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EUROPEAN COURT - A Reformed Christian Comment on this week's proceedings

A REFORMED CHRISTIAN COMMENT ON THIS WEEK'S PROCEEDINGS AT THE EHCR

Dr Alan C. Clifford

So, UK Government lawyer James Eadie, QC says that religious people "should leave their faith at home or get another job." In our 'PC' climate, would he have dared say this had Muslims been involved? Or - as seems increasingly the case today - was he really targeting Christians? Indeed it is obvious that equality is for everyone except Christians. In other words, discrimination against Christians is OK!

The lawyer's statement reveals hypocritical ignorance about the underlying struggle. Do secular humanists et al 'leave their faith/ideology at home' when they go to work? Of course not. Their values find expression in their opinions and actions. There is no value-neutrality at work, as if actions can be value-free. What we have is a titanic struggle between faith systems, between the Judeo-Christian-Protestant heritage which has nurtured our civilization for centuries and the dark, hostile forces of an anti-Christian, pagan reaction. Indeed, the battle is between darkness and Light.

Surely, we are in our present moral crisis because, led by too many unfaithful pastors, too many Christians have 'left their faith at home' and for too long. According to the Old Testament history of Israel, one may say the UK's real cancer is primarily ecclesiastical rather than political.

It is impossible to expect a revival of Christian values without reformation and revival in the Church. This means saying 'No' to Rome-orientated ecumenism, 'No' to female leadership, 'No' to homosexuality, 'No' to gay marriage, 'No' to abortion and 'No' to Dawkinsian pseudo-science - to name but a few deviations from the Word of God. Until it pleases Almighty God to purify His people, little can be expected from the labours of para-church bodies like the CI and the CLC, however sincere and well-meaning their efforts are. They themselves cannot avoid compromise if they aim to serve the currently-compromised Christian scene. It is not enough to pray, without challenging and correcting the churches. While cowardly compromise continues, our moral impotence can only deteriorate further.

Let us truly pray, not simply to gain religious freedoms, but for God to cleanse our apostate and disobedient churches. Until there is repentance and a consistent return to the Word of God, including sound Bible-based theology, pure unworldly worship, truth-with-tears spirituality and zealous evangelistic endeavour in a multi-faith society, the crisis in which we find ourselves can only deepen.

So it's back to the 'salt and light' issue for Christians. Commenting on our Lord's words, 'You are the light of the world...Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven' (Matt. 5: 14), Genevan reformer John Calvin wrote: 'We are all children of the light, once we have received illumination by faith, and we are told to carry flaming torches in our hands, or we shall be lost in the darkness, and further to show others the path of life' (Comment on Matt.5:14).  

This is how anti-hyper-Calvinist Calvin saw the Gospel's work in this dark world. Such is doubtless the meaning behind the motto of the city of Geneva: 'POST TENEBRAS LUX' = 'After the darkness - Light!' This explains the enormous impact for good of the Protestant Reformation in every sphere of life. Never was there a greater need than to rediscover and relive the true Reformed Faith the 21st century. In short, we need prayerfully to launch a 'Campaign for Comprehensive Christian Correctness'! In this alone is our salvation and our social stability.

May God in Christ have mercy upon us.

In the news this week Friday, 7 September 2012               Weekly video news bulletin A brief rundown of the week's stories Watch now click to play               Click on a headline  to read the full story. Govt lawyer: Christians should leave faith at home or resign Christians in Britain should leave their faith at home or accept that they might have to get another job, a Government lawyer has told the European Court of Human Rights. Also see: Human Rights agenda risks totalitarianism, bishop warns Christian registrar case in European court Scots Govt includes gay marriage Bill in agenda Alex Salmond formally included a Bill to rewrite the definition of marriage as he unveiled the Scottish Government's new legislative programme this week. Canada: humanist attempts to force Gideons out of schools A humanist in Canada is seeking to stop the Gideons from distributing free copies of the Bible in schools. Study: Precocious pre-marital sex may harm marriage Having pre-marital sex early in a relationship may lead to a lower quality marriage for women, a new study shows. A great life remembered: Baroness Young 1926-2002 Baroness Young, a "formidable campaigner" who worked tirelessly in the House of Lords to champion Christian values, died ten years ago this week. Sentamu urges action on 'misery' caused by online porn Online porn is twisting children's minds, the Archbishop of York has warned, as he called on the public to respond to a Government consultation on the issue. Muslim man says Sharia lets him have two wives A Muslim businessman has told a divorce hearing that Sharia law allows him to have a second wife. Please forward this to your friends Yours in Christ, Colin Hart Director The Christian Institute View email in browser | Update your profile