Not persecuted and not ashamed

Nick Baines, the Bishop of Croydon, has taken some flack in the last day for his 4thought.tv interview on whether Christians are being persecuted in Britain today, prompted by the launch by Christian Concern of their Not Ashamed campaign.

In his post on the topic Nick makes it clear that "being marginalised, misrepresented or misquoted is not the same as being persecuted." This isn’t just a matter of semantics:

"Christians are being persecuted in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, parts of Africa and the Middle East. Being ridiculed a bit or misrepresented by the religiously illiterate in Britain is a pain and poses challenges – but it is not persecution. My point in the broadcast was to encourage Christians to stop seeing themselves as pathetic victims, recognise the amazing freedom we have in (and massive contribution we make to) British society both locally and nationally… and get out there more confidently with the unique gift of Christian faith, service and apologetics."

Others commenting on the Not Ashamed campaign, rightly in my view, link the issues about which Christian Concern campaign to a refusal to accept the end of Christendom and a hankering after the privileges for Christianity which Christendom provided. The end of Christendom, as these quotes from Symon Hill and Simon Barrow indicate, actually opens up the opportunity for a radical review of the way in which we think and act as the Church, not seeking privilege and instead seeking to serve:

"Anyone wanting a level playing-field should recognise that the UK is a country in which over 99 per cent of faith schools are Christian and in which bishops get to vote on legislation in Parliament (a situation almost unique in the world). These are the vestiges of Christendom, the situation that prevailed for centuries in which Christianity was closely allied to political and cultural power. The gradual passing of Christendom gives us a great opportunity to look again at the real nature of Jesus' message."

"That Christians do not rule others in the way they once did, in the fading Christendom era, does not amount to "persecution". Rather, it is an invitation, in the midst of some pain and adjustment no doubt, to rediscover patterns of church life in a plural society which show the heart of the Christian message to be about embracing others, not isolating ourselves; multiplying hope, not spreading fear; developing peaceableness, not resorting to aggression; and advancing compassion, rather than retreating into defensiveness."

It's also worth noting that the implication of the way the Not Ashamed campaign is set up seems to mean that those who don't support it can be accused of being ashamed of their faith (presumably Nick Baines has endured some of this) while those that do support can be claimed as supporters of Christian Concern's wider agenda.

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Mark Heard - Rise From The Ruins.