Tag: Faith in Politics

Where is the truth and does it matter?

I think we can all agree that today (15th June) was a bad day for the Prime Minister, for not only did the EU restart its legal proceedings against the government plans to unilaterally scrap parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol, but also a fiercely heated debate took place over ‘who understood what’ at the time of signing the Brexit deal and how it should be practically interpreted – with the European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic effectively accusing the British government of lying to the general public. Secondly, Lord Geidt resigned from his position as Boris Johnson’s independent ethics advisor stating that there was a legitimate question as to whether the Prime Minister broke the ministerial rules over Partygate. Once again, the whole issue of ‘who knew what’ and who was lying came to the fore.

The problem is that we live today in a postmodern world where it is fashionable to believe that there is no such thing as absolute truth; all truth is said to be relative, depending upon your own particular point of view, which in the realm of politics (and much of society at large) tends to mean that ‘the truth’ becomes whatever suits me and is the most convenient and practically expedient. In fact, in recent years,  the most expedient thing has often been to deny the truth completely. We saw this in Donald Trump’s use of the term ‘Fake News’ to dismiss anything that he didn’t agree with, and his false accusation that the US Presidential election result was rigged, which in recent days even close family members and political advisors have dismissed as nonsense. Sadly, we have seen the most serious and blatant denial of truth coming from Russia, as President Putin conducts his ‘special military operation’ within Ukraine, which most observers would have no hesitation in calling a war, which has disastrous consequences for us all.

The problem with all this political spin, ‘fake news’ and propaganda is that it erodes trust as people lose faith in their political leaders and become disillusioned and suspicious instead. What can we believe and where can truth be found?

One’s own perspective of the world is greatly determined by one’s values and what one believes, which is why for many, Christianity offers a bedrock of security in a sea of change and relativity, for in the person of Jesus, we see a man who as the ‘Son of God’ not only had a great love and compassion for the world, but also kept his promises, living a life full of integrity and truth, backing up his words with action. Jesus had described himself as ‘the way, the truth and the life’ (John 14.6), offering his disciples not only a way to his Father in heaven but ‘life in all it’s fullness’ (John 10.10) and a ‘truth that will set you free’ (John 8.32). Despite the fact that the people were living in difficult and uncertain times, because he spoke with such authority and lived with such integrity, people were willing to embrace his words ‘do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me’ (John 14.1), and many people did trust Jesus because not only were his words trustworthy and true, but also so were his actions, as ultimately demonstrated by his life, death and resurrection.

As much as I would like everyone to enjoy a firm confidence in Christ, I’m also certain that we need to step back from a world where ‘all things are relative’ but have the confidence of one’s own convictions, for paraphrasing a comment made by Jeff Myers, a Christian commentator – ‘If something is true, then it is true whether we admit it, like it or not! May we and all our politicians live in the light of such certainty, and within it foster a high regard and appreciation for the truth.

 31 Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8.31-32

Can Evangelical Christians No Longer Be In Politics?

tim farron

Naturally, our hearts go out to all the people that were caught up so tragically in the fire that destroyed the Grenfell Tower in North Kensington. We pay tribute to the fire and other emergency services and we applaud the amazing generosity, love and charity demonstrated by the people of the local community. We pray for all affected and hope that lessons will be learned to prevent such tragedies in the future.

However, on the same day another interesting story took place when Tim Farron announced that he would be standing down as leader of the Liberal Democrats citing the pressures that had been placed upon him by the media due to his Christian convictions particularly over the matter of ‘Gay Sex’. “A better, wiser person may have been able to deal with this more successfully, to remain faithful to Christ while leading a political party in the current environment. To be a leader, particularly of a progressive liberal party in 2017 and to live as a committed Christian and to hold faithful to the Bible’s teaching has felt impossible for me,” he said.

The irony of all this was that Tim Farron’s voting record had been exemplary in the support of gay rights and as a politician he had publicly and passionately supported peoples’ rights to live in whatever way they chose, regardless of his own personal thoughts or opinion. Knowing that biblically and theologically speaking, the bible does regard gay sex as a sin (it’s hard to come to any other conclusion if you read the Bible honestly) the media saw this as a stick to beat him with and wouldn’t let it drop, despite the fact that Tim Farron had represented all of his constituents with integrity to the best of his ability (even though the Office for National Statistics itself believes that the gay community only represents 1.5% of the population). It’s interesting to note that the media didn’t bully Muslim MPs in the same way, even though the whole matter of gay sex is just as contentious in the Qur’an and Islam as it is in the Bible, which once again is an example of systematic media bias and spin.

The problem with our society is one of an extremely bad and intolerant ‘political correctness’ which doesn’t only wish to restrict any form of language which might offend, marginalise or disadvantage people on grounds of race, sex or religion (which is good) but actually stifles debate in the process (which is bad) and is intolerant of anyone who doesn’t hold the commonly held party view, regardless of its failings.

Over the years many Christians have faithfully and passionately sought to serve their communities with ‘love and devotion’, seeing it as part of their Christian and political vocation to make the world a better place. We have a proud Christian heritage which has shaped many of our laws and influenced the way we govern ourselves and look after one another, based on mutual understanding and the traditional Christian values of love, justice, equality and the intrinsic worth of the individual made ‘in the image of God’. It would therefore be such a shame and a real detriment to our communities if Christians were discouraged from entering politics or thought that their contributions to society were of little value or worth.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart … and love your neighbour as yourself.” Luke 10.27