Tim Dieppe reviews Christianity and the New Eugenics, by Calum MacKellar (2020)

Walking with God into the New Year

The alarming rise in anti-Christian prejudice

The fourth and final part of ‘The State of the West’

Second in a series looking at ‘The State of the West’ (Read Part 1 here)

Challenging the notion of ‘Islamophobia’

Paul Luckraft reviews ‘Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind’ by Tom Holland (Little, Brown, 2019)

Clifford Denton introduces a new study series

How the West was lost – and what God's people ought to do about it.

Editorial Introduction: In the first of a two-part interview by Randall Hardy, the former Queen’s Chaplain Gavin Ashenden gives his perspective on the spiritual state of Britain.

Part 1: Counting the Cost

RH: Many people/Christians in the West are confused by the rapid changes which are happening in society. What is your understanding of the times in which we live?

GA: We've been used to a period when Christianity has profoundly influenced the world we've lived in, but its influence has ebbed and flowed, so we've had, if you like, almost eddies of influence. To continue with that metaphor and to use tide instead, the tide of Christian influence is in our day running out fast and the extent to which it's run out has surprised everybody.

It's almost as if Christian influence has crumbled overnight for some of us, in the last couple of decades, in a way that would have been shocking if we could have foreseen it. So I think the effect it's had on us is to challenge our assumption that we could take the Christianisation of our culture for granted.

We clearly can't, and its disintegration in our own lives has been a cultural and spiritual shock, and I think also a theological warning.

RH: How far back in history do you see the roots of today's rapid changes reaching?

GA: I think it's helpful to have a bird's eye view of the last 2,000 years…if we do that from the perspective of our island, what we see is Christianity locked in a struggle with autocratic Roman culture and then, as it succeeded in converting the Roman Empire, it found itself facing paganism in Europe.

It converted paganism and set up the foundations for a deeper Christianisation of society. I'm one of the people who look to the Middle Ages as being an immensely impressive period, [when] the Christianisation of society went deep, with houses of prayer at the centre of society's life and the rulers being held to account for Christian values.

Like all life cycles, it was cyclical and the Reformation sought to bring new life to it, but the problem for the Reformation was it was overtaken by the Enlightenment.

The tide of Christian influence is running out fast - and the extent to which it's run out has surprised everybody.

So for the last 300 years we've been struggling with a growing rationalism which has fed human pride and amplified the theological question posed in the beginning of Genesis – ‘Just because you can achieve something, are you sure you can live with the consequences of taking those actions?’

What we discovered in the 20^th and 21^st Centuries is that we can't live with the consequences of our skilfulness.

So from the perspective of the end of the Age of Enlightenment, where we are now, we see that we've been overcome by a love of human cleverness, which has eclipsed people's sense of the need in their own hearts, and that's one of the reasons why it's so difficult to communicate the Gospel at what I think I might want to call the end of the Age of Enlightenment - which is where we live now.

RH: We have seen many churches embracing these changes and seeking to claim they are Christian values. Why do you think this is happening and where do you think it is a leading?

GA: When asked this kind of question, we need to agree what category of diagnosis we are going to use. We have the options of spiritual discernment on the one hand, or an analysis that flows from a reading of political and historical development on the other.

Christianity always needs to interpret itself in a way that the contemporary culture can hear. But that immediately throws up a danger. It makes it more vulnerable to taking on board the assumptions of that culture. It takes a very healthy and confident faith to preserve its roots in revelation, whilst still finding imaginative ways of communicating it to people who don't accept that source.

In our age the Church has become over-impressed by the intellectual and technological accomplishments of the last 200 years. To some extent, it has lost confidence in the miraculous and transcendent. So when society begins to experiment with different ways of understanding gender and sex which have nothing to do with the protection or nurture of the family, a misplaced vulnerability to the unbiblical ideas of social progress combined with a desire to be compassionate can produce a different matrix of theological priorities in the Church. Wanting to be seen as loving, we become instead indulgent and in need of approbation from those we live amongst, instead of challenging and helping them.

Using spiritual discernment, we find in Romans chapter 1 that there is a close correlation between idolatry in a culture and sexual and gender disorder.

It is no surprise that our idolatrous culture is experiencing profound confusion in matters of sexual identity and morality.

If we put these two things together, it is no surprise that our idolatrous culture is experiencing profound confusion in matters of sexual identity and morality. Sexual incontinence and confusion is one of the foremost by-products of idolatry. It is as if the ‘being made in the image of God’ becomes more obscured and society begins to image darker, more dangerous and disordered other ‘gods’ - in other words, the distortions that flow from the gravitational pull of the ‘ruler of this world’.

It will lead further and further away from an authentic Christianity into one of the usual perversions or diminutions of the faith; a ‘Christianity of convenience’. There is always the danger that Christianity becomes a kind of religious or spiritualised veneer used to give a kind of false comfort to genuine religious longings, but one which actually reinforces the selfish wills of the human heart rather than challenges and transforms them.

In my judgment, that is exactly the situation the Church of England has got [itself] into today. It refuses to allow its comfortable presuppositions to be challenged by the authority of Scripture and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, without which formative faith becomes relative religion.

RH: What do you believe are the implications for Western societies in the future?

GA: Western society appears to have run out of both inspiration and energy because it has put its eggs all in one basket. That basket is an inflated sense of what it can achieve. Western society has bought into a philosophy of improving utopianism - which is a misdiagnosis - and so Western society at the moment is faced with a choice, because it's challenged by two great religious solutions.

The first one is Christianity, which invites it to have a more realistic sense of its own fragility and to repent and throw itself into God's hand for re-making. And the other is Islam, which requires it to submit to an authoritarian re-ordering of society on theocratic terms, with power rather than mercy at the heart of it.

Secularism, which is effectively self-indulgence and intellectual pride, cannot stand in the way of Islam simply because Islam is so politically ambitious and so militarily equipped that secularists will find themselves unwilling to die for convenience's sake.

In that sense I've always believed that a secular society runs out of steam, unable to sustain its own utopianism. It's faced essentially with a choice between Mohammed and Jesus. It appears to have rejected Jesus, so it looks like it's going to get Mohammed.

RH: You've mentioned Islam and many people are concerned about its influence on Western nations in its variety of forms. You could say in many ways that this has become the fly in secularism's ointment. How do you see the relationship developing between secularism and Islam in the future?

GA: The real problem for secularism is it wholly misunderstands what Islam is. In its reliance on badly-educated secular Religious Education teachers, it's made the category error of seeing Islam as a kind of Arabic form of Judeo-Christianity. It's nothing of the kind. So far from being a cousinly Abrahamic faith, it is in fact the opposite of Christianity.

As a result of that, secularism has entirely underestimated both what Islam's ambition is and its determination to fulfil that ambition in a series of strategies which begin with mass immigration and end in force. By misunderstanding Islam, secular society finds itself undefended against it and worse than that, in its antipathy towards Christianity, it has decided to use Islam and Islamic immigration as a weapon to take what I think is revenge on Christianity.

Secular culture [cannot] sustain its own utopianism. It's faced essentially with a choice between Mohammed and Jesus. In rejecting Jesus, it looks like it's going to get Mohammed.

What it's done is to make a pact with a religious and political force that will in the end overcome it. Not unlike, I suppose, in one sense, the way in which the Anglo-Saxons paid a Danegeld to protect themselves against one enemy, only to find themselves overwhelmed by the very people they were seeking protection from.

RH: You have outlined the reasons you see behind the cultural changes in Western societies in recent decades. Are there any passages in the Bible which in your opinion shed light on these developments?

GA: The Bible ought to shape all our views - and does, of course. But I find myself looking particularly to the Gospel of John and to the Book of Revelation as providing ways to best understand the dynamics of the rapid shifts that we're experiencing during my lifetime.

And so I think I'd want to make a bridge between the Lord's Prayer and Revelation chapter 21, and say that I've increasingly come to see what Jesus taught us to pray for in the words "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done" not as something that can be achieved on the earth, where St John tells us that the main influence is the ‘ruler of this world’ and the Book of Revelation tells us that the earth is, if you like, the remedial Borstal for Satan and his angels after they lost the metaphysical fight with St Michael.

Instead, I see the new Heaven and the new earth as the place that we're being pointed to in Revelation 21 in a way that should direct our prayers and our energies. That's not to say that what takes place in time and space and history is unimportant, but it is to say that the Kingdom of Heaven is beyond time and space, and we're called to make the most direct journey possible towards it, living out all the Gospel values we can as we do so.

Next week: Part II: Paying the price.

Author Biography

Gavin Ashenden read Law at Bristol University, before studying theology at Oak Hill Theological College in London. He was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1980, subsequently serving in a London parish for 10 years. He spent 23 years at the University of Sussex as a senior lecturer and senior chaplain, lecturing in the Psychology of Religion and Literature.

Over the years he has written occasional newspaper articles and worked for the BBC on a freelance basis presenting a weekly faith and ethics radio programme.

In 2008 he was appointed a Chaplain to the Queen. In 2017 he resigned from this position in order to be free to speak out for the faith in public. Later that year he resigned from the Church of England, convinced that its leadership was replacing apostolic and biblical patterns with the alternative values of Cultural Marxism.

He is now a Missionary Bishop to the UK and Europe in the Christian Episcopal Church.

You can find out more about Gavin’s extraordinary life, journey and ministry on his blog.

Paul Luckraft reviews ‘Mere Churchianity’ by John Hampton (2017, £9.99).

There is a growing phenomenon in amongst the Christian community in Britain and beyond: increasing numbers of genuine, born-again believers are abandoning formal churches. Many are finding that it is possible to fulfil what the Bible teaches about Christian gatherings without belonging to a denominational or institutional church.

Underneath this phenomenon are complex reasons and emotions. Some of these ‘out of church’ Christians feel forced to leave - others have been told to go. Emotions range from disillusionment and despair to a sense of liberation and excitement.

Behind the complexity, however, seems to be a genuine move of God to re-educate Christians as to what Church is really all about, from his perspective. Fundamental to this is the astonishing recognition that much of what we call ‘church’ today simply isn’t in line with what the New Testament demonstrates.

Several books exist exploring this trend (see base of page for a selection) but John Hampton’s must rate as one of the best - if not the definitive contribution on the subject to date.

Church as ‘a Thing in Itself’

Here is a comprehensive book tackling virtually every aspect of what has gone wrong over the course of Church history. Hampton’s seeks to define what we mean by ‘the Church’ and then explain why there is increasing disillusionment amongst those who have regularly attended traditional church formats over the years. He claims (p9): “This will, in turn, lead us to the following crucial consideration: In what could be the greatest irony of all, is it possible that Church itself is not biblical?”

Hampton builds his case slowly but thoroughly. His recurring motif is the idea that church has become ‘a thing in itself’. He shows that Church-as-a-thing-in-itself now dominates our experience and understanding of Church, rather than the biblical view of the Body of Christ, used of God for his purposes in the world.

A genuine move of God seems to be underway to re-educate Christians as to what Church is really all about, from his perspective.

This explains the title: ‘Mere Churchianity’,¹ paying homage to CS Lewis’s classic Mere Christianity and borrowing the term ‘Churchianity’ from such as Oswald Chambers.

Hampton modestly acknowledges his debt to the writings of others on this subject; but he is clearly also writing out of his own experience. 18 years of thinking, observing and questioning have produced this comprehensive book. It was also born out of a heart for the ‘de-churched’ (or those likely to become so) - especially those who feel lost, uncertain, even concerned about where to go from here.

Church vs Ekklesia

The book is in three main parts. Part 1 has six chapters which expertly dissect the main problem. Central to the argument is the fact that the word ‘church’ should not occur in our Bibles at all, not being a proper translation of the Greek word, ‘ekklesia’. Rather, it is an implanted word chosen for political reasons at the insistence of King James, who authorised a translation to promote the hierarchical structure in place at the time, of which King James (not King Jesus!) was the head.²

Over the centuries we have built a ‘Church’ totally different from what Jesus said he would build, and which Paul and the other Apostles originally established. Our man-made structures and institutions invite idolatry and stand in stark contrast to what the New Testament portrays, which is why many are now looking for something more authentic.

Grievous Bodily Harm

Part 2 explores practical issues that emerge from this wrong understanding of Church. There is an excellent section on leadership, including how the concept of ‘paid professional clergy’ has introduced the idea of control and submission so that the ‘customer in the pew’ never experiences the fullness of life that Jesus has for all his people. This stunts the growth of ordinary believers who are less fulfilled and less capable of serving the rest of the Body as a result. Phrases like “the priesthood of some believers” and “the silence of the lambs” are witty headings that make the points well.

Over the centuries we have built a ‘Church’ totally different from what Jesus said he would build, and which Paul and the other Apostles originally established.

Equally illuminating is the discussion on buildings and money. Church has become an enterprise which needs money just to keep going. The essence of a new covenant relationship between all believers in Jesus has been sacrificed in order to promote a hierarchical structure in which some dominate others and are paid to do so.

Hampton also turns the spotlight on the sort of meetings we hold and how they perpetuate a wrong idea of Church. Performance-based song lists for worship and Greek-style monologues for sermons have quenched the Spirit’s leading. Passive listeners are given little or no opportunity to question or debate, grow or disciple others.

The conclusion is that ‘grievous bodily harm’ is being committed by those who maintain a system that is so different from the initial communities that spread the Gospel like wildfire across the then-known world. Some believers may feel safe or comfortable in such a system, but clearly many are experiencing a deadness of routine or a level of dissonance which they can’t square with what they read in the Book of Acts. Their cries for help are profound: “I’m a Christian, get me out of here!”

Solutions and Advice

Part 3 offers some solutions and good advice. If Church-as-a-thing-in-itself is now so entrenched that “any attempts at reform on our part are almost certainly doomed to failure” (p281), what are the options? Hampton explores three possibilities:

• Those who stay in order to ‘rock the boat’ (or make waves!);
  
• Those who accept the situation in which they find themselves and remain, knowing that no fundamental change is likely but still hoping to grow personally as best they can;
  
• Those who throw themselves overboard and go into voluntary exile, looking for new fellowship elsewhere with like-minded others.
  

Hampton suggests that though this third option (what he calls an “out-of-body experience”!) may seem a lonely one, in reality there are others waiting for you! However, he admits that it is still not an easy path and is not without its dangers.

The author’s realism here is to be applauded. One feels secure with his conclusions, especially as he has walked this path himself. He knows what to avoid and that the key is to listen to God and not run ahead. Putting Jesus ahead of ‘church’ is the safest approach.

Hampton’s realism is to be applauded. One feels secure with his conclusions, especially as he has walked this path himself.

Essential Reading?

Overall, this book provides an astute analysis of an important issue that is only likely to grow more prevalent. Hampton’s writing is full of brilliant and often humorous phrases, with pearls of wisdom throughout. It is a delight to read and very convincing in its message. Although bold and brave in its assertions, it never descends to the level of a rant. Above all, it is accurate in its assessments.

Its theme may be a shock for some. But if you have ‘out of church’ Christian friends and this puzzles you, then this book provides an explanation. And if you are already ‘overboard’, or thinking of jumping ship, then it will give you the necessary tools and information to reassure you and guide you into the future.

Highly commendable, even essential reading.

‘Mere Churchianity: Church and the Threat it Poses to the Body of Christ’ (336pp, paperback), formerly ‘Flatlining Church’, is available on Amazon for £9.99. Also available on Kindle.

Notes

1 Not to be confused with another book of this title by Michael Spencer.

2 Our Editor-in-Chief, Dr Clifford Hill, has written elsewhere on this theme.