One half-guilty pleasure of holidays is to escape the daily pressures - leave the responsibilities of work, home or church behind. But we should not feel guilty – except perhaps that we don't do it enough! We recognise that a change of scene allows us to gain some distance, perspective, hopefully a sense of God's purposes and a greater sense of direction and encouragement.
It's so important that God has dedicated a seventh of our time to it. This was not for 'religious' duty but for rejoicing in His presence, which is what true holiness is about. J I Packer notes in 'Keeping in step with the Spirit' that there are two words used for holiness hagios – the familiar 'being set apart', and hosiotes – being inwardly and outwardly 'righteous' and pure, like gold. This is our joy when the Spirit of Jesus living in us bears witness to His love and truth. God works with us, creating a virtuous circle from awareness of fallenness to repentance to greater knowledge of Him as Father and Creator.
Not far from any one of us
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
As our culture shows more and more the effects of a rejection of true virtue, God seems to be awakening a stronger and brighter flame among us. And this is not just because as it gets darker the light shines brighter - it's brighter than that - like a flare from an oil drilling rig on a new strike, rewarding persistent exploration, but surprising many, its bounty none of our making.
Many prayers have been made for the reformation of this people and God has been answering them over decades and centuries – sometimes with dark strongholds falling suddenly after long and bitter resistance. Were we watching, praying, giving thanks?
Kicking it out
This week it was reported that UK profession football and rugby are cutting ties with Stonewall and mostly abandoning its worship of 'woke' ideology (there will only be two taking-the-knee this season, and no more rainbow-laces). Why are they doing this, a sudden pang of conscience, or seeing the light? Well maybe, but 'sporting institutions are shelving their once slavish devotion to the self ID cult to protect themselves from legal jeopardy' (Telegraph) is nearer the truth.
The legal jeopardy stems from the Supreme Court affirming that the legal definition of a woman in the Equality Act is determined by biological sex, thus ending any paper-thin justification for the invasion of female changing rooms or team rosters by men – indeed to do so would now be seen as unfair discrimination (it always was). Sadly this did not happen because the Government wanted to correct a legal incompatibility between its (Labour's) Equality Act 2010 (EA) and Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA) but because the feminist campaign group For Women Scotland bought a case against The Scottish Ministers, and pushed appeals all the way to UK Supreme Court.
Would that a Christian group had similar zeal but from a Creation motive - except it would not have succeeded. The quango 'Equality and Human Right Commission' (EHRC) tasked to enforce the EA now has to align its guidance in the teeth of protests from Stonewall who complain it 'risks creating a hierarchy of rights and a tiering of safety concerns'(!). This exposes the contradictions at the heart of this, with a civil war between members of the 'Equality Industry'. The EHRC are so 'equal' that they apologised for appointing Rev Joel Edwards (former head of Evangelical Alliance) as a Commissioner, because as a Christian it offended others. Christians will come near the bottom of the de-facto hierarchy of rights. The Supreme Court, weighing its evidence, takes notice of these power-struggles. This is not a victory for creation-sense but for one part of the fractured flag, the antithetical acronym, against another.
It's interesting that commentators are quite clear that the radical trans ideology was not just a harmless alternative viewpoint but 'pernicious fallacies', a strange 'extreme belief system', that persuaded the supposedly soundest minds in the land. They also recognise that the unforgiving response to any opposition was partisan, anti-Christian, with a Muslim not being censored for refusing to wear the obligatory armband while a Christian was, for marking it with “Jesus loves You”.
The Christian Institute is challenging the legality of the Civil Service being officially involved in 'Pride' marches. This is something that is now possible as the 'T' part is more clearly a contested position (not least since the CASS report) and follows a recent ruling against Northumbria Police.
Visible enemy
MP Danny Kruger also points this out in his tweet after the June 20 Parliamentary vote on assisted suicide, calling those pushing it 'militant anti-Christians' - 'Support for assisted suicide is an article of faith - faith in the capacity of individual human beings to play the role of God…'.
In an important speech on July 17 he said 'A wind is blowing, a storm is coming, and when it hits, we are going to learn if our house is built on rock or on sand.' concluding 'And a new restoration is needed now, revival of the faith, the recovery of Christian politics, a re-founding of this nation on the teachings that Alfred made the basis of the common law of England all those centuries ago.' (transcript and Hansard)
French lesson
This, by God's grace, was the mainstream opinion during Britain's strongest growth period in the 1800s. Edmund Burke, leading parliamentarian, affirmed that government is created from the ground up, slowly with reasoned, reformable practices and a protestant national moral foundation, 'All persons possessing any portion of power ought to be strongly and awfully impressed with an idea that they act in trust; and that they are to account for their conduct in that trust to the one great Master, Author and Founder of society' (Reflections on the Revolution in France para 156 etc). This in opposition to the man-centred 'Enlightenment' rationality - which played out with such deathly effect in the French Revolution, and is now doing its worse in the UK where we have ignored these warnings and rejected the great Master, Author and Founder of society.
A recent history of the French revolution called 'Liberté, equalité, stupidité' shows it was 'more of a botch job than a triumph' says reviewer Simon Heffer. This is typical of so-called progressive thinking which, as it's not Godly, is demonic foolishness. No one comes out better except maybe a few opportunists. Napoleon is responsible for over 3 million dead and the introduction of income tax in Britain to pay for his defeat. The Equality Act and Gender Recognition Act are also expensive follies - a net disbenefit to Britain.
Holiday read
You might have had a chance to read some Milton (almost wasted on us at school). It's stunning when you've learnt the rhythm of reading it. John Milton, a puritan, takes the Biblical narrative and here tells the story with invented illustration (as other books and film do today though with less timeless power).
High on a Throne of Royal State, which far
Outshone the wealth of Ormus and of Ind,
Or where the gorgeous East with richest hand
Showers on her Kings Barbaric Pearl and Gold,
Satan exalted sat, by merit raised
To that bad eminence; and from despair
Thus high uplifted beyond hope, aspires
Beyond thus high, insatiate to pursue
Vain War with Heaven, and by success untaught
His proud imaginations thus displayed...
Paradise Lost Book 2
Milton was a senior advisor in national affairs at the time of the Commonwealth and was known across Europe, so politics and faith are never separate or ill-considered. In this passage he sees Satan active in the world, seemingly supreme, rich, authoritarian – by his own (de)merit qualified as chief demon, powerful and compulsively addicted to rebellious war with heaven, and 'in his proud imaginings' fantasising hopelessly that he will win...
The same vain and proud imaginings are everywhere today, 'Claiming to be wise they became fools'
Let us be like the wise ones, He arrives, Maranatha.
