I would like to recommend Gillan Scott’s new blog God and Politics in the UK, subtitled “Seeking God’s agenda for society in the United Kingdom”. He has made a good start over the last few weeks with his comments and analysis of recent political events from a non-partisan Christian perspective. He writes:
Jesus … didn’t shy away from the issues of the day and he definitely wasn’t afraid to speak his mind highlighting hypocrisy, abuse of power and oppression.
Can the same be said of the church today? … At this time in our history it is crucial that the Church stands up and delivers God’s message even when it is counter cultural and likely to cause offence.
And this seems to be what Gillan is aiming to do. I wish him well.
I have not met Gillan, but he lives only about 50 miles from me in Suffolk, and moves in the same charismatic Church of England circles as I do.
That’s strange… I grew up in Woodbridge and used to go to the St John’s youth services a bit when Gillan was youth leader there. Didn’t really know him that well though. It’s a small world!
A small world indeed, Phill. I’ll be happy to put you back in touch with Gillan.
Thank you Peter for doing this. You are very kind. It makes all the effort feel worthwhile when you see others sharing your work.
Phill, it’s lovely to hear from someone from my neck of the woods who’s been involved with my previous work. Our youth service, Vision, is still going strong. I’m afraid I can’t remember talking to you, but I do remember your name!
Gillan, you’re welcome! It is good to see someone else blogging on this topic, especially from a somewhat similar perspective to my own.
Yes, it has been very encouraging read your posts and feel very much at home with pretty much everything you talk about.
Hello from the Colonies!
I too believe that is is past time for the true Church to free itself from the shackles of political correctness and actually address the burning issues of this time.
The problem as of right now, is the number of “Christian” leaders that apparently have no clue as to what the Bible actually promotes or endorses. The blind lead the blind, and the congregations, with some notable exceptions, love to be deceived.
Indeed, Galveston. The problem is, who is to determine “what the Bible actually promotes or endorses”? While there are certainly exegetical issues, the real problem is one of hermeneutics. How, if at all, can we properly use the Bible as we “address the burning issues of this time”? Do those leaders you refer to actually have “no clue”, or are they just taking a different approach to the Bible, and what makes their approach wrong and yours right? Perhaps Gillan and I can get into these issues in future posts.
Thanks for this posting Peter as just happened to dip into yours. (1st time was via Stuart James’ site a few weeks ago.)
I agree 100%. For last few years have encouraged church friends to become more aware of not only issues but also the Biblical relevance of these ‘times’.
So will circulate and watch…
Thank you, Richard. I’m a bit cautious about trying to find biblical relevance in terms of linking current events to the return of Jesus, the Rapture etc. For more details browse my eschatology category. But it is good to have you reading and contributing here.
Thanks for the pointer Peter, which I’ve already read (on 1st visit) and was interested in your penult para and agree with your conclusion.
Agree your caution too as we cannot be precise on these matters. As in the old hymn, ‘God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform’.
Richard, I’ve had a read through your site and I’ll check back to see how it progresses. I agree with Peter that extreme caution is needed when trying to link current events to Biblical prophecy. Lots of people have got it wrong befoe and I don’t want to join the list.
Thanks Gillan. Appreciate your comment and Peter’s, and have inserted note about my prime position being to see the Bride getting ready for her Lord. Imho, this means bringing more of the King’s rule into the earthly realm. I’ve already noted many American rapture-fans miss the bits of Paul’s instruction about what comes before-hand!
Maybe I misunderstood the thrust of this blog. I was thinking about the Church and such issues as sanctity of life, homosexuality, and redistribution of wealth.
There seems to be a lot of confusion within what is accepted as “the church’ on these subjects. Indeed, if a minister speaks out against any one of these, he will be attacked by most of the media and pressured to retract his statement.
The pulpit has become muzzled by “political correctness”.
Galveston, it is of course up to Gillan which subject he addresses on his blog. But our UK scene, in politics, the church, and the media, is rather different from the North American one. What is counter cultural here may be mainstream there, and vice versa.
Sorry Galveston for any confusion! I think writing a blog on church politics would be very depressing. Peter is absolutely right about the differences between the relationships between churches and the political scene North America and the UK. Part of my inspiration for starting the site was Sojourners (www.sojo.net) which manages to walk a line embracing both faith and politics. Much of their content though is not applicable to our country, but there isn’t really anything equivalent in our country. Hopefully my blog will at least go a small way to filling that gap.
I like the title ”Gentle wisdom” and would just like to offer support to your endorsement of the work that Gillan is doing. Having seen christians getting drawn in to unsavory arguments on web site forums i agree that the language we use is of the utmost importance. Clear but gentle. Some issues are quite clear cut but i hope Gillans site will enable us to find a common approach and like Jesus stand against all things that damage human contentedness or that inhibit the holy spirit becoming a reality. I feel this is a very exciting development
Graham, thank you for the encouragement, for Gillan and for myself.
Graham and Gillan, agree wholly with your sentiments for, on my part, your blog may connect into something that left me ‘God-smacked’ as far back as Oct ’04.
This is now available at http://wp.me/p1Y1yB-gS and I trust it may be of some encouragement and edification.
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