The Broadside

 "What was envisaged worked out exactly... We have moved easily through the levels of subversion, each one leaving the church deeper in cultural captivity, becoming, in effect, culturally blind (to secularisation), which neutralised her spiritual integrity. Then, this symbiosis reached the point where the church had no strength to act independently, and so became entirely culturally bound. Now, there is virtually no inclination or will to escape uncritical identification with the authority of the culture, hence the church has been terribly burned and will live with the dreadful consequences - a complete devastation of her value and significance amidst a world uprooted from any spiritual moorings".

Operation Gravedigger - The Gravedigger File Papers, Published by Os Guinness.

"If an Augustine, a Vaughan, a Treherne or a Wordsworth should be born in this modern world, the 'youth' orientated leaders of our religious organisations would soon 'cure' them".

C S Lewis - Membership.

Have you ever wondered how the world would have looked if the vast empire of Rome had never fallen (politically and socially) because of the extensive impact upon that culture of the message of the Christian church?

It's hard for us today to even imagine what it must have been like for that martyr church of the first three centuries, willingly giving themselves to lives of such constant danger and trouble because they understood it was essential not to compromise with the united political and religious imperatives of the day, but to stand resolute in their dissent to Caesar as Lord.

The ramifications of that faithfulness are staggering. Rome itself had to finally adjust to seeing a power above itself in the God who had become evident in the crucifying of a man under Roman law. It had to yield its presumed immovable power to the pierced hands and feet of the man of sorrows, and in so doing, see other powers remove it so that the greater Kingdom than its own could continue to spread throughout the nations.

It is beyond the natural tide of things, in which men always seek what is deemed best for themselves, that such a 'strength' should appear and then prevail, but this is the remarkable story of our world - that bond and free, pagan and religious, high-born and pauper, reflected the reality of the narrative of that earlier history found in the scriptures, and became a realm where, in all stations of life, the palpable reality of the depth-charge of God evidenced amongst us rippled throughout  our science and arts and into every corner of what was expressed as a 'Christian' society.

A year ago, I wrote here of how the vital cornerstone of that heaven-sent 'leaven' had been extracted from the church by the state - that this was no longer just a 'social' or 'moral' trouble, but how the very future of the faith was being drawn by making Christianity nothing more than a vassal of state might.

Many wanted to see the matter entirely as something necessitated by the health concerns of society at large, but this clearly mitigated both the content and the role of churches to "Preach the Word" in all seasons by gagging our public witness to the point, as many secular observers stated, that 'official' church contributions merely become an echo of the state's public health announcements.

The Gospel, in effect, took a back seat (or no seat at all) to our tripping over ourselves to comply with the secular requirements.

A year on, and nothing has changed. Clergy may talk about the 'sinful' or 'moral' questions of not being vaccinated, or happily nod when the political leader states at Christmas that engaging with such a program is right because "Jesus would do so", but none of this even scratches the surface of what I and others raised prior to the "jab" culture seizing the world.

The Gospel challenge in all of this remains unanswered by all of those who have so willingly closed churches, imposed the measures, encouraged jabbed congregations, and so on.

When the Apostle Paul witnessed the encroachment of a foreign (alien to the message of the faith) teaching on the early church, he recognised that this had to be countered and stopped, because the entire nature of Christianity was in jeopardy.

It's abundantly clear from Luke's writing in Acts and Paul's own epistle to the Galatians just how dangerous this became - this 'religion' (manner of behaviour) would insidiously poison the life of the believer so they came to a point, in practice, of becoming far more dependant upon "another" message than the one opened by the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This would be evidenced in their adherence to rules and requirements - in their behaviour - which denied the freedom that is exclusively provided by the message which saved them.

"Powers" had arisen which sought to shut-down the liberty of the faith by directing the church into a cul-de-sac of legalism. Paul made it clear that such behaviour was anathema to God, and must not be authorised.

The history of the church over the last 2,000 years shows us only too well what happens when such 'dominion' takes control. Popes, Emperors, Kings seek to manipulate the means of the church for their own ends, and the power game of these past two years has eagerly sought to employ the opportunity of a medical crisis for those same ends, and yet, the 'leaders' of virtually every Christian emphasis have played along, allowing the congregations beneath them to become entirely defined by the immediate strictures of the hour.

This is a miserable religion!

Any congregation of faith which looses its conviction and strength to understand, define and refute evil is unfit, without repentance, to remain in the company of the saints - so the Lord Himself shows us in His words to the seven churches of Revelation.

The "comfort" that many wish to apply is that, for the present at least, the pandemic appears to be waning, but they should equally notice the response of many realms in the past weeks has not been to ease restrictions, but to tighten them! This is entirely because the intention is not merely to control a health disorder... but to gain a manner of control over society that is far more restrictive than before. This is why our nation (the UK) is currently seeing a barrage of new laws that will curtail public free speech, internet usage, press enquiries and the autonomy of the judiciary - these changes have nothing whatsoever to do with health concerns!

We should clearly have awakened far sooner, but this warning is given once again.

If we wish to see a further generation changed by the truth, we must become a faithful church before this day once again.

POSTSCRIPT:

It has, apparently, been announced today by Government scientists that the virus elements of the crisis are now OVER - that the expected large numbers of cases placing pressure on a winter-stretched health service have failed to materialise, so that, by rights, should allow life to return to normal. Let's see what unfolds next.