by Pastor Vincent Imwensi
I didn’t say so – I read it in the news. A group of over 50 leading scientists, authors and academicians recently wrote an open letter to the Prime minister to challenge him for referring to Great Britain as a Christian country.
According to them: “We wish to object to his repeated mischaracterising of our country as a ‘Christian country’ and the negative consequences for our politics and society that this view engenders…Repeated surveys, polls, and studies show most of us as individuals are not Christian in our beliefs or our religious identities and at a social level, Britain has been shaped for the better by many pre-Christian, non-Christian, and post-Christian forces…We are a plural society with citizens with a range of perspectives and a largely non-religious society. To constantly claim otherwise fosters alienation and division in our society.”
A lot of people agree they are right, some think they are wrong while others couldn’t care less. I believe this indeed is food for thought.
Stating the obvious
One of the ironies of life as I have come to find out is that a lot of times, people don’t want you to say things the way they are. They want you to meander around the truth and make clever indirect references to the obvious. It is called “tact” and often hailed as wisdom.
It is like telling someone that he or she is selfish. That person will hate you for saying so but meanwhile, he/she is someone who thinks only of himself (or herself) and doesn’t care what happens to other people (as long as he or she is fine).
So as far as this matter goes, sad as it may sound, I think there is a lot of truth in their objection to calling Britain a Christian country.
If it is to be based on past history and a few residual Christian traditions here and there, they will be wrong to say that Britain is not a Christian country but if it is based on the lifestyle, interests, priorities and values of the majority of the people in Britain today, I would say, they are more right than they are wrong.
The Proof Is Everywhere
If you think they are wrong, go to most churches on Sunday mornings and see how few the congregants are.
In comparison, watch any game-show on the television (be it quiz, football or just any game) and see the multitudes that faithfully sit to watch, giggle and laugh in the name of having fun. It reminds one of what a church congregation used to be.
Go out to the street to preach the gospel to passers bye and see the disdain with which you will be treated by most people.
Make mention of God or Jesus in your place of work and see what happens to you.
Recently, a Christian doctor was sacked for emailing prayer to his colleagues to lift their spirits. He went to the employment tribunal and his sack was upheld. He had committed an unpardonable crime.
In 2009, a Christian nurse in Somerset was suspended from duty after offering to pray for an elderly patient in her care. It is not that she prayed for the patient but that she offered to do so. It was the patient who reported her for daring to make that offer to her.
And there are so many other anti-God, anti-Church, anti-Christ and anti-Christian practices that are enthusiastically embraced and accepted in the British way of life today.
Does that sound like a Christian nation? I don’t think so.
Let’s Call A Spade A Spade.
I read a comment on this subject where someone who asserts that this is a Christian nation said that Christianity is not about going to church on a Sunday but rather about values, ethics, etc.
That is like saying that being a student is not about going to school and attending classes; being an employee is not about leaving your home every day to go to work; being a doctor is not about working in the hospital, etc. That is called begging the question.
I think like many people often do, he was trying to explain and justify the deplorable church attendance situation in Britain. According to Gallup International, 90% of people in Britain do not go to church.
And I wonder what Christian values and ethics he is talking about. Is it the gross sexual immorality that has become a way of life among many Britons? Or is it the divorces, the gay marriages, the silent murders of many innocent unborn babies in the name of abortion, the gun and knife crimes to mention a few?
The situation is such that to even say that these practices are ungodly is an offense to many people and I won’t be surprised if anyone reading this article right now is offended at me for pointing these things out as unbiblical and unchristianly.
Britain Was Once At The Forefront Of Christianity.
On a closer look, I don’t agree that it is right to say that Britain is not a Christian country but rather that Britain is NO LONGER a Christian country.
There was a time when Britain was a beacon of the gospel light to many countries and continents around the world.
In school we were taught about people like Mary Slessor, David Livingstone and a host of others who came to Africa as missionaries to bring us the gospel light and to help put an end to many ungodly practices such as human sacrifices and the like.
And shall we forget the giants of the faith that hailed from Great Britain who were mightily used of God to bless the whole world with the message of the gospel?
People like Smith Wigglesworth, David Brainerd, John Wesley, Charles Finney, Evan Roberts, Hudson Taylor, Charles Spurgeon, John Knox, William Booth, John Bunyan, and many others too numerous to mention.
I Will Be Forever Grateful.
Personally, my life was greatly influenced by a British missionary by name Miss Night.
She used to visit my village back then when I was a little boy. She would gather a lot of us kids together in the church building and would teach us about Jesus.
She used pictures and slides to tell us the story of Jesus. Her teachings were so electrifying and interesting and left a big impression on my young heart. I never used to miss those meetings and anytime I was deprived of the opportunity to go, I used to cry.
She demonstrated how Jesus healed the sick, helped the oppressed and turned impossible situations around. That was when Jesus Christ became my childhood hero.
The good seeds she sowed in my young heart laid the foundation for the rest of my life for which I am forever grateful.
How Are The Mighty Fallen!
So many of us grew up thinking of Britain as the home of Christianity and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and I don’t think we were too far from the truth then.
But to now come to a point where referring to Britain as a Christian country is considered an offence and a misrepresentation, is unfortunate indeed. And it is even more so when you realize that there is a great deal of truth in that.
Even though being a godless and secular nation is hailed by many as a good thing, in the light of truth, that is preposterous.
It is indeed lamentable and regrettable. I can’t help thinking to myself, “how are the mighty fallen!”
How can a nation that used to send out the gospel around the world now come to a point where the mere mention of God in its public life is an offence? That pains my heart. Britain, what happened to you?
Others Protect Theirs, But Britain Throws Hers Away
Many countries around the world are very protective and proud of their religious heritage and identity – especially in the East. Unlike the West, they are not ashamed to bring their religious beliefs into their public life.
I travelled to the East last year and boarded Qatar airways. When you get on board, they leave you in no doubt as to their religious identity. They let you know that the meals they are going to give you have been prepared in accordance with Islamic laws and customs.
When you land at their airports – whether in the arrival hall, check-in counters or departure halls, the workers are dressed in their religious gowns and they are not ashamed of it. And right there at the airport, there is a mosque.
You see, political correctness has not been allowed to replace their religious beliefs.
Many Britons travel there and they see all these and none of them complain – they faithfully follow whatever rules they’re given.
They Visit Temples And Shrines In Other Places
Furthermore, many Britons travel to religious sites and shrines around the world. In some of those places, they are asked to remove their shoes before they can enter the temple and they do so without complaint.
Yes, and that includes high ranking government officials and dignitaries – they pull off their shoes and walk bare footed into these “holy” places to bow down before whatever is worshipped there without questions.
Sometimes, in addition to removing their shoes, they are given religious clothes and paraphernalia to wear and they count it an honour to put such on. But back home, it is a different story – don’t tell them to go to church, it’s an offense and to some, it is even an insult!
Somebody Ought To Ask Why.
The truth is that many of those in Britain today who are anti-Christian, anti-Bible, anti-Christ and anti-Church have their own religious identity where they came from originally and they do not compromise their beliefs.
They do not preach secularism and humanism when they go back home. And who can blame them for doing so here? The fault is not theirs.
Somebody ought to ask: “what happened to our own religious heritage and identity?” Why have we thrown them away? Why has Britain become an empty shell of what she used to be in terms of the Christian faith?
Has God not been good to this country? Why is it an offense to bring God into our public life? Are we smarter and better than those countries where do? If you think we are, think again.
Where Do You Stand In All Of This?
What is happening in Great Britain today – that is, the rejection (or do I say, the deliberate marginalization) of Christianity and everything God, is not the result of one person’s action. Rather, it is the result of the collective choices, values and preferences that a lot of people living in Britain have decided to embrace.
My question to you dear friend, is, what side do you belong? Are you among those that are turning their backs at God and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ? Even if you are not living in Britain, this question is still relevant.
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