The brutal murder in Paris of Samuel Paty by a young Muslim refugee has left France traumatised. Mr Paty, a 47 year old school teacher, was stabbed numerous times by the 18-year-old attacker, who shouted “Allahu Akbar" as he carried out his vicious assault, which ended in the beheading of his victim. He had asked some of the school children to identify the teacher, then followed him as he walked home, choosing the location of the assault.

Imbibing social values

This unspeakably savage attack in the name of the god of Islam has not only rocked the whole of France but has sent ripples of horror across the Western nations. The fact that this young man, who was born in Moscow of Chechen origin, came to France claiming to be a refugee, and the French offered hospitality to him, makes the attack particularly despicable in French eyes. It calls into question the whole practice of European nations offering sanction to people of other cultures and not ensuring that they are taught the social values and behavioural norms that they will be required to observe.

In the ancient world the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor set a standard that was a model throughout the Greek and Roman civilisations. All visitors to Ephesus had to leave their chariots outside the city before walking through the gates. First, they were required to bathe and wash away the dirt from travelling. Then they went into the City Hall, where they had to read the rules and requirements of the city which were displayed around the walls. Then an elder of the city would address them, highlighting the behavioural norms expected to be followed in the city.

Lack of national policy

It seems we have learned nothing from history, and our immigration policy, not only in France but also in Britain, is a disgrace. We have despised the heritage bequeathed to us by our fathers who suffered to preserve the freedoms and values that are an integral part of our society. We make no effort to help newcomers learn the norms and legal requirements of those who wish to settle in our land, or to teach them some of the history and beliefs that are an essential part of our heritage.

We have learned nothing from history, and our immigration policy, not only in France but also in Britain, is a disgrace.

I have lived and worked among immigrants for most of my working life and I have laboured to teach them the heritage of Britain, which is steeped in Christianity and social values derived from the Bible. My small contribution, of course, is but a drop in the ocean, although I know it has made a difference in some lives. But my greatest frustration has been that there is no national policy for teaching our precious heritage to those who come to live among us. I believe this lack of the provision of an initiation course for newcomers is a criminal act of negligence, which serves as a major factor in the growth of terrorism.

Rejected heritage

I was for 25 years the convener of the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group, which gave me access to Members of both Houses of Parliament, and I have raised these issues many times with no success. It is a terribly sad fact to record that the forces of secularism in society and a lack of understanding in the Church have combined to despise our Judeo-Christian heritage to such an extent that we do not value what our forefathers provided for us.

Of course, our forebears made mistakes and there are some enormous blots in our history, such as the horrors of the slave trade and plantation slavery. But to neglect the whole of our heritage is a fundamental error of judgement that is responsible for our having to live with the fear of horrific attacks such as we have witnessed in the past 15 years in London and Manchester and many other places.

A university lecturer wrote to me last week saying that in his class of 18 year old fresher students, not one of them had any knowledge of the Bible. This is hardly surprising because former generations of schoolchildren were given a daily act of worship with a Bible reading but this is no longer practised in many schools: and we have stolen the innocence of two generations of children with our corrupt social values. So young people, surrounded by fake news, have no knowledge of biblical truth to enable them to separate truth from fiction. It is the leaders of our nation in church and state over the past 40 years who are responsible for this tragic state of affairs.

Tolerance and equality

If asked about the social values of the nation, most young people would undoubtedly say that they are ‘tolerance’ and ‘equality’. They have never heard of faithfulness, truth, integrity and loyalty. ‘Tolerance’ is not a Christian value! And ‘equality’ needs some defining. The children of Israel were given godly instruction by Moses before their re-entry to the land once occupied by their ancestor Abraham. They were taught not to intermarry or have close relationships with other tribal societies and to abhor many of their practices, such as sacrificing babies in the fire.

‘Tolerance’ is not a Christian value! And ‘equality’ needs some defining.

We have done the opposite by allowing foreigners to come and settle in our nation, bringing their religions and cultures with them and even forming closed societies in ‘no-go areas’ in some of our cities.

Declaring the word of God

It is the next generation of children who are going to suffer from the sins of their parents and grandparents who abandoned the faith of their fathers, despising the heritage of a great nation and reducing it to a cesspit of sexual practices, broken families, children struggling with mental health, and violence and drugs on our city streets.

It is small wonder that God has released the Covid pandemic that cannot be controlled by human beings. His purpose is to bring us to the point where we cry out to God for help. That day will come, maybe sooner than we expect. But will the Bible-believing remnant of faith in the nation be strong enough to declare the word of God publicly to bring repentance? It has to start in the Church, the household of God, before it will be embraced by the nation. It is this hope that should be in the prayers of every Christian who cares for the nation.