Towards the end of this week two events have raised the issue of Christianity in the contemporary UK society that has become pluralistic. One of these has been the failure at the Court of Appeal for Peter and Hazelmary who run a Guest House in Cornwall and ran into problems when they refused a room to a homosexual couple. The other event was the Court's decision that holding prayers at the start of the Bideford Council Meetings was not right.
Both events make it seem like Christianity is being marginalised and that secular and anti-Christian organisations are gaining the day. But I'm not sure that is quite right and I think it is important that as Christians losing rights we have had for centuries we should learn how to respond to these situations. That said I am sure that there is an atheist and secular agenda.
I am delighted that Pete and Hazelmary are exploring how they can continue to operate commercially. The particular case was sad as there were plenty of other places in the area that would have been happy to accommodate the homosexual couple but it seemed that the homosexual couple were not prepared to accommodate Pete's and Hazelmary's values. The Council Meetings can compromise and have prayers off-agenda five minutes before the business starts, and I hope they do that.
Last Sunday at Yelvertoft I was reflecting on how the early Christians operated in a hostile environment. Some who will read this letter live in countries where Christianity is a minority faith or restricted by law so they are already used to such situations. We considered Paul's defence before the Sanhedrin, Felix, Festus and Agrippa. Paul had not looked for conflict. On the contrary he had taken steps to avoid provoking the Jews in Jerusalem, which in the event failed to reduce their hostility. From their point of view Paul was destroying their beliefs and values. God had told Paul from the beginning where his pathway would lie. Recent prophetic utterances had warned Paul what was immediately in front of him if he went to Jerusalem. Should we consider what happened to be a failure?
Of course not. On each occasion Paul was able to give a reasoned explanation of the Christian faith and to share his personal testimony. Also along the way various people came to faith and Christians were strengthened in their faith and witness because of Paul's suffering. Paul's letter to the church at Philippi illustrates this as there were even some in Caesar s household who came to faith. In God's purposes even rejection, suffering, and injustice can become positive developments. The greatest example of all is the cross of Christ. That was not a defeat.
I know that some will ague that Christianity is the State religion and we have a State Church that is established but I'm not sure how helpful that is. At the end of the day the gospel is about personal relationship with God and with fellow believers. Our strength is in that relationship not in law. Yes, there are some gains by having an established Church but our calling to be light and salt is not dependent upon a formal relationship to UK governance, and there might well be significant losses brought about by the current situation. Whatever the benefits or losses arising from our former relationship to the State, what we need today is Christians who are in love with Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, loving their neighbours, moulded and motivated by the Word of God. But such a development might bring marginalisation and persecution. But would we prefer indifference?
The Past Week
What a great time we had at Yelvertoft last week! Despite the snow we managed to make it to church, had a good meeting and then all went to lunch to celebrate Peter's 90th birthday. There is a quality of life and fellowship in small rural churches that you cannot find in larger gatherings. Yes, it would be nice to have a worship band and some more activities, but what we have is incredibly precious.
On Monday I travelled down to Winchester for a session for research students (had I told you that the formal process with Winchester University has passed and I am now a bana fide research student?). There were about a dozen of us around the tables exploring the nature of knowledge - what can be known, how it might be known, and how we could go about establishing the knowledge. All that will seem irrelevant for most readers but it is a necessary area for academic research. As part of the programme we had to consider certain statements and determine whether or not the were absolutely true. Among these was John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God". Most of the students are not doing theology or religious studies but we had a great discussion as you will imagine!
This week
Activities include...
Sunday 12th - I am taking the morning and evening services at Market Harborough Congregational Church.
Monday 13th - Free day with a visit from family from Eastbourne.
Tuesday 14th - Gartree Prison
Thursday 15th - Bible Discussion Group, Yelvertoft (last in the series on Philippians)
Saturday 17th - Congregational Federation's Mission and Society Committee, Nottingham
Sunday 19th - Yelvertoft.
As usual there are many other activities through the week, research related study and administration to keep me out of mischief. Thank you for your prayers. Please give thanks for God's blessing on the ministry and for the provision he makes for our daily needs and the operation of our ministry. We thank God for you.
Barry
Both events make it seem like Christianity is being marginalised and that secular and anti-Christian organisations are gaining the day. But I'm not sure that is quite right and I think it is important that as Christians losing rights we have had for centuries we should learn how to respond to these situations. That said I am sure that there is an atheist and secular agenda.
I am delighted that Pete and Hazelmary are exploring how they can continue to operate commercially. The particular case was sad as there were plenty of other places in the area that would have been happy to accommodate the homosexual couple but it seemed that the homosexual couple were not prepared to accommodate Pete's and Hazelmary's values. The Council Meetings can compromise and have prayers off-agenda five minutes before the business starts, and I hope they do that.
Last Sunday at Yelvertoft I was reflecting on how the early Christians operated in a hostile environment. Some who will read this letter live in countries where Christianity is a minority faith or restricted by law so they are already used to such situations. We considered Paul's defence before the Sanhedrin, Felix, Festus and Agrippa. Paul had not looked for conflict. On the contrary he had taken steps to avoid provoking the Jews in Jerusalem, which in the event failed to reduce their hostility. From their point of view Paul was destroying their beliefs and values. God had told Paul from the beginning where his pathway would lie. Recent prophetic utterances had warned Paul what was immediately in front of him if he went to Jerusalem. Should we consider what happened to be a failure?
Of course not. On each occasion Paul was able to give a reasoned explanation of the Christian faith and to share his personal testimony. Also along the way various people came to faith and Christians were strengthened in their faith and witness because of Paul's suffering. Paul's letter to the church at Philippi illustrates this as there were even some in Caesar s household who came to faith. In God's purposes even rejection, suffering, and injustice can become positive developments. The greatest example of all is the cross of Christ. That was not a defeat.
I know that some will ague that Christianity is the State religion and we have a State Church that is established but I'm not sure how helpful that is. At the end of the day the gospel is about personal relationship with God and with fellow believers. Our strength is in that relationship not in law. Yes, there are some gains by having an established Church but our calling to be light and salt is not dependent upon a formal relationship to UK governance, and there might well be significant losses brought about by the current situation. Whatever the benefits or losses arising from our former relationship to the State, what we need today is Christians who are in love with Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, loving their neighbours, moulded and motivated by the Word of God. But such a development might bring marginalisation and persecution. But would we prefer indifference?
The Past Week
What a great time we had at Yelvertoft last week! Despite the snow we managed to make it to church, had a good meeting and then all went to lunch to celebrate Peter's 90th birthday. There is a quality of life and fellowship in small rural churches that you cannot find in larger gatherings. Yes, it would be nice to have a worship band and some more activities, but what we have is incredibly precious.
On Monday I travelled down to Winchester for a session for research students (had I told you that the formal process with Winchester University has passed and I am now a bana fide research student?). There were about a dozen of us around the tables exploring the nature of knowledge - what can be known, how it might be known, and how we could go about establishing the knowledge. All that will seem irrelevant for most readers but it is a necessary area for academic research. As part of the programme we had to consider certain statements and determine whether or not the were absolutely true. Among these was John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God". Most of the students are not doing theology or religious studies but we had a great discussion as you will imagine!
This week
Activities include...
Sunday 12th - I am taking the morning and evening services at Market Harborough Congregational Church.
Monday 13th - Free day with a visit from family from Eastbourne.
Tuesday 14th - Gartree Prison
Thursday 15th - Bible Discussion Group, Yelvertoft (last in the series on Philippians)
Saturday 17th - Congregational Federation's Mission and Society Committee, Nottingham
Sunday 19th - Yelvertoft.
As usual there are many other activities through the week, research related study and administration to keep me out of mischief. Thank you for your prayers. Please give thanks for God's blessing on the ministry and for the provision he makes for our daily needs and the operation of our ministry. We thank God for you.
Barry
No comments:
Post a Comment