Frances Rabbitts reviews ‘Same-Sex Parenting Research: A Critical Assessment’ by Walter R. Schumm (2018).

In a week when a former magistrate has lost his appeal over his right to express (even in private) Christian views about same-sex adoption, it seems especially pertinent to review this 2018 book from Wilberforce Publications on academic understandings of gay marriage and parenting.

In the second of two gold standard studies commissioned by the Oxford Centre for Religion and Public Life (the first was published in 2014 as The Marriage Files), US Professor of applied family science Walter R. Schumm provides a comprehensive review of the academic social science literature on the politically charged issue of same-sex parenting. In so doing, he challenges the claim, presented so often as incontrovertible, that same-sex partnerships are no different to heterosexual partnerships when it comes to the raising of children.

Schumm sets out to ‘follow the evidence where it leads’, unwilling to accept brazen claims of absolute academic consensus on this issue at face value. Undeterred by the many powerful enemies this has made him, Schumm not only presents a fair-minded review; he also levels a devastating critique at academia’s co-option by LGBTQ+ dogma, leading one scholar to label the book the “social science parallel to Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses being nailed to the Wittenberg Chapel door”.

Incorrect and Over-Blown Claims

The book is organised into 15 relatively short chapters grouped into six sections, making it easy to use for reference purposes. The main body of the research is contained in sections 2-5, with each chapter organised into ‘What has been claimed’, ‘What we know’, a critical assessment of the existing literature and a short conclusion. As the book progresses, a pattern quickly becomes evident: “the facts on the ground do not support many of the so-called ‘consensus’ claims” (p229) about the issue of same-sex parenting.

Part 1 is given to background information, including a summary of the LGBTQ+ challenge to traditional marriage, and social science theory on sexual morality, marriage and happiness. Part 2 starts with assessing the number of children raised by same-sex parents in the US. Here we gain an astonishing insight into the way academics can get their most basic facts wrong, rushing to echo wildly incorrect but convenient claims without due consideration: Schumm traces the oft-cited figure of 6-14 million children back to an unsubstantiated newspaper article, with the real figure more likely to be about 200,000.

Schumm challenges the claim, presented so often as incontrovertible, that same-sex partnerships are no different to heterosexual partnerships when it comes to the raising of children.

Other chapters confirm that academic claims about the benefits of same-sex parenting have also been vastly over-blown, with many gaping holes in the literature and lesser-known studies indicating that the real picture is more complicated. For instance, some research suggests that children of same-sex parents may be vastly less likely to enjoy a stable family home, and that children may act as destabilising factors in same-sex marriages (cf. they act as stabilising factors in heterosexual marriages).

Parts 3 and 4 focus on the impacts of same-sex parenting on children’s sexuality, gender identity, mental health and value systems. Schumm challenges the flat academic denial that same-sex parenting is any different to heterosexual parenting, citing newly emerged studies but also recognising the lack of research into this issue. In Part 5, we are given some insights into the potentially negative consequences of same-sex marriage and parenting on society as a whole, before Part 6 offers some conclusions.

Science ‘Thrown Under the Bus’

Schumm is obviously an expert in his field who balks at his profession being corrupted by politically-motivated claims that cannot be backed up by sound empirical evidence. He challenges anyone to conduct a wider-ranging and more scholastically sound review of the literature than he has managed here (his bibliography runs to 31 pages, a tenth of the book), with the same willingness to consider all the evidence - even that which doesn't fit the given narrative.

But he has done more than review sociological understandings of this issue: he provides an eye-opening account of how social science has largely capitulated in the ideological battle for Western culture, throwing itself “under the bus” (p225) to advance the LGBTQ+ cause.

Schumm points to the increasingly totalitarian atmosphere of higher education, with scholars who dare to deviate from the consensus position ignored, ridiculed, silenced or sacked. His epilogue and appendices are dedicated to reflecting on this professional cost of dissent, including his personal defence against his critics, and testimony about his own and colleagues’ experiences of being discredited and shut down.

Readers begin to understand that behind the culture wars in the West being fought in the courts, the papers and the schools, lie the hallowed halls of our universities, where most of the radical anti-Christian ideas that are now transforming our society were conceived and incubated.

Schumm is obviously an expert in his field who balks at his profession being corrupted by politically-motivated claims that cannot be backed up by sound empirical evidence.

Honest and Refreshing

Schumm’s devotion to scholarly excellence is refreshing, allowing the literature to speak for itself rather than imposing his own value judgments. He is not afraid to critique careless science, to offer caveats and clarifications, to anticipate counter-arguments and to acknowledge areas where further research is desperately needed. Much of this (including his statistical analyses) may not be directly useful to the lay reader, but it does underscore the author’s honesty and diligence, strengthening his credibility.

Do not be fooled into thinking that this book is not for you because it is an academic literature review – apart from being a helpful encouragement that ‘the science’ behind same-sex parenting is still developing and certainly does not discredit the common-sense view derived from Scripture, it is just as valuable for its window in on the battle for ideas raging in academia.

Though aimed predominantly at scholars and students, it is a surprisingly easy read that will be both accessible and relevant to church leaders, professionals and anyone seeking to better their own understanding of the issue. An ideal resource for anyone concerned to confront the gender ideology juggernaut and its over-simplistic, ideological claims with a more reasonable, evidence-based view of reality, written in the belief that science should be about searching for the truth, however inconvenient it may end up being.

‘Same-Sex Parenting Research: A Critical Assessment’ (308pp, paperback) is available from Amazon for £14. Also on Kindle. Read more on the Wilberforce Publications website.

Who does God hold responsible for the state of the nation?

“The house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to me,” declares the Lord. “They have lied about the Lord; they said, ‘He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine.’ The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them.” (Jeremiah 5:11-13)

This word is in the context of the instruction to Jeremiah to go up and down the streets of Jerusalem to see if he could find anyone who was behaving honestly and seeking the truth. He had listened to the ordinary people and he had gone to the political and religious leaders but found none of them were obeying the teaching of Yahweh – they had “broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds” of the God of Israel (Jer 5:5).

When Jeremiah reported his findings, the response he heard was, “Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods” (5:7). Idolatry had spread rapidly since the death of King Josiah and there were altars to foreign gods on the streets of Jerusalem. The people were doing their business deals in the market and actually swearing by these idols. The righteous indignation of God can be seen in his words: “‘I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes…Should I not punish them for this?’ declares the Lord” (Jer 5:7-9).

These words are reminiscent of those given to Hosea in the northern state of Israel: “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me” (Hos 13:6). Both Hosea and Jeremiah were astonished at the ingratitude and stupidity of those who were so blind that they did not recognise all the blessings that God had bestowed upon them. They still turned away and worshipped bits of wood and stone.

Both Hosea and Jeremiah were astonished at the ingratitude and stupidity of the people, who did not recognise all the blessings that God had bestowed upon them.

Will He Do Nothing?

Jeremiah recognised that God’s anger was not so much against the ordinary people but against their spiritual leaders – the priests and prophets who had no excuse. They knew the word of the Lord. They had rediscovered a Torah scroll during the repairs to the Temple ordered by King Josiah, who had re-affirmed the covenant with God. But the terms of this covenant were now being ignored by those who had responsibility for the spiritual life of the nation. They were not teaching the word of God to the people: “The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them!”

This was a devastating condemnation of the Temple priesthood, their preachers and teachers of the Torah. They had the scrolls containing parts of what we now know as Deuteronomy. There was no excuse for ignorance of the word of God. But the preachers actually undermined the faith of the people. Jeremiah declares this in 6:13: “From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, Peace,’ they say when there is no peace.”

The Temple priests and prophets had actually dared to say “He will do nothing!” Their teaching was that God was no longer active. They may have still acknowledged God as the Creator and that he had given the Torah to Moses, but they no longer believed he was active in his Creation. God had just dropped into the background (which is the view of many preachers today). He was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and he had done things for Israel in the past; but that was history. There was no need to worry about any misdemeanours in the nation because God was no longer doing anything! He was a god of the past, not of the present.

Proud and Haughty Leaders

The priests and prophets were part of a small elite under royal patronage at the Temple, enjoying a privileged lifestyle. They were practising mutual self-interest: the priests gave religious legitimacy to King Jehoiakim despite his licentious behaviour, and he gave Royal approval to the Temple hierarchy, who were greedy, self-indulgent and faithless men. They were far worse than the ordinary people because they were the official representatives of God.

Jeremiah recognised that God’s anger was not so much against the ordinary people but against their spiritual leaders – the priests and prophets who had no excuse.

They were a professional elite who did not have to earn their living by the work of their hands. It was their responsibility to teach the people the word of God, helping them to understand the requirements of the Lord and the terms of the covenant. They not only failed to do this, but by their false teaching and immorality, Jeremiah said, “They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his wickedness” (Jer 23:14).

This was a terrible condemnation. It meant that the priests and prophets were actually responsible for the state of the nation – for the idolatry and unbelief among the people as well as for the immorality and sexual perversion everywhere in Jerusalem. “They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man’s wife” (Jer 5:8). This is a highly significant analogy. Throughout the Old Testament, ‘horses’ were linked with the rich and powerful. Their owners were proud and haughty like kings. And this statement, in the context of the faithlessness of the nation, shows that the priests and prophets were anathema to God. The word of God was not in them.

Unbelief in the Pulpit

The most serious implication of these statements is that God was holding the religious leaders responsible for the fate of the nation. He was removing his cover of protection and giving the enemy permission to bring divine judgment upon Judah: “Go through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not destroy them completely” (Jer 5:10).

If we apply this teaching to our situation today in the Western nations that have turned their backs upon God, we have to conclude that God is holding the Church and its leaders – its priests and prophets – responsible for the state of the nation. They are not only held responsible for the moral and spiritual condition of the people, but also for the social and political corruption of the leaders who do not know the word of the Lord.

This is why the Bible says that judgment begins at the house of the Lord; because unbelief begins in the pulpit before spreading to the pew!

This article is part of a series on the life and ministry of Jeremiah. Click here to read previous instalments.

Torah portion: Exodus 19:1-20:23

Accompanying readings: Numbers 28:26-31; Ezekiel 1:1-12, 3:12

This week’s Torah portion marks the Feast of Shavuot (Weeks), or the start of the wheat harvest, which is celebrated seven weeks (50 days) after Passover. This year it started at sunset on 8 June (the start of 6 Sivan).

Traditionally, the giving of Torah on Mt Sinai is also marked on this day. At the first Feast of Shavuot, the entire nation of Israel was not gathering in a harvest – it was in the desert, assembling at the foot of a mountain.

God descended amidst thunder, lightning, thick cloud, fire and a long, loud blast of the shofar. The whole mountain trembled. God summoned Moses to come up to receive the Torah: God’s teaching, instructions, guidance and statutes, which were to provide the framework for His covenant with Israel.

God’s Covenant

On that mountain God not only revealed His awesome glory; He also presented His choice of a people to be in a unique covenant relationship with Him. They were to receive His decrees and laws and be sure to follow them.

This covenant relationship was to be like that of a husband and wife. It was freely entered into, affording the people the possibility of either affirming or breaking the agreement. This placed great responsibility on both partners.

If they were faithful to the covenant, they would be His treasured possession (segulah) above all other peoples. This was God’s sovereign choice. For His part, God would protect and bless them, and for their part, the covenant required a choice from the people to be priests before Him, a nation separated (holy) from all other nations on the earth (Ex 33:16). The basic requirements were set out in the Ten Words (Ex 20:1-17), reflecting God’s sovereign nature and Israel’s responsibilities to Him and to each other.

A Broader Brush

The relationship between God and His chosen covenant people is a pattern of His desired relationship with all people on the earth - all who would freely serve, love and worship Him (Isa 56:7).

God is jealous for His people, as a husband is jealous for his wife – that’s why the Number 1 rule for us is that we must have no other gods (of any sort) before Him (Ex 20:3, 23). Communication is also essential, as in a marriage. Just as God talks with man (Ex 20:22), Paul exhorts us to talk with God (to pray – see 1 Thessalonians 5:17). This communication must be suffused with respect, nurture and love, which are part of God’s character. The same attitude must shape our communication with each other – and all the more as we grow and mature.

Our Haftarah reading this week is Ezekiel’s first vision of a mighty storm with lightning, fire, a rushing tumult of wind (ruach) and what looked like powerful living beings. It is reminiscent of the experience of Israel at the first Shavuot when God came down with great power. It is also suggestive of the violent rushing wind and fire at Pentecost, when the Spirit of God came upon the disciples and He began to speak through them in other tongues.

To hear God speak, why not be quiet and echo young Samuel’s prayer (1 Sam 3:9): Speak Lord, for your servant is listening. And when you hear Him, simply obey His word and receive the blessing that comes with obedience. He will bless you.

Author: Greg Stevenson

Why is the joker leading the pack?

To the despair of my wife and me, our middle daughter, when she was at primary school, used to invite all the naughty boys in her class to her birthday party. We took all necessary precautions of removing vulnerable artefacts but they were usually riotous events! We survived these birthday celebrations with minimum damage (apart from the odd broken window) and usually the household returned to normality after an intensive clear-up.

Reflecting upon these annual hijinks I became convinced that there is something in our human nature that likes living dangerously – flirting with risk, enjoying adventure tinged with the threat of the unknown.

It’s what I now call the ‘Boris Factor’, because I believe it accounts for the popularity of the front-runner in the Conservative Party’s race for our next Prime Minister – Boris Johnson. His popularity in the country, despite his well-publicised imperfections, is quite remarkable.

Promises, Promises

I cannot claim to know Boris very well, although I have met him a few times. On one occasion when he was canvassing support for his first term as Mayor of London, I spent two hours alone with him. His team had been chasing me around London for several months, keen to exploit my links with African-Caribbean community and church leaders. They coveted the black vote in inner-city boroughs, but I was not keen to be involved in a political campaign.

And then there were six: the Tory leadership hopefuls. Photo: AP/Press Association ImagesEventually I agreed to a meeting with Boris, provided I could talk about the special needs in these communities. We had a very good and frank conversation, particularly on what he would do with issues such as guns, drugs and knife crime. I was even able to quiz him on his personal faith (with dubious results!). After receiving a lot of promises I subsequently helped to bring some 80 leaders to meet with him, although I have to say that he did not keep his promises once he was in power.

I was nevertheless impressed by the way he addressed the black leaders using a mixture of humour and serious social policy strategy, while also acknowledging their particular community needs. He is an excellent communicator which probably accounts for his popularity in the country across widely different communities. But it is still surprising that so many are willing to overlook his blunders and alleged moral deficiencies and take the risk of making him Prime Minister.

There is something in our human nature that likes living dangerously – flirting with risk, enjoying adventure tinged with the threat of the unknown.

No Discernment

Why is this? Is it like the childhood fascination with the naughty boy? Do we like to take a risk and go for the charisma factor rather than the drab, boring, safe, pinstripe type of politician? The country certainly fell in love with Tony Blair as an exciting contrast to John Major, though the Blair factor only lasted a few years.

Public opinion, of course, is notoriously fickle, but it is surely surprising that there are some characters whose misbehaviours will be overlooked and who will be supported even though people know it is a risk. There is a telling statement made by the Prophet Jeremiah during the reign of the notoriously immoral King Jehoiakim in Jerusalem in the late 6^th Century BC. Jeremiah was having one of his prayer-time conversations with God and reporting on the state of the nation. He said “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land! The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way” (Jer 5:30-31).

Jeremiah was used to false prophets promising “Peace! Peace!” when the Lord was saying “There is no Peace!”. He was constantly countering the lies of these popular prophets who told the people there was nothing to worry about in the rumours that the Babylonian army was on the march. They said that no enemy would ever get into Jerusalem, because God would defend the city.

The priests confirmed the lies of the prophets and instead of rightly teaching the people and giving judgments in accord with the teaching given by God to Moses, they made up their own rules and their own interpretations of the word of God. Sadly, the people had no discernment; they loved things as they were – lies and deception were quite acceptable to them.

In Jeremiah’s day, the people had no discernment; lies and deception were quite acceptable to them.

Self-interest vs. Righteousness

Once the word of God is discarded, anything becomes acceptable. This is the situation in Britain today. The public are disgusted with the antics of the politicians in recent months: they have lost trust in their MPs, who have been seen on TV day after day arguing but never agreeing on anything. The business of governing the country seems to have been grossly neglected while Brexit issues have dominated everything. People of all political leanings want resolution. They also want a leader who will tell them what they want to hear, to make them feel comfortable, just like the people in Jeremiah’s day before disaster befell Jerusalem!

The public are looking for a strong leader and there are few outstanding characters on either side of the House. This is why Boris is very likely to be chosen as the next Prime Minister, despite the reservations of discerning people.

Conservative MPs are well aware of the unpopularity that their Party has suffered through three years of weak leadership under Theresa May, whose stubbornness was not matched with political skill. This is where the ‘Boris Factor’ may influence those MPs who have no love for him, but are still willing to vote for him: he is widely regarded as the only one who can both hold Nigel Farage at bay and defeat Jeremy Corbyn. Under these circumstances self-interest takes precedence over righteousness, especially when MPs know that the public have long ago discarded values of righteousness.

People want a strong leader who will tell them what they want to hear, to make them feel comfortable.

Prospects for Britain

Will Britain get a Prime Minister who is able to exercise righteous government? Certainly, mature Christians know that Britain does not deserve godly government and there are many signs that we are a nation already under judgment. But God is merciful and I believe he still has a purpose for Britain. Could he use Boris? Of course he could! God used Cyrus to do his will and bless his people even though Cyrus did not even know the name of the Lord. But is it God’s intention to bless the nation, or to allow us bring judgment upon ourselves?

Boris at least professes a faith in God, but is that enough to provide Britain with a God-fearing Government? If the Conservative Party installs Boris and his partner in No. 10, will he lead a Government that can restore standards of righteousness in the nation?

Murder outside church points to fresh hope for London community

A fatal stabbing took place just outside a north London church only days before I spoke there about Pentecost last Saturday.

The young man’s family had left a floral tribute beside the pavement and were being comforted by passers-by as we came out of church. Barış Küçük had been taken to hospital after an attack in the early hours of 1 June, but had simply lost too much blood. A man has been charged with his murder.

As in the Days of Noah

The harrowing scene was a stark reminder of the suffering Jesus went through in order to bring us life. And our prayer was that life and peace would emerge from the ashes of this terrible tragedy, the latest in a string of such incidents across the capital where knife crime has reached epidemic proportions.

Political activists were quick to blame cuts to policing, but this is a shallow analysis of the situation. We are living in times of violence compared to the days of Noah, which Jesus indicated would be a sign of coming judgment and of his imminent return (Luke 17:26-30).

There are all kinds of reasons for the murderous mayhem we are witnessing, but chief among them is a turning away from God’s laws, which successive governments have encouraged.

Is it surprising that knives are used freely on the streets when doctors and nurses, charged with our care, are engaged in the legal butchering of unborn babies every single day! We are reaping what we have sown. We have also too often allowed the guilty to go free, with murderers serving ridiculously short sentences before returning to our communities to wreak further havoc.

There are all kinds of reasons for the murderous mayhem we are witnessing, but chief among them is a turning away from God’s laws.

Scene of Reconciliation

This latest outrage occurred just a ten-minute walk from the former Haringey Stadium¹ which, in 1954, witnessed the only significant post-war turnaround in the fortunes of the UK Church. Tens of thousands had their lives transformed by the message of American evangelist Billy Graham, including a young Jewish lady, Helen McIntosh, who later guided me through my early Christian discipleship.

Crowds gather for a vigil to mark the untimely death of Barış Küçük, the latest victim of London's knife crime epidemic. Photo: Charles Mugenyi.It was appropriate too, therefore, that the church I visited stands on the edge of Stamford Hill, home to many Jewish people, some of whom came to hear my talk on Shavuot (Pentecost), a thoroughly Jewish feast which empowered the first disciples of Jesus to ‘turn the world upside down’ (Acts 17:6) with God’s commandments written on their hearts and not just on tablets of stone (2 Cor 3:3).

Pentecost is still available to turn this tense and troubled community around, and I pray that my friends at the church will help to bring the resurrection life of Jesus to the streets of Tottenham and Haringey.

It would certainly be the perfect place to witness the reconciliation between Jew and Gentile the Apostle Paul talks about in his letter to the Ephesians (2:14).

In writing to the Romans, he says both groups are steeped in sin and, in quoting the Old Testament, writes: “There is no-one righteous…no-one who seeks God…their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom 3:9-18).

A return of the fear of God that people felt at those Billy Graham meetings would bring new hope; I am told they used to arrive on train platforms singing hymns. So what is the remedy? How can such reverential fear be restored to communities that have forsaken God?

75 years ago a vicious enemy threatened our freedoms, but while our soldiers fought on the beaches of Normandy, much of the country fought on their knees as they responded to the King’s call to prayer. We must turn to God once more.

How can a reverential fear of God be restored to communities that have forsaken him?

True Freedom, New Life

Jesus, God’s Son, lived a perfect life on earth and was unjustly crucified. He became a substitute for us – for we have all sinned – and by trusting in his sacrificial blood, we are raised to new life and hope (Rom 3:23f).

Just as 33-year-old Barış bled to death through the cruel hands of his assailant, so Jesus bled, for us – and he was exactly the same age! In doing so, Jesus became the ultimate Passover Lamb, fulfilling the picture of how the enslaved Jews were freed from captivity in Egypt by daubing a lamb’s blood on the doorposts of their homes (as a result of which the angel of death ‘passed over’ them while striking the first-born of the host country who had stubbornly refused to let them go).

Whether you are a Jew or a Gentile, freedom from sin and darkness comes by marking your heart, figuratively speaking, with the blood of Jesus – which shows that you are placing all your trust for escaping God’s judgment and inheriting new life in what Jesus has done for you.

It will surely open up the ‘Red Sea’ and lead you into the Promised Land of peace and purpose. Not just for this life, but forever more.

Perfect Peace

As well as Pentecost, I also led a session on Job who, in spite of terrible trials, refused to relinquish his integrity and trust in God. One dear woman in the audience confirmed the reality of Job’s experience in her own life. Tragically, she had lost three sons – all in their twenties – and yet, through her faith in Jesus, she had managed to maintain perfect peace through all her troubles!

The Prophet Isaiah wrote: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusts in Thee” (Isa 26:3 KJV).

Notes

1 Now a shopping centre, accommodating the new religion.

Further evidence of Britain’s betrayal of the Jews

Shortly after my harrowing visit to north London (see Life from the Dead), my thoughts once again return to the capital in response to news of a massive UK terror plot uncovered four years ago, but only now revealed to the public.

It involved Iran-sponsored terror group Hezbollah, who were reportedly stockpiling more than three tons of explosives (ammonium nitrate) in north-west London but were foiled thanks to a tip-off by Israel’s national intelligence agency Mossad.¹ It is suspected that the incident was kept under wraps in order not to interrupt the Iranian nuclear deal being negotiated at the time.

Kept in the Dark

Christians United for Israel have been warning the British Government for some while, through their Operation Mordecai campaign, of the dangers both to Israel and the UK of Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Their executive director Des Starritt, asking why the public have been kept in the dark about the plot, said: “It is unbelievable that, only months after the UK signed the Iran deal, Britain seemingly ignored this new evidence and continued to support it.”

Further asking why it took the Government another three-and-a-half years to apply an outright ban on Hezbollah, he added: “It meant that it was possible for people within the UK to openly support Hezbollah without any consequence whatsoever…”²

And all this on top of a claim by a former leading official of the International Atomic Energy Agency (referred to last week) that Tehran could be as close as “six months away from an atomic bomb”.³

Quite apart from the obvious danger posed to British citizens by our evident appeasement of Iran, it also amounts to further betrayal of the Jewish people, who have most to lose from a nuclear-armed Iran that has repeatedly trumpeted its intention to wipe Israel off the map.

It is suspected that the 2015 incident was kept under wraps in order not to interrupt the Iran nuclear deal being negotiated at the time.

Wasted Opportunities

As I write, I am aware that today (Wednesday, 12 June) should have been the 90th birthday of Anne Frank, the brave German-born Dutch girl whose life was cut short aged 15 by Nazi butchers, and whose poignant diaries have since helped to keep alive the reality of Jewish suffering.

It was at least two years before her death in early 1945 that news of the mass murder of European Jews had reached the UK and elsewhere, and a poll was taken indicating a clear majority (78%) of public support for the admission of Jewish refugees.

According to my friend, Pastor Mike Fryer of North Wales, “the Nazis had made it clear that should the British and American governments be willing to allow them entry, they would be released from Nazi control”.⁴ But at a meeting to discuss the crisis, a British delegate referred instead to a “vociferous minority” supporting Jewish immigration. And the opportunity to rescue millions of Jews was thus, shamefully, lost.

Has anything changed? Britain today is awash with anti-Semitism. When a Jewish lady attending a Palestine Solidarity Campaign meeting in Liverpool four years ago asked a question, someone turned around and said: “Why don’t you get back to the camps?” She reported this ‘hate crime’ to the police, but nothing was ever done about it.

My friend Mike, a former police officer, said he had attended two Israel Advocacy events during the last two years where demonstrators chanted anti-Semitic abuse. But nothing was done at the time either to record or act upon complaints. Mike also gave evidence to the recent enquiry into anti-Semitism within the Labour Party conducted by Baroness Chakrabarti, but again nothing was done about it.

Replacement Theology

Adding further fuel to the fires of Jew-hatred are so-called Christians who have somehow re-invented Jesus as a ‘Palestinian’ and either removed or ignored Israel from their view of the Bible – quite a task when you consider that Israel is mentioned 2,581 times in the Scriptures.

But the students of Dr Mitri Raheb, a Palestinian Arab Christian lecturer from Bethlehem who recently spoke in North Wales, are led to believe that “Israel is neither a valid scriptural or political entity”, according to Mike.

Has anything changed? Britain today is awash with anti-Semitism.

Ring any bells? It’s what many Western church leaders also seem to believe. But as Mike points out, Dr Raheb and many like him don’t say much about the persecution in the Middle East of their fellow Arab Christians.

So who’s agenda are they following? It is instructive to recall that the Nazis worked closely with Islamists who were committed, like they were, to the destruction of the Jewish race.

It’s time to shine a light on the darkness, to come clean on our history of betrayal and once more become those who bless the seed of Abraham (see Genesis 12:3).

References

1 The Telegraph, 9 June 2019; United with Israel, 11 June 2019.

2 Christians United for Israel, 12 June 2019.

3 World Israel News, 5 June 2019.

4 www.fathershouse.wales – see also Dr Louise London’s book Whitehall and the Jews. 

God’s offer of forgiveness and protection.

“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city. Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’, still they are swearing falsely.” (Jeremiah 5:1-2)

This is an amazing statement that must have reminded Jeremiah of Abraham’s pleading with God over Sodom. In that case God would have spared the city if ten righteous men could have been found (Gen 18:32). But here the offer of forgiveness was if Jeremiah could find just one honest citizen who was deeply committed to the truth.

Jerusalem’s Great Corruption

This shows God’s great love for the city of Jerusalem, that he was prepared to forgive the city for the sake of one righteous person. But it also shows the extent of corruption among its citizens at that time.

It is difficult to be precise in dating this pronouncement, but it was clearly made during the reign of Jehoiakim who, unlike his godly father Josiah, lived a life of self-indulgence and set a bad example to the nation. Idolatry, immorality, injustice and corruption were everywhere. Jeremiah said that there were as many altars to foreign gods in the city as there were streets in Jerusalem.

There was plenty of outward show of religion and the people regularly used the name of the God of Israel when making their promises or agreeing business transactions. They were happy to swear their oaths in the name of Yahweh, but this really had no deep spiritual significance and certainly did not show that they were devoted to God, or that they observed the Torah, or even kept the Ten Commandments.

That God was prepared to forgive Jerusalem for the sake of one righteous person shows his great love for the city – but it also shows the extent of its corruption.

From Bottom to Top

Jeremiah duly went up and down the streets of Jerusalem and spent time in the market squares listening to the conversation of housewives and the tales of merchants. He no doubt did his research thoroughly and questioned many people - with disappointing results.

Then he thought; these are only uneducated, poor people who cannot be expected to have a detailed knowledge of the teaching handed down through generations of scribes from the time of Moses. It cannot be right to judge the whole city upon the lifestyles and behaviour of these people. He had to do something else before taking his answer back to the Lord.

He resolved, “These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God. So I will go to the leaders and speak to them; surely they know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God” (Jer 5:4).

It was at this point that Jeremiah took the decision to widen his enquiries by going to the political and religious leaders of the nation, to see if they were observing the requirements of the covenant with God. That covenant, “I will be your God and you will be my people”, established by God through Moses on the ‘Day of Assembly’ (Deut 4:10), was a guarantee of protection.

But it was conditional upon the nation being faithful to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and having no other god. That was the first and supreme commandment. Obeying the rest of the teaching given to Moses was also important, but the citizens of Jerusalem - including their leaders - were not even keeping the first commandment faithfully.

Tearing Off the Bonds

Jeremiah’s conversations with the leaders shocked him: “with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds” (Jer 5:5). They were no longer faithful to the God of Israel, the God of their fathers who had brought them out of Egypt, fed them in the desert and brought them into the Promised Land. He had protected the nation and prospered them since the days of David, who had established Jerusalem as his capital and given instructions to his son Solomon for the building of the Temple.

The covenant God made with Israel was a guarantee of protection – but it was conditional upon the nation being faithful to him.

Now, the leaders of the nation were no longer faithful to the God who had done so much for them. They had broken off the link with Yahweh and instead of teaching the people faithfully they even tolerated the worship of idols of wood and stone.

Therefore, God’s protection would be removed from over the nation and they would be subject to the most terrifying forces of destruction. “Why should I forgive you?” was God’s response when Jeremiah reported his findings. “Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods” (Jer 5:7).

God’s Grief

The pathos of this situation was not lost on Jeremiah, who was a great patriot. He loved the nation. He loved the city of Jerusalem; yet he could clearly foresee the judgment that would come upon the land and engulf the people.

In his quiet times, standing in the council of the Lord, Jeremiah also sensed the grief in God’s heart. He heard him saying, “‘I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes. They are well-fed lusty stallions, neighing for another man’s wife. Should I not punish them for this?’ declares the Lord” (Jer 5:7-8).

God certainly did not want to see the suffering that would inevitably come upon the people through their own wanton behaviour and the evil deeds of their faithless leaders. But God’s love for his people was also based upon righteousness, truth and faithfulness. The very justice of God demanded that he could not ignore the wickedness of the people and the deliberate disobedience of their leaders. He had to remove his cover of protection, with all the terrible consequences that would follow.

Message Today

This is a powerful message of warning to Britain, to Europe and to all the Western nations who have had the truth for hundreds of years but are deliberately turning away from their Judeo-Christian heritage and embracing the gods of the world.

They are no different from the ‘well-fed lusty stallions’ in Jerusalem who brought upon themselves such terrible destruction. But will the people or their leaders today listen to the warnings, any more than the people of Jerusalem did?

This article is part of a series on the ministry and message of the Prophet Jeremiah. Click here to read other instalments.

Charles Gardner reviews ‘A Better Story’ by Glynn Harrison.

The sexual revolution that has caught the Church napping is an opportunity to show that Christians have something infinitely more superior to offer…

…that love and sex is created by God for pleasure and purpose and is all the more enjoyable when following his guidelines. And that it is also a taster and picture of the beautiful intimacy of divine love.

This is the kernel of a thesis ably put forward by Professor Glynn Harrison in his excellent book A Better Story: God, Sex and Human Flourishing (IVP).

Worth Pursuing

Actually, it’s a great read – very well written, not too academic (the author, now retired, used to head the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Bristol), but scholarly nevertheless.

I’ll be honest; due to time constraints, I had intended to simply peek into sample chapters and so started somewhere in the middle. But I was eventually forced to go back to the beginning, and so ended up reading it backwards, in a sense.

But I got the picture. In expanding on an inspiring talk he gave at Keswick in 2016, which I reported on at the time, the professor contends that Christians have been caught off-guard by the revolution which began in the 1960s and which now offers a smorgasbord of sexual options.

Instead of retreating into our holy huddles and pointing fingers, we should have taken the opportunity of demonstrating how exciting, fulfilling and purposeful is traditional marriage – that it’s worth pursuing and waiting for because it is potentially far more rewarding, fruitful and loving than any other sexual liaison.

Instead of retreating into our holy huddles, we should take the opportunity of demonstrating how exciting, fulfilling and purposeful is traditional marriage.

Pride in Biblical Values

As homosexuals have promoted their movement with Gay Pride parades, so Christians should have been taking pride in the biblical call for purity and faithfulness.

As I recall the author saying at Keswick, God doesn’t do one-night stands; he is forever faithful and loves us totally and unconditionally. This is the sort of message married couples need to convey to the watching world – that the union is a beautiful picture of the Gospel, which tells the story of God seeking a bride…of a bridegroom who so loves his wife that he is prepared to die for her.

At the same time, the professor also points out that the sexual revolution has failed in its goal of freeing adherents from the stifling restrictions of earlier generations. For surveys apparently show that people are now actually having less sex.

Meanwhile, we need to prepare for ‘messy church’¹ where people in same-sex relationships, and others who are perhaps transgender, get converted. We will need to pray for a balance of grace and truth as we seek to minister effectively to broken people in these dark days.

The Holy Spirit’s Power

I felt there was something missing in the professor’s analysis, however, in that the book lacks an emphasis on the power of the Holy Spirit to help us live right and witness boldly to the truth, along with the vital need for spiritual warfare in the face of the powers of darkness that blind society (and believers too in some cases).

The Christians of 1^st-Century Rome condemned the debauched culture around them by their uncompromising, godly lifestyles, refusing to swim with the prevailing tide. No matter how many adjustments we make as we reach out to the sexually confused and wayward, at the end of the day we have to stand up to be counted and risk being thrown to wild animals, as our Roman brothers and sisters were.

Having said that, I highly recommend this book. May we not fail in rising to the challenge it presents.

'A Better Story: God, Sex & Human Flourishing' (192pp, Inter-Varsity Press) is available from Amazon in paperback, e-book and audio-book forms. Also available from the Evangelical Bookshop.

Notes

1 Not to be confused with the growing method of informal outreach used by many churches.