be a ’broad’ church that includes everyone – but the Bishops’ Report satisfied no-one. It was presented with lots of apologies which showed that the Bishops knew that it would not please anyone: it was just a fudge. But that is the very nature of a church that tries to be all things to all people!

The Church of England wants to be a ’broad’ church that includes everyone – but the Bishops’ Report satisfied no-one.

Reflecting Society?

The Rev Bertrand Olivier, who is a gay man, told the BBC that the Church needed to “reflect modern society”.² But that is the very thing that the Church must not do! Its mission is to declare the unchangeable word of the Living God and apply it to the changing times in which we live; however unpopular that may be. The Church must be different from secular society.

Archbishop Justin Welby called for “a radical new Christian inclusion”³ for homosexual Christians, which sounds very much as though he is advocating a Church that reflects modern society just as Bertrand Oliver wants.

But the Church is answerable to God for its teaching, not to human beings. The Church of England will continue to be divided so long as it tries to please everyone. Surely the only thing that should matter is the presentation of the unvarnished truth in a world where truth has disappeared, or has become ‘alternative facts’ or ‘fake news’.

The Prophet Isaiah provides a pinpoint description of our nation today. He says:

Justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honestly cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. (Isa 59:14-15)

Surely, what is most needed in the nation today is for a Church that does not follow popular trends in society, but sets an example to the nation by lovingly and fearlessly declaring the truth of the word of the Lord!

References

1 Church of England votes against gay marriage report. BBC News, 15 February 2017.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid.