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| Two novels in the twentieth century made a considerable impact at the time and are still referred to because of their glimpse into the future. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932) envisaged a time when humanity would be ruled by scientific order and where people would be kept content in an otherwise soulless environment, where there was no place for love, by continual doses of pleasure.
1984 by George Orwell (1949) pictured a country ruled by a totalitarian regime. Big Brother was watching you. Thought Police, from the Ministry of Love, controlled you. Newspeak was the official language, designed to meet the ideological needs of Ingsoc (English Socialism) and to make all other modes of thought impossible. The population of Oceania, of which Great Britain was a part, was kept in its place and hard at work through believing it was involved in war with the other two power blocs, Eurasia and Eastasia.
We are obviously not yet in anything like that position, but there are enough straws in the wind to cause us disquiet about the direction in which we appear to be moving, and it should be of particular concern to Christians.
A severe blow was dealt to trust in our Government by the Iraq war. Many people supported it at the time because they believed what we were told about the threat posed by the existence of weapons of mass destruction. It now appears that the intelligence on which this was based was less certain than was made out, and no weapons of mass destruction have been found. In a matter as important as this it is vital that the people should be able to trust those in authority.
There is also evidence of danger to freedoms we have long held dear. The jury system has been under threat in certain instances. There has been impassioned debate over the anti-terrorism legislation. No one wants to see those who are a danger to our society walking free on the streets. Yet the dependence on intelligence information alone, without recourse to the courts, could, under a less amiable regime than we have at present, be used, as it has been in other countries, to remove or severely restrict political opponents.
The controversial clause 10 in the Police and Serious Crimes Bill that deals with incitement to religious hatred could easily be misused to silence those who don’t toe the religiously correct line. In an age where ecumenism and multi-faith unity might become a binding factor in society nonconformists could have a rough ride. It has happened before in our history. Anyone who has heard what happened in an Australian court to Daniel Scot, the Pakistani Christian minister, will realise the reality of this danger.
We are also at a time when, for whatever reason, and perhaps with the best of intentions, our Government is intruding more and more into our lives. Families, homes, schools, hospitals, doctors’ surgeries, businesses, and other areas of our national life are all subject to an ever-increasing number of laws and regulations. It is probably easier for the ordinary citizen to become an unconscious law-breaker than ever before.
It is an ironic and sad fact that when a law was passed limiting possession of guns it was those who would never have used firearms illegally who complied, while gun crime has actually increased among the lawless.
Those concerned about our Protestant constitution will be aware of the mounting campaign to repeal the laws governing the monarch's relationship to the Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic Herald has been arguing vigorously for this, and has been joined by The Daily Telegraph. On March 28th that paper reported a Catholic Herald interview with Michael Howard under the headline, "Howard against ban on Catholic monarch". The innocent reader might have thought the interview had already been published. In fact, it did not appear until April 1st. Both papers carried leaders arguing for repeal. This could only open the way for political and ecclesiastical mayhem and pose another threat to Protestant freedom in this country.
The impending General Election presents the Christian with a real dilemma. None of the major parties can be said to represent a Christian position or to recognise the real underlying cause of our problems. It is all very well to pour vast sums of money into important areas of society, hoping that this will meet our problems. It will do some good, but it can never solve the problem of human nature. Nor will limiting our freedom more and more. Law can only restrict. It cannot alter the human heart.
The very best set of laws ever given to mankind could only bring out our sinfulness and the fallenness of our nature. Yet we have to say that recognising and attempting to do God’s will, expressed in the ten commandments, would have a tremendously beneficial effect in our land. At the same time, the fundamental need would still remain, reconciliation to God and a change of nature. That is the only way any of us can ever know true freedom, and the wonderful truth is that Christians have experienced that through the new birth.
Politicians are always going to labour under the disadvantage of governing countries made up of saints and sinners. Hence the troubles they experience in making and implementing policies. Christians, however, are able to preach and live out the Gospel as salt and light in their communities. We are not yet prevented from that. Our responsibility then is to be good, law-abiding citizens.
We should also pray. We need God’s mercy on our land. Some of the developments in our society may make us wonder, when we look at Romans 1, whether God has not given us over to judgement. We certainly deserve it. He has still preserved faithful churches, though, and while there is light there is hope.
We can pray that the fear of God will come upon us as a nation as the Word of God is preached in the power of the Spirit. We can ask God to apply the truth in such a way that many will come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to be godly and serious believers ourselves so that others can see the effect of the truth upon us.
The Scriptures warn us ”that in the last days perilous times shall come” (2 Timothy 3:10) , describing the ways in which they will be manifest. The work of spreading of the Gospel is still to go on, though, until the Lord comes again. At the same time, we do right to stand up for the freedoms we have enjoyed as a nation in the past. We must be alert in protesting against unwarranted and dangerous erosions of those freedoms. We need to make people aware of our Protestant history.
Yet whatever happens the words of the Lord in John 8:31,32, and 36 will always be true for the believer.
“If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free … If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
That is the freedom that really matters.
Originally published in May - June 2005 issue of Protestant Truth. |
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