Further shameful acts exposed as Prince makes historic visit to Israel

As evidence has come to light of further shameful acts of anti-Semitism carried out by British officials during its charge over the territory formerly known as Palestine, it is hoped that next week’s Royal visit to Israel will help heal the wounds of those who suffered.

I reported last month on a special ceremony held near Haifa at which UK representatives shared a ‘declaration of sorrow’ for the way our country treated Jews in the years leading up to the re-birth of their nation in 1948.
A more detailed report of that 11 May event has since come into my possession¹ and I am thus able to reveal – exclusively - some shocking facts shared by Holocaust survivors and others attending the ceremony, organised by Love Never Fails, an alliance of Christian groups supporting the Jewish state.

Atlit detention camp (now a museum). Photo Gemma Blech, courtesy Anne Heelis.It took place at Atlit, a former detention camp where Jewish refugees were held as part of British policy to limit immigration to the region, adding further trauma to a people who had already suffered terribly under the Nazis.

Granted a League of Nations mandate to prepare a safe homeland for Jews, Britain instead interred them behind barbed wire complete with watchtowers.

Harrowing Stories of Betrayal

Among those who shared their harrowing stories of the time was Hannah Avrutsky. A survivor of the notorious Warsaw ghetto,² she was hidden in a monastery before being smuggled to the Exodus ship bound for Israel in 1947, only to face a British naval blockade and be sent back to a Displaced Persons’ camp in Germany, where so many of her people had been murdered!

Ben Zion Drutin spoke of being hospitalised after being wounded by the British on board the Exodus and then held in Atlit for six months.

Arie Itamar, who was eight years old on the Exodus, compared Israel to a “betrayed lover” during the Mandate.

Granted a League of Nations mandate to prepare a safe homeland for Jews, Britain instead interred them behind barbed wire complete with watchtowers.

Pinchas Kahane spoke of his parents’ escape from Auschwitz, his birth in a Cyprus detention camp and how Britain prevented them leaving the camps until February 1949, well after the establishment of the State of Israel.

Dr Miri Nehari, whose father had been a leader in mobilising the escape of Jews from Europe after the Holocaust, read out a British telegram to the Polish Government-in-exile asking them to close the borders to escaping Jews.

Brits and Israelis together at the Atlit meeting. Photo courtesy of Anne Heelis.Zehavit Blumenfeld, whose 70^th birthday has coincided with that of Israel’s, said: “I do not forget, but I forgive.” She was born in the Cyprus detention camps where 53,000 Jewish refugees from the Holocaust were interned by the British.

She and others were moved by the warmth and sympathy of the Christians who came to express their sorrow and hope that Prince William’s visit will be an important step towards reconciliation.

The testimonies concluded with stories of British collusion with Arab terror during the Mandate. Noam Arnon, representing the Hebron Jewish Community, spoke on behalf of those who had survived the 1929 massacre there, outlining British complicity.

Zehava Fuchs witnessed the Hadassah convoy massacre as a girl in 1948 when the British had deliberately not intervened to rescue Jewish passengers – 78 people, mainly doctors and nurses, were killed in the attack by Arab terrorists. Zehava is still unable to attend a barbeque as it reminds her of the smell of burning flesh.

Declaration of Sorrow

Rachel Rust, daughter of a former British officer who served in Palestine, confessed her deep sorrow at the cruel treatment handed out by the British army.

On a positive note, Rita Offenbach shared how her mother was among 180 Jewish fighters rescued after being besieged by Arabs attacking their convoy. Another paid tribute to British officer Orde Wingate who is still much loved in Israel for having laid the foundations of the Israeli Defence Force in creating special night squads.

The declaration of sorrow read, in part: “We grieve that [Britain’s policies] led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Jews who could have escaped Hitler’s ‘final solution’ if the gates to their ancient homeland had been fully open.”

Many Israelis are still waiting to hear an apology from Britain for her betrayal of Israel. There is still a need for much repentance and reconciliation.

Film-maker Hugh Kitson³ expressed sorrow, not only for the failures of the Mandate but also for the fact that today’s British Government fails to recognise Israeli sovereignty over their own capital city.

Many Israelis are still waiting to hear an apology from Britain for her betrayal of Israel in breaking a pledge to prepare a safe refuge for the Jewish people. Israel came into being without our help in the end, but not before many lives were unnecessarily lost due to the delay. There is still a need for much repentance and reconciliation.

Hope Persists

Prince William is scheduled to touch down on Monday for the start of the first ever official visit to Israel by a British Royal, during which he will pay his respects at the tomb of his great-grandmother, Princess Alice of Greece, who hid a Jewish family from the Nazis during the war. It is hoped that the visit will mark a turning point in Britain’s relationship with Israel.

It is certainly encouraging that, according to a senior Conservative source, British Home Secretary Sajid Javid will take steps later this year to fully ban Hezbollah, one of Israel’s most implacable enemies. Since banning the terrorist group in 2008, Britain has continued to recognise its political wing – a distinction not even accepted by Hezbollah, a heavily armed proxy of Iran which has held successive London rallies against the Jewish state.⁴

Also encouraging is Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s condemnation on Monday of the United Nations Human Rights Council over its long-standing anti-Israel bias, demanding the Council drop a controversial agenda item placing Israel under intense scrutiny.⁵

These are indeed steps in the right direction, and we trust and pray that the Duke of Cambridge will encounter true peace as he walks in the footsteps of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

References

1 My thanks to Rosie Ross, Israel’s Love Never Fails representative, for the Atlit report, and to her colleague Anne Heelis for passing it on to me. Further signatures to the declaration can still be made at www.nachamuami.com.

2 Where Jews were herded into a cramped, unsanitary location as a staging post for being transported to death camps.

3 Hugh Kitson’s latest documentary Whose Land? explores Israel’s historic and legal rights to their land.

4 Jerusalem News Network, 18 June 2018, quoting the Jewish Chronicle.

5 JNN, 20 June 2018.

Reflections on the achievements of the vicar's daughter.

It is almost a year since the result of the 2017 General Election, and accordingly perhaps time to review Theresa May as both Home Secretary and Prime Minister.

The election, called three years early at her whim, changed the composition of the House of Commons considerably. Instead of a tight working majority, her miscalculation – possibly borne out of hubris - meant that she became the Prime Minister of a minority Government, kept in power by the DUP.

To many Christians, given the progressive tendency of much recent Conservative and Coalition policy, and of many Conservative MPs, this was God’s mercy. Whatever one’s thoughts on the outcome of the election, governing without a mandate and without a majority does make Government much more difficult.

Great Expectations

Theresa May has made much of the fact that she is a Christian and that her father was a vicar. Many Christians have expressed the hope that this might mean she would seek to advocate for, and adopt positions that align with, biblical values and principles – but this has (thus far) been a vain hope.

Typically, MPs (particularly those newly elected and in Opposition, who have more time) get involved with organisations which they support: it is of note that she has never really been involved with the Conservative Christian Fellowship, preferring as she does to let others know about her faith through her works, not her words.¹

This attitude is her absolute prerogative, but has its consequences.

Theresa May has made much of the fact that she is a Christian and that her father was a vicar.

Tenure as Home Secretary

As Home Secretary for six years, her tenure is one of the longest in recent political history, so she has had huge scope to make a real impact on one of the great offices of state. However, her record as Home Secretary is, at best, mixed.

She pushed through the Modern Slavery Act of 2015, which was designed to tackle slavery in the UK by consolidating and extending previous legislation. However, her role in pushing through same-sex marriage has not had the publicity that she deserves. She was effusive in saying that same sex marriage was one of David Cameron’s key achievements – but was too modest. Her own role was considerable.²

One of the key roles of the Home Secretary is to keep the country safe – which includes keeping control of the UK’s borders. During her tenure, notwithstanding the increasing risk of Islamic terrorism, there were no major terrorist outrages in the UK. In this she was perhaps fortunate, as her policies were little different to her immediate predecessors’. With a humanistic rather than biblical understanding, it is hardly surprising that she also enthusiastically adopted the Home Office’s – and to be fair, the whole of the Establishment, including the Church Establishment’s - views on Islam as being a religion of peace.³

These views may well have functioned to slow down even further responses to the issue of widespread sexual abuse of teenage girls by gangs of Muslim men. Indeed, political leaders have steadfastly refused to acknowledge the inherently Muslim nature of the problem.⁴

In a related vein, there have long been allegations in Westminster about historic child sex abuse. These allegations are serious and ostensibly include current and former MPs, including those in Government, as well as civil servants and many others (the allegations also extend across the whole country).

Her record as Home Secretary was, at best, mixed.

One way to clear the air in both these respects would be to launch broad-ranging inquiries, operating in close co-operation with those who have been abused. Another way would be for a Select Committee to be encouraged to conduct its own such investigations.

Yet little if anything has happened. The question needs to be asked, why not? Home Office culture seems not to have changed at all, seemingly preferring to keep its and others’ secrets hidden rather than truth being brought to light, after which the healing process can properly start.

Tenure as Prime Minister

As Prime Minister, Theresa May is responsible for dealing with matters of State, for the direction of her Cabinet and for setting the political agenda more broadly. She is also responsible for choosing her Cabinet and her Ministers.

She became Prime Minister in the aftermath of the EU Referendum and pledged to lead Britain out of the EU – yet notwithstanding a divided party and without a working majority, she gives no impression of what she actually wants. Is she still a closet Remainer, wanting the softest of all Brexits - or at the other extreme, is she negotiating in such a way that nothing will be achieved, in the hope that the UK will be cast out by the EU, in sheer exasperation? Maybe God alone knows, but the ineptness, irrespective of one’s view on Brexit, is truly embarrassing.

Whatever her private thoughts about Brexit, it would be reassuring to know that she was aware that many Christians believe it is God’s plan for this country – and why. One key reason is to enable Britain to stand with Israel and fulfil what we failed to do with the British Mandate. Given the strength of the Arab lobby in the Foreign Office, standing with Israel has been almost anathema in British international diplomacy over the past 70 years. The forthcoming official Royal visit – the first ever - by Prince William to Israel is a welcome first move towards healing our national relationship with God’s chosen people.

In time, the Government will need to acknowledge Britain’s past anti-Semitism and shortcomings during the Mandate, during WWII and indeed since Israel’s independence (the Church throughout Britain could usefully lead the way in this). Yet, it remains to be seen how Theresa May will respond: she has been much cooler towards Israel than her predecessor, David Cameron. 

It is Theresa May’s prerogative not to talk about her faith. But if that is to be the case, she needs to show by her actions that she is a believer.

Further Tests to Come

It is, of course, Theresa May’s prerogative not to talk about her faith. But if that is to be the case, she needs to show by her actions that she is a believer.

A further test will be how she treats the demands for Northern Ireland to relax its abortion law, in the wake of Proposition 8 in Eire. Is she pro-life, or not? It is unrealistic to expect any Christian in Government to be able to do all that he or she wants to do – ultimately the battle we are in is a spiritual battle (Eph 6:12 and 2 Cor 10:3-5). Equally, the diversity of views of many genuine Christians is considerable, so what different Christians in Government may do will vary considerably and may differ from what their fellow believers think is right.

However, it still remains an opportunity for Theresa May to speak and act in a way that sets forth a clearly biblical attitude towards the unborn. The question is whether she will act, and if so, how - or if she will take the line of least resistance.

Weighing Up the Evidence

The lack of evidence from a biblical perspective that Theresa May has made any meaningful Christian difference in Government and the minimal evidence to suggest that she is meaningfully born again, is both sad and also instructive.

It is sad because we may have hoped for more from her, and it is easy to become disappointed and discouraged. But God is not taken by surprise. He chose her (Psa 75:6-7; Dan 2:21). We are all works in progress: she is his workmanship and it may be that he needs to break her in a way that has not yet happened, for his purposes that we do not yet know.

It is also instructive, because it behoves us to ask the degree to which she is representative of many Britons who profess to be Christian, but for whom there is scant evidence of such belief. God’s heart is that none should perish (John 3:16-7). Indeed, a key mission place is now the local church itself - including some church leaders whose words and works are in some cases so far from orthodoxy and orthopraxy that whether or not they are truly converted is a valid question.

The Way Ahead

Few Christians would dispute that we are in a mess - politically, socially and economically – because ultimately, we are in a spiritual mess. We need to intercede, beseech and pray hard - and keep on such intercessions and prayers.

We must ask the degree to which Theresa May is representative of many Britons who profess to be Christian, but for whom there is scant evidence of such belief.

We must pray – but not that God will simply bless the work of Theresa May’s hands and those of her Government, that we may live quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and reverence, and that prosperity will come to the nation once again. We must pray that the current turmoil in Britain and abroad would have its desired effect upon their hearts: that in his mercy, blind eyes would be opened and deaf ears would be unstopped.

We are commanded to pray for those in authority for the sake of the believing community (1 Tim 2:1-3), yet the reality is that most of us pray at elections and not continuously. But if we don’t pray continuously, others with a different agenda will do so – indeed, are doing so.

If we don’t pray for Theresa May, for her Government and her successor, we will get even more of the Government we deserve, not the one we need.

References

1 Montgomerie, T. The Practical Faith of Theresa May. Catholic Herald, 14 July 2016.

2 Booker, C. Theresa May used Europe to push through gay marriage. The Telegraph, 16 July 2016.

3 Murray, D. Why is Theresa May pretending that Islam is a ‘religion of peace’? The Spectator, 30 September 2014; Murray, D. Will politicians finally admit that the Paris attacks had something to do with Islam? The Spectator, 14 November 2015.

4 McCrae, N and Harradine, K. Muslim rape gangs and the inconvenient truth. Rebel Priest, 3 June 2018.

Why are we often so different?

In response to Linda Louis-vanReed’s recent article ‘The War on Trump’, Jock Stein muses on the contrasts between American and British attitudes to life and liberty.

In earlier life I had an American colleague who, domiciled in Scotland, heroically adopted three children from Devon. The oldest had an inherited genetic condition and suffered from depression as an adult. Last year, living on his own in California, he took his own life – but not before seeking help from three hospitals who all refused him admission because he had an insurance card called ‘Obama Care’.

The hospitals all refused to use the Obama Care card because they had been purchased by large hospital conglomerates, who wished to pursue more expensive insurance options.

American Christians have a record second to none in dedicated missionary and humanitarian engagement. But it has always puzzled me why their attitudes to healthcare provision, as well as to other political issues, are often so different from ours in Britain. If it were a matter of Christians thinking differently from others, I would expect and understand that – but my impression is that these attitudes represent the majority of Christians as well as Americans in general.

This article is an attempt to explain why this may be the case; it draws upon conversations with Americans as well as past reading, but I am open to correction.

1 Separation of Church and State

The Declaration of Independence is premised on belief in God. But because the American colonies saw church affiliation as directed by the attitude of the reigning monarch (rather than based on theological principles) they decided to allow for a separation of Church and State, hoping that this would make differences between denominations less problematic. Indeed, America was big enough to allow what missionaries called a ‘principle of comity’, with some States being mainly Presbyterian, others Baptist and so on.

Those who signed the Declaration never intended this separation to rule God out of public life. They just wanted to avoid the ‘establishment’ model being replicated in America, so that Christians (especially Non-conformists) would have a freedom they had not enjoyed in Britain. This has resulted in thousands of denominations freely proliferating.

On the one hand, this has allowed a freedom of theological inquiry which is non-aligned to political identity. On the other hand, it has inevitably led to the emergence of ‘tribal’ political identities, with politicians courting ‘the Christian vote’, just as Britain has had ‘the Non-conformist vote’ and ‘the Catholic vote’.

Those who signed the Declaration of Independence never intended the separation of church from state to rule God out of public life.

Since the Constitution does not actually name God, in the 20^th Century atheists began to argue more strongly not just to keep church out of state business, but to keep God and the Bible out of it too. Abortion and religious education in schools became crunch issues. While much the same kind of situation has now been reached in Britain by a different route, nevertheless here there is not the same stark gap between faith and public life that exists in the USA.

For example, take the polarisation between Christianity and science. In the USA, believing scientists such as Francis Collins (who cracked the human genome) have to tread very carefully around this issue when they write (as Collins does in his latest book The Language of God, which includes his testimony), despite the fact that 70% of US scientists across the full spectrum of disciplines identify as being ‘people of faith’ (Christian or otherwise). In the UK, there has been a far greater historic acceptance of faith and science rubbing along together.

This modern American attitude to separation – keep faith out of public life – seems to have embraced aspects of service also, feeding the arguments (outlined below) that welfare and healthcare are private matters - the responsibilities of individuals and churches, rather than the state.

2 The Formation of American Identity

The century leading up to the First World War did a lot to found American values. It was a Cowboys-and-Indians century in which Americans drove the frontier westward, with a belief (parallel to the spirit of British Empire) that the United States had a destiny to subdue the entire continent in the name of God.

A nation of self-made people was in the process of forming its own identity, especially after the Civil War, which left the country shaken and wounded. During this century, the steel magnate and self-made multi-millionaire Andrew Carnegie wrote a book called The Gospel of Wealth. In it, he argued that economic inequalities then emerging in American society should be tackled by the wealthy upper class, who should put their hard-earned millions to good use, engaging in thoughtful, responsible philanthropy.

A sense of individual responsibility came to characterise white American society and its Christianity.

This sense of individual responsibility came to characterise white American society and its Christianity, while it was black people who began to identify the Gospel communally – i.e. with a people and a race.¹ This contrast between individual and communal aspects of Christianity is expanded later.

Both Britain and the US have struggled to work through their race issues, but in Britain the work of those like ‘the Clapham Sect’ extended far beyond slavery into other social issues, and eventually Christians and non-Christians formed a consensus to support ‘the welfare state’ after the Second World War, which included the provision of social care. The same did not happen in USA.²

3 Individual and Social Provision of Care

The Old Testament teaches that God’s justice and care for the poor does require some social provision, not just individual charity (e.g. Lev 25). Similarly, the New Testament teaches that equity cannot be left simply to the goodwill of individuals (e.g. 2 Cor 8:13-14). This has often been reflected in the teaching of Christian leaders – for example, Calvin’s concern for his neighbour led him to support low interest rates and a city-sponsored job creation programme.

The theological underpinning of this comes from the biblical idea that each individual human being is made in the image of God (Gen 1:26) and is in need of rescue from sin through the coming of Christ and his sacrifice (John 1: 14, 29). But we also see (e.g. in Hebrews 2:5-10) a social or corporate focus – Jesus taking on humankind as a whole and dying, once for all, on the cross.

That is why the early Church Fathers described the incarnation as having both an individual side - the Lord coming to earth as a specific individual (enhypostasia in Greek) – and a corporate side - the Son identifying with humanity by taking on human nature (anhypostasia). And it is why the illustration of the Church as the Body of Christ – one body with many parts – is so powerful.

In other words, both the social and the individual matter when it comes to salvation, and this affects how we see the Gospel impacting society. My impression is that Christians in Europe, perhaps more influenced by Calvin, have taken on both these aspects of our salvation, the corporate aspect which lends itself to socialism, and the individual aspect, favourable to capitalism. This has led (all told) to a centrist economic position incorporating aspects of both in the provision of social welfare, but without the exclusion of charity.

Both the communal and the individual matter when it comes to salvation – and this affects how we see the Gospel impacting society.

In the US, it is the individual emphasis which has largely prevailed, while socialism has often been identified with communism (seen as the great rival of the American way of life, especially since the McCarthy era), and so rejected.³

In Britain the founder of the Labour Party (Keir Hardy) was a Christian; and early Trade Union branches, especially in Wales, were known as ‘chapels’. While of course many Christians held other political views, socialism was respected in Britain and found political expression in a way that did not occur in the States. The US Democratic Party had very different roots.

Final Thought: How Far is Grace ‘Unconditional’?

Healthcare is expensive, and understandably all governments struggle to put a cap on cost in one way or another, especially in ageing societies like Britain and the US. Both countries continue to debate this.

Although the contexts are very different, there is one question about attitudes which both societies face: do you help the poor regardless, or only the ‘deserving’ poor? And – to pick up the story I began with – do people really have to be wealthy enough to afford a certain level of health insurance before they qualify for assistance?

In other words, should the State set ‘conditions’ for the receipt of benefits, and if so, what conditions should it set? This may be directed by cost, but it is also a moral dilemma. Responses on each side of the pond will, at least in part, reflect the cultural differences outlined above.

Christians face this with regard to their own giving: do you help the poor, whether they deserve it or not - whether they belong to your group or not? Or do you limit generosity to ‘those and such as those’? In Roman times, the Emperor Julian used to complain how Christians supported pagan poor as well as their own, even though they would also have known Paul’s priority expressed in Galatians 6:10. And beyond the Church, is ‘charity’ only a private and individual concern, or is taxation and welfare a proper concern of ‘charity’?

In the days of the New Testament, Christians had to work out these issues within a minority group of believers – and in many respects we are now back where they were then. But the laws of Western nations were drawn up when Christians were at least nominally in a majority.⁴ Our social and political witness does, I think, require us to put these questions on a wider canvas, while we still retain the freedom to do so.

References

1 The formation of this ‘evangelical identity’ is well documented (see for example George Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture, 1980, OUP).

2 A recent interesting book which explores the history of these ideas is by the American writer Marilynne Robinson, The Givenness of Things (2016, Picador).

3 See Bob Goudzwaard, Capitalism and Progress: a Diagnosis of Western Society (1979, Wedge Pub. Foundation).

4 See The Evolution of the West, by Nick Spencer (2016, SPCK), Research Director of Theos.

Contemporary Christian music and the spirit of the age.

Previous instalments of this series have looked at the spiritual power of music and its biblical significance, and have argued that popular trends in music always reflect the spirit of the age.

But should this be the case for music used inside the Church? Shouldn’t this be reflecting a different Spirit altogether?

Music at the Centre

Music has always been a strong feature of Judeo-Christian worship and culture. One only has to read the Psalms of Ascent (Ps 120-134) to see how important a role it has played in Jewish communal worship, as pilgrims sang on their way up to Jerusalem for festivals.¹ Since Jesus’ time, generations of Christians have learned of the Lord through song, and rightly so, for biblical songs are vital to the health of the Church (Eph 5:19; 1 Cor 14:26; Col 3:16).

It is good for believers to strengthen their theology through music; it is one of the wonderful gifts the Lord has given to bind the Church together through the ages, encourage her and keep her on a sound footing.
However, there is something different about this current generation. It is perhaps more concerned with musical worship than any previous generation – but it is also less concerned with Scripture.

For modern Christians, our musical intake includes both worship music used in church services and what has become known as ‘Contemporary Christian Music’ (CCM), an umbrella term for songs of any modern style that are intentionally Christian in their lyrics.² As long as songs are biblical, God-glorifying, and written in the right spirit, both of these musical avenues can be great for encouragement and edification.

This current generation is perhaps more concerned with musical worship than any previous generation – but it is also less concerned with Scripture.

But some problems have started to creep in in recent years as songs have become, for many, a substitute for scriptural learning. As biblical knowledge has generally been in decline, the way has been opened for modern Christian music to be permeated not by the Holy Spirit, but by the ‘spirit of the age’.

In this article I will outline four such ways this is occurring, focusing particularly on music popular in evangelical and charismatic circles. What follows is a largely critical remark – but please bear with me as next week’s conclusion to this short series will be much more positively focused on the hallmarks of good, solid, biblical music. For those interested in my own musical background and the position from which I am offering these comments, please see the Author Bio at the end of this page.

Four ways in which modern Christian music can channel the spirit of the age

1. Entertainment

Hillsong meeting in Sydney, Australia. See Photo Credits.According to secular theorists, Western culture has developed an obsession with entertainment. Key features of this culture include preferences of illusion over truth, appearance over reality and distraction over meaningful pursuit.³ When this comes to religion, it also means a preference for an appearance of spirituality without concern to live this out fully (i.e. 2 Tim 3:5).

Christian worship meetings that look and feel more like pop concerts have long been the chagrin of folk who prefer more traditional formats. Whatever your personal taste, there is no doubt that both Christian worship music and CCM have imbibed something of the contemporary spirit of ‘entertain me’: all the buzz of a spectacle and the enjoyment of (usually) an attractive set of faces, and all the sense of participating in something that ‘feels’ spiritual, but with very little personal challenge or follow-through.

The blending of Christian music with the secular world of entertainment – whether we are talking about borrowed styles and genres, or borrowed formats of mass gigs and music festivals - “changes it subtly, for the musical and emotional [is] exploited while the spiritual [is] denied or perverted.”⁴ It is obviously possible for God to work powerfully through such forms and events, but too often it’s equally possible for nominal Christians and unbelievers to partake, enjoy, adulate the performer and leave feeling good, but otherwise unchanged.

The blending of Christian music with the secular world of entertainment is not something to be taken lightly.

Meanwhile, Christian bands and artists face enormous commercial pressure to put out best-selling albums every year and to gig their way around the globe, winning Grammy awards as they go.⁵ Part of this pressure comes from record labels, which these days include secular conglomerates like Sony and EMI, who want songs that sell. This means that trends in music are more likely to be defined by what is popular and award-winning than by theological accuracy.

Edifying, doctrinally-sound songs still ‘make it big’ today. And many Christian artists take very seriously their opportunity to give the Gospel to a mass audience. However, the taking of inspiration from the secular realm is not something that should be done lightly, and has often also popularised a Christianity ‘lite’ based on thin doctrine and transient commitment.

2. Celebrity

Western culture’s obsession with entertainment goes hand-in-hand with a fascination with celebrity which has, sadly, also infiltrated the Church. The Gospel Coalition’s Mike Cosper notes that “Celebrity culture turns pastors and worship leaders into icons. Celebrity culture turns worship gatherings into rock concerts. Celebrity culture confuses flash and hype for substance.”⁶

Gigs, popular charts and social media all naturally draw the eye not to Jesus but to the artists, with more pressure on them to demonstrate charisma than a fear of the Lord. Being in the public eye obviously affords performers great opportunity to point people to Jesus but an obvious risk here, nonetheless, is idolatry and its attendant problems.

High-profile Christian musicians also wield huge influence, especially over young people. This can be a force for good, but it can also be used to promote heresy. Consider the following examples:

Pro-LGBT

Example: song-writer and worship leader Vicky Beeching, who came out as a lesbian in 2014 and now works to further the LGBT agenda in the British Church.

Universalism/Multi-faith

With universalism and multi-faith agendas gaining currency in mainstream evangelical and charismatic circles as well as in the ‘emerging church’, several Christian musicians are endorsing this, directly or indirectly. Examples include:

• Well-known Christian artists contributing to the soundtrack of the universalist film The Shack.
  
• Hillsong’s worship pastor Carl Lentz downplaying Jesus as the only way to God when interviewed by Oprah.⁷
  

Edifying, doctrinally-sound songs still ‘make it big’ today – but so do songs promoting a Christianity ‘lite’ based on thin doctrine and transient commitment.

Contemplative Prayer

Various Christian song-writers are allying themselves with the contemplative prayer movement, which utilises prayer methods advocated by the so-called ‘desert fathers’. This movement is drawing extensive criticism for often amounting to a new age counterfeit of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Examples: David Crowder, Michael W Smith, Michael Card.⁸

Dominionism

One of the main ways in which the highly influential ‘New Apostolic Reformation’ group of teachers and ministries in the USA has managed to export and mainstream Latter Rain/dominionist teachings⁹ worldwide is through music.

Example: Bethel Church in Redding has an extensive music scene, producing songs that promote its own brand of theology and exporting them worldwide via groups such as Jesus Culture and Bethel Music. These songs are being given further credence by endorsements from big names such as Chris Tomlin and Michael W Smith, and from major conferences such as Passion in the USA (click here for a critical review).

3. Emotionalism

An important feature of postmodern Western culture is the triumph of heart over head. These days, reason and hard facts matter less than feelings. This also means an over-emphasis on experience (or, in Christian jargon, ‘encounter’).

Such a culture within the Church developed initially as a reaction against lifeless Christianity, and arguably has encouraged an honesty in music about lived, felt aspects of the Christian walk. However, it has often gone too far, with doctrine giving way to emotion. The way has therefore been opened for other spirits to counterfeit the work of the Holy Spirit, while true faith is side-lined.

Two extreme but nonetheless influential examples in Christian worship and CCM are hyper-charismatic music associated with the NAR group in America, and music used in the contemplative prayer movement (both mentioned previously). Both of these rely on repetitive rhythms and phrases, atmospheric mood music (referred to as music for ‘soaking’ or ‘meditation’, respectively) and intentionally vague lyrics.

High-profile Christian musicians wield huge influence, which can be a force for good, but can also be used to promote heresy.

The net result, in both camps, is music which draws the listener to switch off their mind to prepare the way for a spiritual encounter,¹⁰ rather than biblical music which should involve our minds as well as our spirits (1 Cor 14:15).

A brief excursion into the Bethel Music website provides some example lyrics:

• “Face to face, falling in / I surrender all again / I fall back into Your arms / I feel Your heart beating against me / Face to face, there’s no space between us”¹¹
  
• “I’m standing on the edge again / I feel Your breath coming on the wind… / It only gets stronger / It only goes deeper / My head’s underwater / but somehow I can finally breathe… / My heart is on fire / and this love is setting me free”¹²
  
• “It all starts with breathing You in / breathing You in / deeply / I’ve been drowning under my skin / no one but You can save me”¹³
  
• “Let the Holy Ghost come so close our hearts explode with your love / Let healing power come like fire and burn in the marrow of my bones… / Open the sky / Come and ride on the songs we sing…”¹⁴
  
• “The waves of your affection keep washing over me… / All those angels / they are swimming in this ocean and they still can find no shore / Day and night / night and day / They keep seeing new sides of your face”¹⁵
  

These are potted examples from one (albeit influential) source, but they show how songs utilising experiential, emotive language and lacking in clear doctrine could (at a push!) be interpreted in the light of Scripture, but could also be interpreted in all sorts of other ways.¹⁶

4. Self

The previous three points are united by a recurring focus on self. While time spent worshipping God undoubtedly leads to great personal blessing, there is a danger that this becomes imbalanced and fleshly, such that times of worship are approached primarily because of what I might receive from God. Contemporary worship music and CCM have, sadly, both imbibed this inward-looking focus on personal blessing and gratification.

Let me illustrate this briefly. The annual worship compilation albums ‘WOW’ collect together each year’s most popular contemporary Christian music. On their 2017 album of 39 tracks, just 7 songs mention the name of Jesus, 5 mention the cross and only 4 mention sin. This same pattern is repeated historically - in fact, the WOW 2015 album, also 39 songs long, boasts just 4 songs that include the name of Jesus, 5 that mention the cross and only one that includes the word ‘sin’.

While time spent worshipping God undoubtedly leads to great personal blessing, there is a danger that this becomes imbalanced and ‘me-orientated’.

Of course, not every Christian song needs to mention the name of Jesus in order to be acceptable (the original lyrics of ‘Amazing Grace’ do not mention any of the above three words either!). But there’s a broader point here: the majority of contemporary Christian music, with its positive messages of personal victory, blessing, revival and overcoming, is in danger of obscuring vital parts of the Gospel. One could easily ingest the majority of modern Christian tunes and conclude that the Good News is simply a matter of accepting that God loves you.

Christian music should rightly make space for songs about the personal and individual. But great discernment is needed to stop this going too far – especially when Western culture is infamous for its inward focus on ‘me, myself and I’.

Conclusion

In writing this study, I have not wanted to ride roughshod over the many good, solid worship songs that are being written today, nor toss away the very idea of CCM. Personally, I think there’s a place for both – and next week I hope to unpack features of good quality Christian music.

But sadly, we live in a culture that is resorting to spectacle in order to distract itself from its own deep spiritual crisis – a culture that has turned inwards to personal feelings and experiences in order to avoid confronting the One True God. Is CCM and even Christian worship music unwittingly aligning itself with this?

I am left with a number of questions, which I will list here as prompts for further discussion:

1. Has the Christian worship and CCM industry imbibed too much of the ‘spirit of the age’ to be redeemable? Should we be looking to other sources of musical inspiration for our worship (e.g. Messianic congregations in Israel)?
   
2. Is there a place for the public testing of Christian songs and/or the public holding of the Christian music industry to account? How might this look?
   
3. How can we be wise with our own consumption of contemporary Christian music, personally and corporately?
   

Next Week: We will finish up the series by looking at what makes for good, biblical Christian music.

Author Bio

Frances is 28 years old and was introduced to both piano and clarinet from early ages. She was classically trained but has dabbled in (and loves) jazz, and sings folk and gospel music regularly with friends. She teaches music privately and has been leading worship in her home church for the past eight years, having played in worship bands since the age of 10. She has a love of music of many different genres and a passion to see the church of God led well in worship.

References

1 See also comments on the biblical role of music made in the first part of this series.

2 These genres overlap, but both stand relatively distinct from the liturgical music of established denominations. The CCM industry grew out of the Jesus Movement in the late 1960s/1970s and has since become a highly commercialised, near-billion-dollar industry that in the USA has outstripped the classical and jazz market combined. It has moved to overlap with ‘worship’ music (i.e. used in church services) much more since the millennium, after suffering something of a decline. Read a brief history here.

3 Read more here.

4 Wilson-Dickson, A, 1992. The Story of Christian Music. Oxford: Lion, p203.

5 Grammys for Best Contemporary Christian Music Song and Album were introduced in 2012.

6 Kill Your (Celebrity Culture) Worship. The Gospel Coalition, 29 January 2016.

7 See coverage here.

8 See here.

9 For more information, please see our ‘Blessing the Church?’ series.

10 I will not go into detail here, but there is considerable research elsewhere about how these two streams represent a deviation into the occult rather than biblical worship. One resource is the Lighthouse Trails Research website.

11 First Love by Jonathan David Helser, 2016.

12 It Only Gets Stronger by Jeremy Riddle and Ran Jackson, 2017.

13 Save Me by Steffany Gretzinger, Amanda Cook and John David Gravitt, 2017.

14 Wrecking Ball by Jonathan David Helser, 2010.

15 Endless Ocean by Jonathan David Helser, 2009.

16 Bethel’s Brian Johnson has gone on record saying that “I honestly think that people freak out too much about whether [worship music] is biblical or not.” Do you agree? 

News of church growth in Iraqi Kurdistan.

It is not making news headlines here in the UK, but there is a growth of believers in Christ Jesus in Kurdistan. They are getting saved from Islam in the wake of the withdrawal of ISIS.

Below is a collection of reports from personal contacts who have visited the area and comments from believers there. The aim is to encourage believers in the West to think of these brothers and sisters in Christ and hold them in prayer as they struggle in difficult circumstances, often facing persecution and hardship.

They are so very gracious and encouraging in their communications - they need encouragement and whatever support we can give.

In Yeshua,

Peter Adams

The Untenable Situation of the Nineveh Plains Christians

Iraq is split into three general areas: Kurdistan in the north, Sunni Islam in the centre-north of Baghdad, and Shi’a Islam in the south.

The Nineveh Plains of central Iraq are the biblical areas where the Prophets Jonah and Nahum preached. Jonah gave them the besorah (news) and they repented and turned to the God of Israel. 150 years later, Nahum brought news of impending judgment from God. They had, in that short time, turned away from him.

However, Christian societies have survived in this same area for 2,000 years. Those who remain today are facing an existential threat. Their future literally hangs in the balance.

ISIS has all but decimated Christian towns like Qaraqosh and Bartella. I’ve seen their disastrous conditions. There is little or no support from central Government. The powerful Orthodox priests (think of the Jewish priesthood of Yeshua’s day) managed to undermine and ruin the help that was promised by Franklin Graham’s Samaritans Purse. They could have had 500 homes repaired and made habitable, but Evangelical help is not wanted by these men - they’d rather the people suffer.

There is a growth of believers in Christ Jesus in Kurdistan, getting saved out of Islam.

The latest attempt to undermine the demography of the Christian town of Qaraqosh, which has a massive cross at the city entrance that can be seen from miles around, is to infuse Shi’a students into its Christian college. Incredibly, these students are now angered because there is no accommodation for them in town! Meanwhile, 1,000 Christian refugee families returning to the area are themselves desperately trying to repair homes so as to settle down, after three to four years away living in camps.

These people, like my friend RS, need our prayers more than ever before. They are fighting what seems like a losing battle, but for their hope and faith in Yeshua. I do not know how they continue, how they even have the zeal to fight on. But what alternatives do they have? Christians are not welcomed into Europe and America - only Muslims. Such is the skewed world in which we live.

Surely God is coming swiftly and his recompense is with Yeshua, who will wage a ferocious war against his enemies - even these who are destroying the lives of his children.

Thank you father for having a godly heart for the people and the new believers in Kurdistan. It’s true, our area is under threats and [there has been] a hard situation of the economy recently. Please, whenever you guys give help…to the people in Kurdistan, at first pray about it for the families for…grace, peace and [that] hearts would be soft. (HK)

Great Numbers Departing from Islam

I am reliably told that many, many Muslims are departing from Islam in Kurdistan and Iraq. Although they still go to mosque and play the part out of fear, they are no longer practising their faith. This is an indication that the ‘prince of power of the air’ (Eph 2:1-2) is to some degree being challenged.

Yes my father, many Muslims leave Islam. I was a Muslim 5 years ago…I believed in Jesus Christ… (XS)

Many are simply becoming atheists, while others are turning to Christianity. This has been driven by a realisation that the god of ISIS is no god worth following. Attending the mosque has become perfunctory, a way to not draw attention to themselves.

This does not mean all are coming to faith in Yeshua, but it does mean the grip satan has had in these areas is loosening. And in this atmosphere, Kurds in particular are being saved.

These people need our prayers more than ever before. They are fighting what seems like a losing battle, but for their hope and faith in Yeshua.

Meanwhile, the example being set by Christians in the West is no help to these new believers. “It does not inspire Muslims to come to Messiah”, ZH said. “We are coming to Yeshua because of direct revelation from God, reading the Bible and seeing our fellow Muslims in the face of persecution willing to leave Islam to follow Jesus”.

Another commented: “The strength of Islam is the weakness of so-called Christianity in the West...we are bending over backwards to please everybody except Jesus Christ, instead of living to the Glory of the One and Only God the Father.”

Revelations of Jesus

Nevertheless, the Spirit of God is at work in Iraq – for which we need to rejoice! Yeshua, the great revelation of God to man (which the Allah of Islam is incapable of producing), has been causing many Muslims to lose hope in Islam. As they understand and grasp the Judeo-Christian message they are filled with hope.

And the fact that Yeshua suffered persecution gives them greater strength to endure their difficult conditions. It is a motivation to live for him and not to fear any coming tribulation. They are not forsaken, they sense His presence, and KNOW His peace.

A message from XS in Kurdistan who has left Islam:

A God who cannot reveal Himself is not a god…Thanks be to God, the faith is much stronger because God created us in His image. And he revealed [himself in] human flesh to let us not have any doubts about Him...! …that’s the reason we are feeling so pleased because Jesus has been persecuted before each of us, and this persecution is [bearable for] us for the sake of His name.

Others are coming to faith as they see the steadfastness of the believers who have counted the huge cost of leaving Islam. This is truly different from our Western idea of people coming to Jesus to see what they can get out of him. But coming to the Lord is not a formula to a better lifestyle. The reality is that most Christians who come to Yeshua in earnestness find themselves literally surrounded by problems.

Our brothers in Kurdistan see the life of a believer quite differently. They see Yeshua walking beside them in the midst of their storms. This is the type of faith that draws unbelieving Muslims to Yeshua. They are not coming for a better lifestyle; they are coming because he is the only hope we have in this life. A new lifestyle, or a new life? There is a huge, huge difference.

New Death Threats for Kurdish Believers

Recently I had a video call to Christian friends in Kurdistan who I visited a couple of months ago. They have bad news concerning their safety, yet in this darkness there is the encouragement of seeing the light of new believers coming to faith.

After a recent distribution to Muslim widows and mothers who lost sons fighting ISIS, they’ve received death threats. This has unfortunately meant they have had to leave their homes for the safety of Irbil. Quite incredibly, in the midst of these tribulations, they are seeing Muslims come to faith. Another two men have come to believe in Yeshua in these last days.

It seems almost bizarre that while we in the West are busy discussing and debating the rapture, and whether Christians are due to go through tribulation, our brothers are faced with some very trying and testing times. Consider the domestic difficulties on top of this, with some spouses not being saved and the pressure on these marriages.

While we in the West are busy discussing and debating the rapture, and whether Christians are due to go through tribulation, our brothers are faced with some very trying and testing times.

Apart from this, they have the looming political spectre of Iran hanging over them, barely half an hour away. Iran is pushing to have a crescent running from ancient Persia through Iraqi Kurdistan, Syria and Lebanon opening the way to the Mediterranean Sea. And of course poised to take Israel from her northern border.

Thankfully we have the scriptures full of exhortation to those enduring hardships and living under an anti-Christ system already. These are two we discussed recently:

They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. (John‬ ‭16:2‬)‬

While the context John speaks about is Judaism, exactly the same applies to those put out of the mosques. The Mullahs have been speaking about our brethren and their need to be put to death.

…strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God’. (Acts‬ ‭14:22‬) ‬‬

Paul gives further warning here that followers of Yeshua must not expect to enter the Kingdom any other way than by tribulation.

I ask you who care to please pray for them. And those already praying, please continue praying the Lord’s protection over them and their families. These people do not have other Christians to look to for guidance and support. They are in desperate need of our prayers and have asked that I convey their deep appreciation for our love and concern towards them.

Points for prayer:

• Please pray for Muslims departing from Islam in Kurdistan and Iraq: that the Spirit of our Lord God may draw them to himself, and that they do not stay in a spiritual vacuum, only for it to be filled by something else. Our prayers can be influential in the redemption of these people, for whom Yeshua died.
  
• Please pray for the believers in Kurdistan who have left Islam - that they continue in this new faith in Yeshua the Messiah.

Point for action:

There are some believers in Kurdistan who cannot afford kerosene for their heaters, and those in Soran and Irbil also need food support through the winter. Temperatures drop below freezing and I am planning to send some money to my contacts there who will see it gets into the right hands.

If anyone has a desire to help, any amount will be greatly appreciated. It would not take much for us believers to make a huge difference in their lives of our Kurdish brethren this winter over a three-month period.

If you would like to contribute, please make a direct payment to Prophecy Today (details below) and include the instruction ‘Kurdistan’ – we will collect the gifts and send them directly.

Bank transfer details: Prophecy Today Ltd / Account Number: 19560260 / Sort Code: 77-66-03

Editorial note: These reports were received via email and have been edited slightly and anonymised for publication. The content remains unchanged. Names of believers have been abbreviated for their protection.

Far from it – it is time to reclaim our Christian heritage.

One unexpected fallout of the General Election has been the question about how Christians can, without compromise, serve in Parliament.

With the conservative, Protestant DUP party potentially entering Government with an influence far beyond their small number of ten MPs and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Tim Farron, resigning so as not to compromise his faith, much is being said. But can we not also discern the voice of God in all this?

Actually, there is a clear answer to this question that is easily lost in our peer-pressured, politically correct, compromising society. In a nutshell, true Christianity should be at the heart of the government of the UK, with no divide between politics and Christianity.

Sworn Duty

We do not have a written constitution, such as in the USA. If we did, the clear role of Government would be to interpret and defend the constitution. What we have, however, is potentially better.

Over many centuries, since the days of Alfred the Great, our four-nation Union has developed a balance of laws and customs that define our constitutional framework of Monarchy, Church and Government. This framework is intended to be reflected in our laws, education, finance and business structures.

When MPs enter Parliament they are required to take an oath or affirmation of allegiance, known as ‘swearing in’. The exact wording can be found here.

The oath or affirmation is either in the name of Almighty God (the oath) or a statement of honour (the affirmation) to “be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors, according to law.”

True Christianity should be at the heart of the government of the UK.

When we consider the constitutional position that is defined by the Monarch’s own Coronation Oath, surely the allegiance declared by MPs is to uphold what the Monarch stands for. If she had not taken the Oath she would not, by law, have been crowned Queen – that is how important this is. As we have said in other articles in Prophecy Today, central to the Coronation Oath is the commitment “to the utmost of power to maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel” (for the wording of the entire Oath click here).

In short, the duty of every member of the Lords and Commons is to test every aspect of UK governance against the Queen’s commitment before God “to the utmost of power to maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel”! Every successive Government must interpret our constitutional position and every MP must measure what he or she is promising when standing for and taking office, against this one benchmark: that by law Britain is a Christian nation and the MPs’ vow is to uphold this position!

Far from Christian MPs struggling over conscience issues to serve in Parliament, the entire conscience of the nation should be measured by the biblical interpretation of all that is done in both Houses. This is especially so since the Monarch’s power has been restricted to a largely advisory capacity and, at the strongest (apart from the power she has over her own hand to sign in new laws!), to warning the Prime Minister during their regular meetings.

Tim Farron: A Case in Point

Tim Farron. See Photo Credits.

Obviously, however, for the past 50 years the UK has been subjected to a powerful process of secularisation which has undermined our biblical heritage.

Look at the issue of Tim Farron. When he was asked whether or not homosexual sex acts were sinful he should have said “yes they are sinful” – and so should all MPs, not based on their own views or party lines, but based on clear interpretation of biblical principles into all matters of governance. This is the responsibility MPs have taken under oath - not a matter of personal opinion.

The allegiance sworn by MPs is to uphold what the Monarch stands for – that which she promised in her Coronation Oath.

It is up to the individual who performs such acts of sexuality to face up to Almighty God, who has declared his principles clearly through his word, but is also full of grace for any repentant sinner. It is for politicians to ensure that laws are in place which protect the vulnerable in society and to bring in educational strategies that help our children to have a conscience framed on biblical principles.

Anything less is a breaking of our constitutional position made before Almighty God. Is it any wonder, with successive governments failing in their oaths and commitments to God, that we are facing the situation in our nation where God’s hand of protection is being withdrawn, with horrendous and escalating consequences?

Defining Our National Character

In the House of Lords there are 26 bishops, including the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. They are termed the ‘Lords Spiritual’. It is their right to serve and their role to bring biblical insight to bear on every issue before them. This is where we must hear a clear declaration and reminder of the laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel, to help all other Members of Parliament be clear on direction.

Many non-conformists in the UK may have long since ceased to think that the Christian faith can be central to the political workings of the nation, but until the Coronation Oath itself is liberalised, this is not so.

Until that time, by law and custom, politics and the Christian faith (albeit expressed chiefly through the Established Church) should be seamlessly connected in the governance of our nation. Christianity should define the character of the United Kingdom. God knows this and that is what he expects – no less. Every Government bill, every debate in the parliamentary chambers, every discussion between Prime Minister and Monarch, every prayer meeting in Parliament, should be centred on interpreting biblical principles accurately into the life of the nation.

Our Responsibility

This is why we have 26 bishops in the House of Lords. They are there to declare the word of the Lord and to give biblical advice to MPs as they make the laws of the land. But do we ever hear the word of the Lord declared by any of the bishops? It is so rare that it would no doubt be headline news in the media!

Until the Coronation Oath itself is liberalised, the Christian faith should be central to the political workings of the nation.

If the Church is silent on the great issues of the day, how can we expect MPs to know the standards of righteousness required to conform to biblical teaching? In ancient Israel the Lord held the religious leaders responsible for the state of the nation. “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock” (Ezek 34:10).

We all have a responsibility to pray for those in authority and in a democracy we have the right and the ability to make our views known to our representatives in Parliament. The whole Church, therefore, not just the bishops, shares the responsibility for the state of the nation. This is a sobering thought! Are we, individually, doing all we can to make the word of the Lord heard in the United Kingdom?

This is not a call for some dry religiosity to descend on our nation, but for us to return to God so that he will protect us in all our ways, restoring a tangible peace and security to the UK. Herein is our prosperity and our commission to serve one another. Herein is the protection of our borders, our care for the elderly and vulnerable, the future and hope for our children - and principles whereby we can avert the tragedies that are currently besetting us.

Pippa Smith reviews ‘The Evil That Men Do’ by Marcus Paul (Sacristy Press, 2016).

This is a timely and scholarly book which reminds us of the significance and importance of our Christian heritage. In his comments, the Rt Revd Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, said, “It is always vital to check our assumptions about historical judgements – not least in the twenty-first-century west. Marcus Paul invites us to correct our memory and to look afresh at assumptions about religion in general and Christianity in particular. Read it and be challenged.”

As the author says, “every healthy society has needed its prophetic figures who will stand out against the prevailing corruption of the time and be prepared to pay the consequences.”

We seem to be living in such times; Christians are facing great injustices, not only around the world but here and now in our own country. This is compounded by modern life, as he so rightly says: “our opinions are formed en masse by an astonishingly small number of TV, press and internet journalists and editors.”

What Christianity Has Done for Us

It is more important than ever that we should not forget what Christianity has given us, through the education and culture bequeathed to us by monasticism, missionary work, the preaching of John Wesley (which prevented us following bloody revolution) and the more recent social campaigns of Wilberforce and others.

It is more important than ever that we should not forget what Christianity has given us.

Paul takes his narrative not only from serious historians but from poets, philosophers, novelists and others – those who were contemporary with the events which today are placed so often under a negative spotlight. He draws out where and why the Church really did fail in following the teaching of Christ and his apostles, and reminds us that there are many areas today in which there is still considerable room for improvement. These sincere calls for reflection mark the author’s commitment to an improved debate which is both honest and self-critical.

Defending the Church

How often have we heard the mantra, ‘I might consider Christianity if the Church had not done so many bad things.’ In this eloquent, historically informative and most readable of books lies the answer for Christians, to such a concern. I hope and pray it will be read widely by those of faith and none, because it lights the path to understanding. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

‘The Evil That Men Do: Faith, Injustice and the Church’ (266 pages, paperback) is available from the publisher for £10.99 + P&P.

A round-up of key resources for concerned Christians.

Christian Institute: General Election Resources

• Briefing on where the main parties stand on issues important to Christians.
  
• Questions to ask MPs.
  
• View your MP’s voting record.

Christian Concern: The Power of the Cross

• Campaign tools including church resources, social media resources, plus plenty of information on Christian freedoms in the UK and how to engage with the election in your area.
  
• View your constituency profile – including voting records for past and present candidates, as well as prospective candidate profiles.

CARE: engaGE2017

• Information on key election issues important to Christians.
  
• Resources for individuals and churches, designed to equip Christians to get involved in the election.

CUFI (Christian United for Israel): A Pledge for Israel

• Contact your prospective MPs and ask them if they are willing to pledge their support for Israel.
  
• See also CUFI’s coverage of Labour’s manifesto commitment to recognising a state of Palestine.
  

Voice for Justice UK

• VfJUK is not party-political but has launched a petition calling on Labour to drop their manifesto commitment to extending abortion ‘rights’ into Northern Ireland. Click here for more information.
  

If you know of any other useful resources, do post them below!

There was a serious flaw in Luther’s understanding of the Bible.

From reports of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with his British counterpart Theresa May, it seems that the UK government doesn’t really believe Iran is a threat to world peace or, for that matter, that God’s chosen people are worth supporting to the hilt.

In defying a call for fresh sanctions against Iran, Mrs May indicated her continued commitment to the nuclear deal which Mr Netanyahu believes to be highly dangerous, saying: “Iran seeks to annihilate Israel, it seeks to conquer the Middle East, it threatens Europe, it threatens the West, it threatens the world.”¹

I am reminded of the indelible link between Bible-believing Christians and comfort for Israel (Isaiah 40) – and where this is lacking, it is through ignorance.

The Goods and Evils of the Reformation

In a year that we are celebrating the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation, sparked off by Martin Luther, we should be thankful that it opened the way to an understanding of the Bible that had a hugely civilising effect on the West, the heart of his rediscovery being that salvation in Christ comes through faith alone, not by good deeds.

Sadly, however, there was a major flaw in Luther’s understanding in that he failed to grasp that God had not forsaken the Jews despite their overall rejection of Christ. And it is widely reckoned that his anti-Semitic statements sowed the seeds of the Holocaust. Indeed, Anglican clergyman Simon Ponsonby has said that Nazism was a legacy of Luther, who had called for the urgent expulsion of Jewish people from Germany in his last sermon.²

The Reformation had a hugely civilising effect on the West - but sadly Luther may also have sowed the seeds of the Holocaust with his anti-Semitic statements.

A Different Luther

But a 20^th Century hero named after him, Martin Luther King Jr, had a very different view which certainly does not chime with current political correctness.

When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You’re talking anti-Semitism!

Those with a different agenda try to re-write history by claiming, for example, that this quote is a hoax. But it comes through unscathed on closer examination.³

“Peace for Israel means security,” said King, “and we must stand with all of our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can almost be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality.”⁴

Returning to a Biblical Agenda

Judging by the strong Christian content of his inaugural speech along with the make-up of his cabinet including several Bible-believing Christians as well as Jews, I am most encouraged by the new US President Donald Trump.

On important matters of politics, as in society as a whole, the Bible trumps all other agendas. And we are much nearer to being on the right track in world affairs when its ethos and principles begin to dictate policy once more – as it did 100 years ago when the (mostly) evangelical Christian members of David Lloyd George’s War Cabinet understood the importance of a re-born Israel. That led to the Balfour Declaration, promising that the British Government would do all in its power to facilitate the re-creation of a Jewish state in the Holy Land.

That it happened was clearly part of God’s plan, and the Bible’s agenda, but now the world condemns Israel for stealing land from the Palestinians. Yet, in addressing Israel’s restoration, a recurring theme of the Bible, the prophet Amos writes: “I will bring my people Israel back from exile… and will plant them in their own land, never again to be uprooted…” (Amos 9.14f).

I’m told that, earlier this week, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson took the trouble to show Mr Netanyahu the very desk at which Balfour wrote and signed the declaration.

That both Balfour and Trump have come under ferocious fire is because they have challenged the fashionable so-called ‘anti-fascists’ of the anti-God brigade.

On important matters of politics, as in society as a whole, the Bible trumps all other agendas.

Challenging Anti-Semitism

Canon Andrew White, the 'Bishop of Baghdad'.

Canon Andrew White – the clerical equivalent of Trump when it comes to plain-speaking – put it perfectly when he said that “the world is anti-Semitic because it is anti-God. This land (Israel) is God’s land…”.⁵

Also known as the Vicar of Baghdad, the Anglican clergyman has stood up to brutal terrorists while negotiating the release of hostages and has become the voice of reconciliation amidst the hatred and bitterness of Middle East conflict.

In an interview with this month’s issue of the Israel Today magazine, he added: “The conflict exists because Israel’s opponents are fundamentally anti-Jewish. One cannot merely say that they are only opposed to Israel; after all, Israel represents the essence of Judaism. No Judaism, no Israel. No Judaism, no God!”

Speaking of his experience in Baghdad, where he built up a church of over 6,000, he said: “At first the Iraqi Christians were against Israel, as were the Muslims. I was shocked by this and decided to enlighten them…about the Jewish roots of their faith.”

And it was as a result of this that they developed a love for Israel.

Canon Andrew White has spoken our recently about the need to love Israel.

A New Reformation

Hatred of Israel is due in large part to biblical illiteracy. So it is surely time for a new reformation which sees the word of God restored to its rightful place as the sure foundation for all who claim to be followers of Jesus.

It is revealing that among Christian denominations that have taken issue with Israel are the Presbyterians and Methodists, who are in serious decline both spiritually and numerically.

Israel also needs to restore their relationship with God, as they did in Jehoshaphat’s day. But Christians are called to help with this process by praying for the peace of Jerusalem (Psa 122:6) and by sharing the gospel with them both in word and deed (Rom 1:16).

Notes

1 Cowburn, A. Theresa May urged by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to back fresh Iran sanctions. The Independent, 7 February 2017.

2 Peace in Jerusalem (p157), quoting Simon Ponsonby addressing the CMJ (Church’s Ministry among Jewish people) Conference at Swanwick, England, in 2013.

3 See Kramer, M, quoted in Yes, MLK really did say the quote that anti-Zionism is anti-semitism... 21 January 2013, Elder of Ziyon.

4 Schachtel, J. The forgotten MLK: An ally of the Jews and Israel. Conservative Review, 16 January 2017.

5 Schneider, A. INTERVIEW: Canon Andrew White on Christians in the Middle East. Israel Today, 3 January 2017.

Paul Luckraft interviews Manoj Raithatha, co-founder and owner of Instant Apostle, a publishing house with a difference.

It is always interesting and inspiring to learn how God births a new work, especially when under unusual circumstances within a familiar field - in this case the world of publishing.

Instant Apostle is relatively new to the Christian book market but is already making a significant impression. Talking to Manoj gave me a real sense of its purpose and potential.

Initial Vision

Manoj's early career was in the property business but when converted from a Hindu background in 2008, he began to question what it really meant to be a Christian in business. How could he make a real difference for the Kingdom? Was it just about making money or was it possible to create something that promotes the values of God's Kingdom in the world?

The initial vision for Instant Apostle came from elsewhere. Bridget Adams was a Church of England priest with a difference - her parish was the business world. With a background in science research, a strong entrepreneurial spirit and a heart for Christians in business, she was instrumental in hearing from God that a new publishing house could serve His needs well in the current spiritual climate in this country.

She shared this vision with Manoj who was initially reluctant and declined any personal involvement. Or at least, that was his position until one decisive day when, simply sitting in a café with Bridget and not even discussing the venture, God intervened. Manoj describes it as a "clear moment from God when the Spirit hit and said, Do it!" From then on he knew – it was time to get to work!

Instant Apostle is relatively new to the Christian book market but is already making a significant impression.

Reliance on PrayerManoj's autobiography, published 2015.

From that point it was only a few short months before Instant Apostle was launched in April 2012. But how to get manuscripts to turn into books?

Prayer has proved to be the key; indeed, it was an important component from the beginning when the name Instant Apostle was given to Bridget in prayer. The first manuscripts simply arrived, there was no need to go searching for them. Since then, whenever the next publishing deadline approaches, Manoj simply prays and God provides. Three times a year, five new titles are required, and so far there has never been a shortfall. God is looking after this business!

Finance has also never been a problem. Starting with just £5,000 as seed money to set up the business, it has since been self-supporting simply through selling books (mainly via Amazon, Eden and Christian bookshops). Instant Apostle is also a publishing partner of Lion Hudson.

Whenever the next publishing deadline approaches, Manoj simply prays and God provides.

Instant Apostle is always looking for new writers, especially those who are passionate about addressing diverse social issues from a Kingdom perspective. A further aim is to publish titles that can also cross over into the secular marketplace. Books that can speak into 'the now' are particularly welcome, prophetic voices that will change the way readers understand God's Kingdom and see the world. If you have a book in you, then here is one channel to explore – not all manuscripts are accepted, of course; quality is important!

Here is a pioneer publishing house that the originator Bridget Adams described as "a download from God". Sadly, since its launch Bridget went to be with the Lord, but as part of her legacy, Instant Apostle lives on and, though it is likely to remain small within the publishing world as a whole, its future influence seems assured.

Find out more about Instant Apostle on their website, instantapostle.com. Read more about Manoj's conversion experience in his autobiography Filthy Rich (2015, Monarch Books, available on Amazon), which also shares about the Instant Apostle venture.

We reviewed one of Instant Apostle's books, The Returning King by Claire Lambert, earlier this year.