Much of what constitutes our Western elites, the decision makers and influencers in politics, business and the media, are in active denial of the Christian roots which form the foundation of Western civilisation. As a result we are experiencing an extremely potent move by wealthy and powerful people, many of whom may not fully understand what they are doing, to overturn all natural order.
Those markers which have traditionally enabled us to identify our place in society, our religious, moral, national and even our sexual identities, are being denied or relativised. The result is the gradual eradication and ultimate denial of that which identifies us.
A Marginalised Christianity
In the UK the Christian faith is seen by our elites as little more than a useful backdrop to state ceremonial, as we witnessed at the coronation. However, in the day-to-day running of the country, from Parliament to local councils, Christianity is entirely absent as a formative influence in the decision-making which impacts on the lives of all of us.
even paedophiles are beginning to be normalised under the terminology of Minor Attracted Persons (MAP).
Homosexual partnerships are equated to traditional marriage which produces a healthy family with all the wider relationships which bind society together. The transgender movement, lauded by the media and supported by political parties, has led to the destruction of the God created binary nature of humanity. If any man can become a woman through personal identification, the categories of ‘woman’ and ‘man’ disappear. We are even entering the stage where paedophiles are beginning to be normalised under the terminology of Minor Attracted Persons (MAP). What was once abhorred and considered beyond the pale is now being ‘understood’ and accepted as a natural and valued part of human experience.
The impact of society on the church, with the active complicity of much of the leadership of the mainstream denominations, has been to marginalise Christianity and make it of little if any consequence. Such has been the alteration within the cultural atmosphere that many Christians are unwilling to uphold biblical virtues and values in the public square, knowing that speaking out might well result in abuse and social isolation.
its impact is to discard the deeper moral and religious values of these celebrations and the power they have to shape lives.
Secular Prioritie Have Consequences
Big business has an interest in one thing: profit. One seemingly trifling example of this is the renaming of Christian holidays so they can be ‘neutrally accepted’ and increase card sales to non-Christians and followers of other religions. Christmas cards mention Christmas less and less: ‘Happy Christmas’ has become ‘Season’s Greetings’. This example serves as the canary in the coal mine, a warning of hidden danger. It amounts to more than an unwarranted semantic accommodation to the politically correct: its impact is to discard the deeper moral and religious values of these celebrations and the power they have to shape lives.
If Christmas becomes merely the ‘Holiday Season’, we sideline and deny the grace of God and all it teaches about mercy and forgiveness. This has a direct impact on the value system which has shaped our society. If Easter is only about bunnies, chocolate and daffodils, the one sure anchor for hope is lost in a morass of sentimentality, and we become rootless.
Without the moral values rooted deep within Christianity, those rules for life which have influenced us throughout millennia, we lose our appreciation of ourselves and others.
Without the moral values rooted deep within Christianity, those rules for life which have influenced us throughout millennia, we lose our appreciation of ourselves and others. Our society becomes fragmented as people feel unattached and unengaged and, lonely within their individuality, become prey to hopelessness and open to any totalitarian impulse. This is clearly seen in the way young rootless men were influenced by the distorted masculinity of ultra-misogynist Andrew Tate, who gathered more than 3.5million followers on social media.
The Conflict
Paul reminds us of where the conflict arises: ‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’ (Eph 6:12). We are in the midst of a spiritual conflict between good and evil. Good is marked by peace, order, calmness, composure, a lack of internal conflict. Evil is marked by their opposites, turbulence, hate, disorder, disorganisation and filth. The loss of human has dignity has inevitably led to a general coarsening of society, as becomes evident to anyone who watches television.
Rather than resist the secular manifestations of this spiritual struggle, many Christian leaders pursue a ‘gentler’ approach, focusing on being non-judgemental and being ‘acceptable’ in order to gain a hearing. This inevitably leads to an accommodation where the mainline denominations meekly tag along behind progressive society baptising the latest woke advance. This unquestioning affirmation of unbiblical lifestyle choices has led to social fragmentation and a breakdown of order, and the rise of a Christian population unwilling to face up to the destruction of our faith and society.
The loss of human has dignity has inevitably led to a general coarsening of society, as becomes evident to anyone who watches television.
We have no choice but to confront that which destroys. Our first line of encounter is obviously prayer. But too often we Christians use prayer as a cover for social silence. We shouldn’t just retreat and wring our hands, bemoaning the state of society. We must speak out clearly to society, even if it means opting out of much of it.
We should protest to our schools when our children are taught things which deny biblical reality, and if necessary withdraw them. We should confront church leaders about their doctrinal weakness and heresy, and we should stop attending churches that endanger the well-being of our families’ souls. We should continue pushing for political policies from a Christian standpoint, but we should not rely on politics to bolster a declining Christianity.
Christians may have become a marginalised minority but we can keep fighting nonetheless and raise a future generation to take up and win the fight. All people have a right to preserve their own religious and moral values, except where it does harm to others. We have more than a right to preserve our Christian truths and values: we have a duty to do so, for it does good to all.
The Rev. Dr Campbell Campbell-Jack is a retired Church of Scotland minister; now a member of the Free Church of Scotland. Check out his many incisive articles on his blog, A Grain of Sand.
