Digging deeper The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
As we look to thrive in the Creator's world, how to best strengthen the Body and be a blessing to the people, it's helpful to think about how we can act if things continue to follow the current trajectory. We all have different situations but there are some common threads. This will be a new resource on the website - and one you are invited to contribute to.
Church
Christian communities are the centre of all (as the Temple was in Jerusalem) – they are the Son’s Body, where the Holy Spirit is, amazingly, pleased to dwell. Everything happens in the context of them, every good initiative from God through its people or its influence. Local churches in all their humanness and ordinariness are close to God’s heart. They are increasingly precious as the world outside becomes precarious. People gather to sing and pray to Him with each other, as He gives direction, sometimes with tears. Some share truth from His word, others testimony of His work in their lives and of those they know, who are being saved. God does things around and through them, so make meeting always a priority.
There will probably be opposition but 'The church is an anvil which has worn out many hammers' Theodore Beza to the King of Navarre.
Family
It's tempting to feel that in troubled times having families and children is too much risk. But God commands 'be fruitful and multiply'. In Babylon the defeated Hebrews were told to: Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.’
For a number of reasons it is often difficult for young men and women to find each other and marry and have children, so we need to pray particularly for this.
Education
Try to influence your school via the Board of Governors to teach all subjects without ideological bias – especially around relationships, but also truth around History, English, Science.
If this is not allowed, and you are able to financially, homeschool your children – ideally with partnership organisations. There are also some good independent Christian schools if they can be afforded. Don't necessarily trust CoE schools.
This will help to get a properly balanced, unprejudiced education which reflects the way things actually are – from evolution to economics and will result in a healthier emotional and spiritual life.
Teach and understand the culture, including its criticisms of Christianity, and know how to respond with humility.
There may still be issues getting on some University courses – which can be challenged and overcome.
Your children will become an asset to the community as they will know how to do things and how to treat people fairly.
Work
Try to work with managers and colleagues to respond to cultural challenges with help from websites like knowingthetimes.org.uk so you don't have to acquiesce to anti-Christian activities or work norms.
People are being denied jobs for being Christian or sacked for anti-woke views (though some have won compensation when this has happened).
So have in mind how you can work for yourself. Take business courses to help you with setting up a business. Be realistic and maybe join with other Christians in a cooperative, sharing skills. The community raising a barn!
In the US the Supreme Court have ruled that it is illegal to force a business to do work that is against the conscience of the provider (eg build a website for an activity that is unbiblical). However this does not seem to have stopped people bringing law-suits (lawfare) to exact emotional and financial distress. Support the Christain Legal Centre or ADFUK on this.
Energy
Try to be independent to avoid the inevitable shortfalls (unless nuclear happens soon). Gather wood/coal if you have a way of burning it, especially in emergencies. Think about a diesel generator (as they have to in California). Buy 'power stations' - devices with a battery that emit 240V. Charge these with solar panels where possible rather than from the mains. If you have fixed solar panels charge storage batteries with them first before output to the grid. Practice connecting your router and PCs to this, and charging devices (most have USBs), to at least have comms.
Be energy efficient and environmentally aware but also be realistic. Solar panels can take a long time to break-even financially and take a lot of resources to make. There are not enough known rare-earth metals in the ground to make all the batteries the world would need if just using renewables. With cars it’s estimated to take 77,000 miles before an EV has less impact on the environment than a petrol car (assuming you can go that far!).
Information, news, ‘facts’
Review different sources of news over a longish period to understand their perspectives and their ‘fruit’ ie what sort of life they promote. Be aware of the BBC viewpoint as this will reflect the ‘elite’ take on things, but check out others like GB News or Talk TV, which will cover all this and include the voices the BBC omits as opposing the official narrative. Avoid Facebook or similar newsfeeds as too elite-view or advertising-driven.
Twitter/X is providing a relatively balanced diet.
YouTube is useful in what it does show – but many key presentations are banned or warning-stickered. These videos may appear more readily on Rumble.
Note alternative paid channels like Substack for comment or Epoch Times for news & comment (worth the subscription).
Be aware that many ‘expert’ commentators have very vested interests. Many of the people calling out actual misinformation on Covid/Climate/Culture are the older academics and scientists who have established careers and are not so dependent on the Government or Big Tech/Pharma for their next job or grant.
Curiously Media ‘Fact checkers’ were only invented when Media started being dishonest! As Tucker Carlson said - you can tell lies, the only thing you're cancelled for is telling the truth.
Online, Digital
Ensure browsers have as much privacy enhancement as possible. Brave is specifically built for this.
Move from Microsoft, Apple to Linux (free) on your desktop/laptop.
Do at least monthly backups to a USB removable disk or flash-drive, and store in a firesafe.
Use a de-googled version of Android on your phone.
Avoid Cloud services.
Books
A number of people have said – get paper copies! Books are being revised, supposedly to adjust their tone for a woke generation, but actually denying that authors can have an independent voice, one that is other than the collective. Many books will disappear. It’s not for nothing that the Bible is banned in so many countries. Its author’s voice is the ultimate in independence and authenticity – it's instinctively understood to be subversive to authoritarian control.
Have a facility for creating literature - at minimum a computer printer, see samizdat.
Also learn things 'by heart' especially Christian songs, Bible verses, the Creed, and the Q&A teaching tools like the Westminster Catechism: 'What is the chief end of man?' '... to glorify God and enjoy Him forever'.
Money
With the seemingly inevitable roll-out of CBDCs and the politicisation of access to money, consider storing income and savings in alternate ways. Any electronic access to funds is going to be controllable – even that needed to use Bitcoin, so moving to cash (until banned) or gold/jewels should be considered (although even these need to be converted into digital liquidity to some degree).
Refuse to use retailers, cafes etc that do not allow cash.
It may be that payment-in-kind returns. Within a community where some people are denied access to funds, others may cultivate a 'respectable' persona and act as bankers for cancelled others.
Food
Grow and produce your own as much as possible, ideally with friends for fellowship, help and advice.
Know how to dry and freeze produce.
Learn to cook and bake with varieties of ingredients in varieties of settings - go camping or boating!
Housing
Try to acquire land that you can use to best advantage for accommodation, recreation, food production, growing delightful flowers, maintaining and building things, storing energy. Build workshops and invest in tools. The community raising a barn!
The globalist ambition seems to be to confiscate land and property or to price people out of it. In Russia/China most people live in flats - it limits and controls their freedom, agency and initiative.
Politics
We are all part of the 'polis', the voting community, so we should be involved to witness for living in His world His way - as this will be best for all (as the past has proven). We need to take an interest in local matters and show we're part of the solution with informed, relevant, responses - even if they are not welcomed. We need to show that we are friends of the opposition - ie not tribal but aiming to align with another's (God's) principles. Remember Daniel.
Art
God is creator and the ultimate patron of arts! We see this in the provision of skills and materials to build the temple. Music and poetry are integral to the psalms. Art at its best reveals and celebrates beauty in nature and in the affairs of mankind, a beauty that reflects God and is readily understood by people. Much modern art rejects this idea so has to fabricate meaning - not least by having notes to tell us why it's so meaningful…
But we need to celebrate and enjoy the Creator in all ways.
You
The most important bit! Following the suggestions above you can figure out a number of things, but some thoughts:
- stay close to God with daily bible reading and prayer and with meeting other Christians weekly
- stay close to family - your prime responsibility
- keep physically fit with a good diet, exercise and sleep
- build emotional well-being in fun activities with friends, don't be too serious
- have a good plan for future thriving - joint with family, work, community
