A new government

No one seriously thinks that a change of the political party in government is going to make a meaningful difference in the life of the British people, any more than a change of politicians in the USA, Germany or the Netherlands. The main result of elections is to effect the occasional swap amongst the political class governing us.

For most of the people it doesn’t matter which party wins, it is always the establishment who hold power. There may be marginal differences in the strength of the currency or the provision of welfare, but things will go on pretty much as usual with the decline of the West, and especially the UK, gathering pace.

The disorder in British public life derives from disorder within the British soul. We have lost meaning and direction in life.

Why decline?

The disorder and lack of hope in British public life and society derives from more than a sense of loss of empire and world significance bringing about an acceptance of our descent into mediocrity. It is caused by more than a lack of leadership in politics, industry, academia and the Church. The disorder in British public life derives from disorder within the British soul. We have lost meaning and direction in life.

If our enemies had attempted to destroy Britain, they could not have done much better than the UK’s political and ecclesiastical class for the last 25 years. The resulting combination of economic industrial stagnation and uncontrolled immigration and rampant woke ideology, with an abandonment of our spiritual underpinning, could not have been better designed if political and social instability was the conscious intention.

Rejection of power holders

Labour has won the biggest majority ever, but it is not because we have fallen in love with Labour, rather that we have rejected the centre-right party without any transfer of affection for the left. The Conservatives, spiritually and intellectually exhausted by a suicidal commitment to a failed liberal ideology, have advanced the cause of their political opponents and alienated their instinctive supporters.

 The resulting combination of economic industrial stagnation and uncontrolled immigration and rampant woke ideology, with an abandonment of our spiritual underpinning, could not have been better designed if political and social instability was the conscious intention.

Luxury beliefs like open borders and transgender rights might play well at north London dinner parties and in media editorial rooms, but they cut no ice with those who have to live with the results. As Labour propaganda told us, ‘It’s time for change’, and people grasp at change, even if the change probably means worse.

Be sceptical

What is the Christian to do within this social cultural collapse? We must first take care about where we look for answers. The Bible is explicit about the folly of placing trust in the powerful, thinking that they will solve the problems facing us. Psalm 146:3 warns clearly: ‘Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.’ In a fallen world, it is foolhardy to put our trust in other fallen men and women in the hope that they are going to provide the answers we need.

This does not mean that we should turn away from political or social involvement, shunning it with the cry of ‘Politics is a dirty business’. It is essential that we reject quietism, hiding away and just going along with the existing state of affairs, hoping its wrongs will eventually disappear somehow.

Some Christians do this, either out of fear that we have no answers, or in the hope that non-involvement will be a means of avoiding compromising their faith. This fails to display a proper Christian concern for justice, charity, and bearing evangelical witness to Christ amongst those with whom we share society.

Involvement in social action will inevitably bring tensions for the Christian.

Withdrawal from broader society is never the answer: we cannot be the salt and light (Matt 5:13-16) if we hide ourselves away. Involvement in social action will inevitably bring tensions for the Christian. There are no easy answers to complex problems, and complex responses of necessity mean compromise somewhere.

Positive steps

If quietism is not a viable strategy, simply carrying on working within the system is not enough, either. Organisations such as the Christian Institute deserve our support, and should be in our prayers. It is laudable to attempt to ameliorate some of the worst excesses of an increasingly degraded culture. However, we must recognise that just voting or being active in conventional politics is no longer enough on its own. The way forward requires that we expand our understanding of what practising politics and social involvement for Christians means.

The speed of cultural change is going to continue to increase under our new government. There will be further growth in a public morality utterly opposed to biblical standards. We are past the time of relying on the creation of defences against the tide of progressive ideology. Times have changed significantly, and we can no longer rely on politicians and activists to struggle on our behalf. To cope with the coming society, Christians must take positive steps themselves.

This means we need to remember who we are before we can recommit to being who we must be. Politics, like faith, is first of all personal – we cannot give others what we do not have ourselves. If we are to effect change in the world we are going to have, first of all, to focus on ourselves, on our own relationships with God and each other, cultivating habits and practices which strengthen us to live as ‘aliens and strangers in the world’ (I Pet 2:11).

We are past the time of relying on the creation of defences against the tide of progressive ideology.

If we don’t have living and transformative Christian convictions and practices personally, our churches will fail to stand out in the world. We cannot criticise the communities created by progressivism if we do not have vibrant attractive communities of our own. We cannot reach the culture around us unless we project a distinctive culture of our own.

The most important political work the Christian can do is enlarge and develop his or her own faith. In that way our congregations will deepen and flourish as living communities, and although on the margins of society can firstly preserve the reality of the faith and then gradually begin to recolonise the culture. Our focus should be on personal and community rebuilding.

The Rev. Dr Campbell Campbell-Jack is a retired Church of Scotland minister; now a member of the Free Church of Scotland. Check out his many incisive articles on his blog, A Grain of Sand.