Read time: 5 minutes.
Image
We talk a lot about bringing a Christian world-view to what we do, to our communities. A key part of this is thinking through specific practical issues. This can be done from a distance but to really change things it has to happen in discussion with other people. One forum is a local political party. We may not want to get involved, it takes time and energy to witness to something. But if we don't, alternative views are accepted by default, which wont help anybody.
Another response is to say that nothing lasting will happen until people convert, so there is an apparent tension between talking about policy from a Christian perspective and the need for individual personal repentance. People recognise today (and Wilberforce did in his) that without genuine Christian citizens, Christendom will fail. However we may need less than we think - a little yeast... The Progressives are relatively small in number but are more dedicated and effective in these arenas than Christians are.
So how do we relate to our fellow group-members who may be friendly but may not take to being challenged about their beliefs or lifestyles?
A political party's central office has been inviting local parties to feedback policy ideas on a range of topics. At some level all topics involve thinking about a Christian world-view but a recent one on family tax policy was more pointed as it needed a reflection on what families, marriage, children are for and who/what are their enemies. There is political concern about the decreasing numbers of married couples and the birth-rate. The supplied brief with questions did not really tackle this wider issue. I guess it was assumed that whatever currently happens should be encouraged, the political party was not an arbiter of morals (of course it is more than it realises, every law establishes a moral choice).
During discussions the 'living together not married' situation was touched upon. At one point someone surprisingly said 'The church is needed' but that was not picked up by others.
A political party's central office has been inviting local parties to feedback policy ideas on a range of topics. At some level all topics involve thinking about a Christian world-view but a recent one on family tax policy was more pointed as it needed a reflection on what families, marriage, children are for and who/what are their enemies. There is political concern about the decreasing numbers of married couples and the birth-rate. The supplied brief with questions did not really tackle this wider issue. I guess it was assumed that whatever currently happens should be encouraged, the political party was not an arbiter of morals (of course it is more than it realises, every law establishes a moral choice).
During discussions the 'living together not married' situation was touched upon. At one point someone surprisingly said 'The church is needed' but that was not picked up by others.
Feedback
Any group discussion has a relatively unstructured dynamic so a lot gets missed, but if you wanted to contribute feedback later or think about what you might have said - what would that be? How would you react to the points below if you were a not a Christian?
- It was easier to come up with bright ideas than ones that would actually attract the electorate (inevitably that is always an aspect) !
- It felt that if we were talking about taxation for a particular purpose we need to explore the implied purpose - building stronger families - more broadly. However the listed questions were not really geared to that.
- There are some key civilisational issues that people seem to be taking more seriously now - like how did we get to the good place of a 'high trust society' and strong families that we seem to be so clearly slipping from.
- There have also been some good responses to the 'reparations' issue by people like Prof Nigel Biggar and it's been shown that it was the Christian foundations of people like Wilberforce and the Clapham group that drove the abolition miracle. This was followed by the factory, education & poverty reforms led by Ashley Cooper (Lord Shaftesbury) (an MP and later in the House of Lords) again driven (amid concerted opposition) by his Christian convictions and trust in the Person who founded his faith.
- The improved material and social well-being of Britain, not least the high status of women, encouraged by Christianity, made Britain a culture that other nations envied. The good of this continued in the early 1900s only to be seriously attacked from the 1960s onwards. Some political leaders aligned themselves with the Christian ethos. Others implacably opposed it!
- The later feminist movement has led to less fulfilment for women as their very 'freedom' has resulted in loss of marriage and family (short comment). Even in supposedly flexible cohabiting situations women end up with worse relationships and futures than those married. There is naturally a devastating effect on men too with many not able to find a wife and form a family. We need men to be more male and women to be more female.
- We touched on the education of women and this has always been high and contributes to stable families and rewarding work. We do need to return to a promotion of marriage as the foundation for our culture, for the fulfilment of men and women and the related health and wealth of society. It's also clear that as soon as a couple have children they become more interested in their communities as they instinctively want a stable environment for their children to grow up in.
- Someone commented that we need the church. Sadly some church leaders are a disaster, but there are a number of genuinely Christian churches around, with people who understand the times. Some run marriage and parenting courses as well as lots of other events for all ages.
- There are a number of Christian groups that work hard on specific topics - like Christian Concern with the Darlington Nurses (who have been recognised nationally). They have a vision for a Britain supported by personal trust in a loving transformative God.
- It's also been shown that wherever Christianity has taken root around the world people gain socially and economically and are better governed.
- It helps if we better understand how we really flourish as we can think about taxation and other polices around it. So an approach that stays close to the Christian model has made our communities strong in the past. Those in heterosexual marriage and staying together to bring up families with at least 2 children should be the most supported.
- Hungary have been leading in practical policies on fertility: https://safeinhungary.gov.hu/en/family/family-care/ Also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_policy_in_Hungary - this shows however that despite strong economic measures around boosting birth-rate there has been limited success. So without a true personal/cultural shift any tax incentives are going to have little impact.
- Denmark are recognising the need to recover a Christian ethos https://knowingthetimes.org.uk/blog/uncivil-war but don't really know how.
- So there is a real sense that a rediscovery of the roots of our culture and the Person behind it will lead to a better Britain, as has happened in the past - even with all its messiness but ultimate blessing!
Rationale
Thinking about the goals of Christendom policy and personal Christian witness, there is not much here about detailed family policy (or tax policy) as there feels a need to establish credentials first. Hungary is referenced as it has had a strong pro-family detailed tax policy in a more up-front Christian national context. Part of the motivation there seems to be about preserving their ethnic character, something ex-communist nations are particularly sensitive about. They may see their 'religion' more in those terms than as personal faith - which leads to limited results.
There is also not much about personal faith for the same reason of building foundations. Some might feel there is already too much!
If we were serious our general framework would be the 10 Laws of Life: no intercourse outside marriage, only one heterosexual wife/husband and divorce strictly limited, mutual support of parents & children, abortion illegal, honouring God. This would be enabled by seeking to change cultural norms, Wilberforce's 'make goodness fashionable', through all sorts of soft initiatives and evangelism. This is seen in some churches today, modelling an attractive better way. It would be undergirded by tax and other legislation and much prayer.
How do we work better at community and individual transformation? I think we need to get involved and make concrete suggestions. Sometimes these need a lot of explanation to stop them from being dismissed as 'traditional morality'. We're quite good at protesting bad laws, but we need to do more on making good ones. We also need to exhibit personal qualities of engagement. These can easily seem to have impossible chances of success - but somehow God has made them happen in the past - and we look to Him in the present...
