The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has stated at a speech in Oxford that Britain is a Christian country, and that "we should not be afraid to say so" (BBC News, 16th December). He goes further, and declares that it is the Bible that has given Britain its values:
"...what I am saying is that the Bible has helped to give Britain a set of values and morals which make Britain what it is today."
I heard a phrase recently which I feel is apt. It went something like this: "I can't hear what you're saying because your actions are speaking too loudly." Though Cameron calls himself only a "vaguely practicing" Christian (though paradoxically, also "committed" - no, I can't work it out either), any claim to faith is simply not evident, given how his government has followed in the footsteps of Labour by marginalising Christianity and traditional values in favour of everything that is contrary to Biblical precepts.
Indeed, if he were a Christian, Mr Cameron would have supported the four Christians who were refused the right to publicly manifest their Christianity by British courts, and who have now taken their legal cases to the European Court of Human Rights (Christian Concern 13th Dec 2011 and Daily Mail, 10th Dec 2011). But of course, the Prime Minister (PM) refused to lend his support - even though he claims to be a Christian!
Cameron glows over the way the church has a propensity to help those in need, saying: "Just as in the past it was the influence of the church that enabled hospitals to be built, charities created, the hungry fed, the sick nursed and the poor given shelter...so today faith based groups are at the heart of modern social action."
However, he fails to protect Christians working in hospitals who are penalised for wearing crosses that pose no hygeine threat (See Shirley Chaplin's case in the Daily Mail article already linked to) , whilst allowing Muslims to wear clothing below the elbow, helping to spread bacteria such as MRSA (Telegraph, 11 April 2010)
Instead of supporting those that he claims are his spiritual brethren, David Cameron likes nothing more than to pander to the sexual deviants (Romans 1:26-32) that some of these four Christians who took their cases to the ECHR stood against. This is clear from government policy, as well as two of the above cases. For instance, he has the audacity to believe that he may redefine the single most important societal institution, that was itself defined by God in the very beginning. Of course, I am talking about marriage, which God Himself defined as being between a man and a woman in Genesis 2:24, and which was reiterated by Christ in Mark 10, verses 6 to 8:
"But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;
And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh."
We have established that the Prime Minister's words concerning himself appear to be rather spurious, but what of the nation?
Mr Cameron stated that "the Judeo-Christian roots of the Bible also provide the foundations for ... our freedom and democracy" in this country. It is true that we owe all of our freedoms and prosperity to God, and that we once lived, to a great extent, according to His law, with statute books that were more in line with biblical principles. But it is undeniable that this has now all but withered away. We live in an age where marriage means nothing, and people may divorce on a whim; where one quarter of women aged 16 to 24 admit to having had sex at the age of 15 or below (BBC News, 15th Dec 2011); where thousands upon thousands of babies are murdered as if it were contraception; where parental responsibilities are continually usurped by the state; and where it is socially unacceptable to even be a genuine Christian, let alone speak about the Good News of Jesus Christ in public or in the workplace.
I don't know which Bible Cameron is reading, but my Bible certainly does not advocate 'democracy'. Many will recoil in horror at anybody who opposes democracy, because without really knowing what the word means, they have accepted the idea that it is somehow the best form of governance. Democracy comes from the Greek 'dēmos', and 'kratia', which translate as 'people', and 'rule/power' respectively. So, 'democracy' literally translates as 'people power', or 'rule of the people'. Yet, the Bible tells us that this is the very reason for man's fall, because man failed to submit to God's authority, and instead took the authority for himself! [ed. see the BTM article 'Forms of Civil Government' for more information] Right across scripture we are commanded to submit to the rule of God, not taking the power that belongs to Him alone for ourselves, and not seeking after our own ways:
"But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.
But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward."
(Jeremiah 7:23-24)
Cameron closes with:
"I believe the Church of England has a unique opportunity to help shape the future of our communities. But to do so it must keep on the agenda that speaks to the whole country. The future of our country is at a pivotal moment. The values we draw from the Bible go to the heart of what it means to belong in this country... and you, as the Church of England, can help ensure that it stays that way."
The truly sinister part of these closing words is Cameron's vain demand that the church "must keep on the agenda that speaks to the whole country". Thankfully, although the troubles of Christians in this country are growing, we do not yet have the same persecution that is seen in the likes of China, and Islamic countries. We may meet freely, and do not yet have to fear violence at the hands of the state. However, the first thing that came to mind when reading these words was the state of Christendom within communist China, where only a state-sanctioned false brand of Christianity is permitted, and all other churches are forced underground and persecuted. What Cameron is effectively saying is that the church must follow his government's evil agenda, and not God's, if it should be at variance with the politically correct mood of the day. We see this of course in the ongoing debate on sexual ethics and marriage, where the government brazenly stands against God's will on the matter, and expects everybody else to comply with its evil. It is not a Christian's business to keep to any earthly agenda, over God and His word. To do such would be idolatry.
Using the guise of 'tolerance', Cameron said: "A passively tolerant society says to its citizens, as long as you obey the law we will just leave you alone. It stands neutral between different values." This reinforces my previous point: He expects Christians to comply with wicked and ungodly laws that are 'tolerant' of a death cult, yet not of God's word. Christians are commanded to obey the law of the land, and we must do so, even if we do not like it. Yet there is one massive exception: If the law of the land is contrary to God's law, we must obey God, and not men. In response to the laws that mock God, I pray that Christians across the land will reply in the spirit of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, when they answered the demand of King Nebuchadnezzar, that they bow to his god:
"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
"
(Daniel 3:16-18)
To Mr Cameron I say this: Your words are both vain and void, and they will not stand before God Almighty, who "desirest truth in the inward parts", rather than empty declarations of allegiance. As Isaiah said: "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it." (Isaiah 1:19-20)
Mr Cameron, you will bow before your Creator on the Great and Terrible Day, and you will have to give account of all of your deeds and every "idle word" (Matthew 12:36). Repent and honour the Lord that you claim to believe in now and lead this nation in righteousness under Him; or you will face ruin on the Last Day, when you stand before a God Who is not a "respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34), and before whom human titles, position and estate are without merit or meaning.
You cannot have the results of the Gospel without the Gospel, and you cannot have everything that is good and wholesome about a Christian society without Christ. God will not be mocked, and you will reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7). God is indeed longsuffering, but if you continue to mock Him by scorning His word, He will utterly and wholly destroy this once great and Christian nation.
The Prime Minister's full speech can be read here: http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/king-james-bible/
© 17 December 2011
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Published on www.christiandoctrine.com
Bible Theology Ministries - PO Box 415, Swansea, SA5 8YH
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