For this month’s insight I would like to welcome Bradley Green and thank him for being willing to ask me a spiritual and challenging question. In recent years Bradley has lived away from his home while completing his first degree in Philosophy and then a Post Graduate Certificate in Media and Culture. Bradley has returned home and lives, works and worships in the Manchester area and loves to play basketball with friends and in competitions.
Thank you unsplash,com
Hi Graham no worries at all for asking me to ask you a question!! One question which intrigues me is: “As secularisation increases day by day and for many reasons, in what areas of society will and has God been removed entirely and what will the impact be”?
As an example Graham, in the field of Charity Work I think it is unlikely it would be affected in the same way Politics has and will continue to bring about change. The reason for this lies in the understanding called ‘Logic in Theory’.
While Politics is about building and maintaining a liveable society for people, a majority of leaders, especially with increasing radicalisation even in the western world, allow radical and slow change to become easier and more commonplace. As a result more genuine Members of Parliament are pushed aside by those who are more willing to lie, cheat and steal.
When we consider the MP Boris Johnstone he ousted Theresa May, who at the time was the Prime Minister and then in turn kicked out people like Rory Stewart MP who was a prospect candidate for the position of Prime Minister. Looking back maybe Rory wasn’t the right person to be a Prime Minister but he had a genuine care for people as he visited all over the country to speak to people and some time ago I actually met him at the Victoria Statue in Piccadilly Gardens London.
In the charitable sector it is different because if you don’t genuinely care for people you’re less likely to get involved and succeed, as other goals like the pursuit of money and simple survival, in an increasingly expensive world, isn’t necessarily met as much.
These two areas are only an example where God has and is being left out! For many young people, they see a very negative image of religion in the media because the news is 95% negative. I’m not sure whether that’s a lot to do with extremism, tensions in Israel and Palestine and other impacts within areas of society that has increasingly mocked faith in the light of increased secularisation. I’d be interested to know your thoughts Graham. Kind Regards Bradley,
Rev Graham replies:
Wow, thank you Bradley for your thought provoking question especially your perspective from a young person’s point of view and a graduate of Philosophy. I think many aspects of your question can be considered in the context of how social welfare is contrived and received for an individual and within society at large in the United Kingdom and throughout the world.
In respect to whether or not areas within society God has or will be removed permanently, we have to recall certain elements of Church History and a Biblical View of World History as to how it embraces the Christian faith and often how it has sought to remove any semblance of Christian belief in Politics, Charitable Agencies and Life in general.
The relationship between any State or any Religious Affiliation is a complex one that ranges from a healthy and respectful understanding, that fosters free speech and allows personal faith to flourish, to one that seeks to control a particular State Philosophy that supresses areas of free speech and actions so as to contain all political, social and religious points of view. Such a stance does not promote societal harmony but only breeds discontent, conflict and poverty body, mind and spirit.
In the Old Testament Bradley, there is an interesting account of a man called Samuel who acted like a Judge, Prophet and Priest over the nation of Israel. He was instructed by the Lord, to listen to the requests of the people who wanted an earthly King to rule over them.
Samuels’s sons, who were expected to follow his leadership, turned away from the Lord and the people were not impressed and in there insecurity, against the threats of their Philistine neighbours, wanted a Kingly figure to protect them. Thank you freebibleimages.org
Samuel felt rejected by the people but the Lord reassured him that it wasn’t personal for they were mainly rejecting the Lord. However, the Lord also instructed Samuel to make it clear to the people what a relationship with a King would look like, one akin to being slaves to the Kings demands.
In the course of ethical debate from a Christian and non-Christian point of view, we may find four views that play a part in a current interplay between individual and community ethics and affect any political, voluntary and faith based view and action:
Society can be based on the pursuit of individualism even at the expense of the wider community. However, people may contract to surrender a measure of their individuality for the benefit of a collective and societal norm and growth which represents a form of shared ‘natural rights’ of both the individual within a given society.
People within any country will have to conform to some degree, to various governmental, economic, religious and international protocols and expectations. Any ethics and morals within a society are in the context of community, yet Christian and other religious ethics will seek to include and live by ethics and morals that relate to the God they worship and serve.
It has always been the case and currently in our present community, that people seek to live how they feel personally and so are not concerned with how others live which have echoes of the times during the Judges in the Old Testament when “everyone did what was right in their own eyes”. (Judges 21:25).
In such a community we find that certain groups will seek to shout the loudest so as to excerpt their own morals and ethics within community compared to those who speak and act more quietly, accepting another point of view and try to introduce wisdom and a spirit of consensus to any debate. In each case they will represent a secular-humanistic point of view, alongside a Christian and other religious view point.
Christian Ethics and the Social Gospel
The social gospel is not aligned to just one particular political party or philosophical movement. One might be left or right wing, top or bottom wing or even in the centre or total off beam!
For me a belief in God is central to our being and in that we will have a personal preferences as to whom we feel best represents our individual ethics and morals in a political, economic and social context. In one of my recent blogs You’ll get my vote! (Inspire2Acheive), I concluded the following that I feel is relevant to your question Bradley.
- “For me the greatest form of governance within any society is where leaders truly represent the people they serve rather than acting like distant and cruel dictators. In comparing different societies within the world there are some places where God is central and people are expected to show love, tolerance and compassion. Sadly in varying ways many only seek to serve themselves rather than love and serve their family and neighbours”.
Throughout world and church history where there has been a ‘need’ within society, both personal and corporate, God has raised up certain individuals and movements. For example in the United Kingdom there has been times when Christian ethics have changed the course of the nation as exampled in the formation of the Welfare System that includes the National Health Service, as well as Trade Unions, the Abolition of Slavery and many other areas pf Social Welfare and development.
People who work in the political arena have to encourage and support such activities, which will be different to how those who find themselves within a charitable and religious context. There will be unique ways as to how they fulfil their desires and aspirations in supporting the needs of those they serve and will look for good working conditions and a pay scale to satisfy their own material needs.
Today there is the argument that we should not require charitable support because it’s a government’s responsibility to provide the basic needs for all within society. However, in the lack of, such provisions we can be thankful for Food Banks that provide staple food packs. Credit Unions who help savers and offer financial loans and for agencies such as Christians Against Poverty who help people in debt.
Many churches and religious groupings provide places of refuge, friendship, worship, teaching and healing. There exists hospices, hospitals, homeless shelters and places for refugees and those fleeing domestic violence.
Take Away
The Christian church has lasted for over two thousand years and will continue in many forms both charitable and formal, alongside any political forces that might encourage, marginalise, discriminate or seek to remove entirely any reference to God.
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In each generation there will be those who want to do away with any form of belief in a sovereign God but equally there is no earthly power that has or will be able to stop the advance of the Christian church.
There will exist places of spiritual decline, where there is no form of Christian witness but that compares too many countries and communities where revival, renewal and spiritual growth is taking place and the church of God is evident and vibrant.
So Bradley I hope these brief thoughts have connected to your very relevant question. Be encouraged that politics is not a beginning or end in itself but is part of a whole that includes amazing people and agencies who work for free or reduced incomes and make wonderful changes in people’s lives from a chartable perspective.
The pressure within communities to remove any aspect of God has and will always be evident in many obvious and not so blatant ways but God by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit always pushes back and will bring change and renewal as has happen in the past and can be present today and for all young people and their precious futures.
Graham
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