To the extent that Scotland was in a mess prior to mid-February, the announcement by Nicola Sturgeon that she was to give up the leadership of the Scottish National Party has plunged party loyalists, and indeed the country as a whole, into deeper turmoil.
Setting the scene
In her seven-year reign as First Minister, Sturgeon has overseen a catastrophic decline in the vital areas of health, transport and education, while concentrating on a woke agenda which ultimately was to cause her political demise. While the devastating economic impact of lining up with, and even exceeding Westminster’s flawed Covid policies crippled Scotland, it was ultimately the untenable outworking of Ms. Sturgeon’s personal crusade on gender transitioning which has precipitated the lady’s downfall. A classic example of being ‘hoist with her own petard’.
What has emerged from the completely unworkable scenarios created by the Gender Recognition Reform Bill is a leadership contest whereby the principal contenders are a Christian woman and a Muslim man: the SNP’s Finance and Health Secretaries respectively. A poll tells us they are well ahead of the third candidate, Ash Reagan.
It was ultimately the untenable outworking of Ms. Sturgeon’s personal crusade on gender transitioning which has precipitated the lady’s downfall.
In 2019, the then Justice Secretary, Humza Yousaf, piloted the Government’s ‘Hate Crime’ poster campaign. The message and the targeted group were clear: “Dear bigots, you can’t spread your religious hate here. End of sermon.” Who knows if he is about to employ the same message against his main rival in the running for the top job in Scottish politics?
The most important of virtues
What heaven knows is that Kate Forbes, as a committed Christian, is totally unafraid of declaring her biblical beliefs on sexual relations, gender identity and heterosexual marriage. It might appear that she has thus given Yousaf a veritable stockpile of ammunition to use against her. However, he may be reluctant to weaponise these issues; Islam, the faith to which all devout Muslims adhere, believes much the same things as Ms. Forbes in regard to these matters. Indeed a headline claims: “Muslim leaders praise Forbes and snub Yousaf in SNP contest statement”.
In going against Islamic teaching, the Finance Secretary might be given pause. The recent and most brutal and life-changing attack against Salman Rushdie is fresh in our memories. Indeed we now read of an extremely-worrying episode in an English school, whereby pupils were reportedly suspended, and the police involved, over the light smudging of a copy of the Koran (read more in News n Views).
“I am convinced that courage is the most important of all virtues. Because without courage, you cannot practice any other virtue consistently”.
In a country where to offend someone (or something) invokes such draconian responses, it requires courage to speak one’s mind. Yet, alongside her other significant attributes, Kate Forbes has demonstrated no small measure of this quality. Maya Angelou, the Afro/American philosopher opined: “I am convinced that courage is the most important of all virtues. Because without courage, you cannot practice any other virtue consistently”.
Intensity of the battle
Whatever public or private political support she may get from Christians – many of whom do not align themselves with the nationalist dream – Ms. Forbes certainly is most deserving of prayer; for protection, not least. She has been surprised, not by the nature of the attacks against her, but by their intensity.
Though the party itself has always been a mixed bag, tenuously held together by the single independence aim, what Ms. Forbes may not have anticipated finding, is an SNP MP and Free Church elder, Ian Blackford, rallying to the Yousaf camp. To rub salt into the wound, the SNP’s erstwhile frontman in Westminster lives in, and represents those in Forbes’ own constituency at a UK level.
In this we are seeing the very clear distinction between someone who holds fast to the teachings of the Bible, while another abandons his Christian affiliations for reasons of political expediency. So, it would seem that neither the Scottish Health Secretary nor the Westminster MP have much regard for the position held by their respective faiths.
Fragmented and diverse
However, and irrespective of the outcome, politics and politicians will not extract us from the mess that these have brought us into. Scottish independence, if ever it is achieved, will most likely lead to further fragmentation within an already divided nation. As the Highlands and the Borders are culturally distinct from, and much less populous than the Central belt, these areas of the country might expect little from a centrally-focussed Scottish government.
Serving a cultural span and disparate demographic while simultaneously seeking to unify a fractious party will be an immense task for anyone.
The islands have their own sense of marginalisation – exacerbated not least in the last few years by the abysmal performance of the SNP and its former Transport Secretary, the same Humza Yousaf and the failure to provide a reliable ferry service. The demographic and cultural disparity across Scotland was illustrated on the front page of the Big Issue magazine prior to the 2014 referendum on independence, showing Shetland casting itself adrift from Scotland and heading off across the North Sea to Norway and its Viking connections. Fixing the nation’s multiple problems is no small challenge even for a capable First Minister. Serving a cultural span and disparate demographic while simultaneously seeking to unify a fractious party will be an immense task for anyone.
Ultimately a spiritual conflict
However, in the ultimate sense, it is well beyond the ability of politicians to extricate Scotland from its parlous position. Leaving the socio-political and economic issues aside, the vital challenge and deeper crisis in Scotland is seen in the spiritual realm. Post WW2 developments have seen Scotland descend into a nation which has cast aside its spiritual heritage. Indeed, this travel towards the abyss has been aided and abetted both by the failure of major churches to uphold biblical values and the conspicuous silence of most church leaders regarding speaking out on the issues over which Kate Forbes is being crucified.
But in the greater scheme of things, and soaring well above the political realm, God’s eternal purposes are not ultimately to save the political entity that is Scotland, or even for that matter the planet itself. Rather His eternal plan of salvation is to each individual through a personal relationship with his Son. And the first step on that path is the old-fashioned word ‘repentance’. The destiny of any and every Scot is not, and will never be, shaped by a political process; certainly not by an independent Scotland, even if it were to be headed up by a deeply committed Christian. For Kate Forbes, and irrespective of the outcome, her position may be likened to that of Queen Esther who was “called to such a time as this”. (Est 4:14)
Choose who you will serve
However, and notwithstanding any disagreement with nationalist aims, I urge the reader to pray protection, enduring courage and wisdom for Kate Forbes. The contest in Scotland is not ultimately a political one: it’s a deeply spiritual battle being outworked in a political arena, and there is no conflict more deadly than the battle for the soul.
The contest in Scotland is not ultimately a political one: it’s a deeply spiritual battle being outworked in a political arena, and there is no conflict more deadly than the battle for the soul.
Many years ago, at the transition from one leader to another, the successor threw down a stark choice to the people – to serve God or their own gods. On inheriting the leadership of Israel from Moses, Joshua set the question and challenge: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.” (Jos 24:15).
For those in the nationalist ranks, that is the most pressing and ultimate choice they must make. Indeed, for every individual in Scotland, that is the critical issue which will define their future; for now and into eternity.
