This is the final part of my engagement with Aaron Edwards’ articles about what he sees as the threat of Islamisation here in Britain. Last time I noted that it’s not really Islam that he has in his sights but rather it was multicultural/secular Britain today. He sees our current culture as weak in the face of the threat of a “strong culture”.
It is worth adding that whether or not Islam is a “strong culture” is something that should be up for debate rather than presumed. The presumption really relies in the perception that there haven’t been any changes or adaptations to the cultures of Muslim communities. This is of course distinct from analysis of Islamic ideologies.
However, my focus here is on questions to do with Christian culture. When I was a child, people would frequently describe Britain as a Christian country meaning:
- That a significant proportion/majority of the population identified as Christian
- That we have an established church
- That the rules and norms of society either formally or informally reflect Christian values arising from Scripture.
Already by the 70s and 80s, there was a perception that if such a society had ever existed, those days were increasingly behind us. Increasingly through my life time, Christians and the church seemed to accept this and indeed saw positives in it. Specifically, we began to see that a nominally Christian society would inoculate people from the real deal. So, a no longer Christian country was seen as a place where more honest and open Gospel conversations could take place.
However, there have been a strongly vocal minority dissenting from this for some time and their voices are growing louder. There are those arguing that a Christian Nation is a good thing and The US and UK should begin to recover that sense of being Christian. Some happily use the term “Christian Nationalism” to sum up this viewpoint whereas others are understandably reticent given the connotations of nationalism.
What factors are contributing to this? Well, I would say that it is about more than nostalgia. I think they can be summed up under two linked headings.
- There has been a growing alignment between right wing political ideology, especially of the libertarians and particular theological positions especially post-millenialism and theonomism.
- The meaning and scope of Jeaus’ last command, to go and make disciples has been revisited with an argument being made that Jesus was commissioning his followers to go and make disciples of the nations rather than from the nations.
I intend to pick up on the second point here. Are we meant to be making disciples of or from the nations? If the former, then our emphasis needs to be much more on influencing and shaping the culture than it is on seeking to being Christians to Christ.
Well, I have to say that I find the argument rather unpersuasive. To understand why, we need to consider how those early followers heard Jesus. It becomes clear as we read the New Testament that the expectation was to make disciples from.
If the early church were attempting to disciple whole nations, then they didn’t show it. Rather what we see from the apostles is a focus on reaching individuals and groups with the good news. Yes, the did share that good news with commanders and officials if the opportunity arise but the expectation is not that they will have the opportunity to share culture. Indeed the major NT image is of Christians living as exiles and strangers.
This is important because if our expectation is not meant to be on discipling a Christian nation then the nominally Christian culture pre 1950 was in no better position than an overtly secular culture today. Indeed, we may arguably be no worse off in a multicultural or even Islamised culture than a secular one. We are just being offered different ways to deny Christ.
Faithroots 