Parish Church for Sale
Rubislaw Parish church – the parish in which the Free Presbyterian manse in Aberdeen is located – is up for sale. The congregation, which was of quite a good size, was amalgamated with two other congregations about a year ago. It is only eight years since the congregation bought a new manse for its minister. The church was built in 1874 and it is doubtful whether it ever had an Evangelical ministry. One reason for the sale of the church is its ornate nature and the consequent expense of maintaining it. The ostentation and vanity of the nineteenth century, when the Free Church and the Church of Scotland were vying for pre-eminence, has left Scotland with many ecclesiastical buildings which are absurdly expensive to maintain. There is a lesson in this for the Christian Church in the future.
The main reason for the closure, however, is the spiritual decline. The sizable congregation probably had little commitment, and gave little money, and the centralised powers in the Church of Scotland have become ruthless in closing congregations. There are currently about 90 Church of Scotland churches and manses for sale. In gospel terms, the disappearance of the congregation, with its liberal Christianity, is no loss; but in wider religious terms, the advancing secularisation of the white population of Britain, with the resulting vacuum for Islam, is the matter of deepest concern. The “redundant” churches are a loud reminder of a once-Christian nation that has forsaken God: “But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel” (Jer 7:12). DWBS
Religion and Politics
The recent resignation of the First Minister of Scotland, Humza Yousaf, and the possibility of an avowed Christian seeking to replace him, has once again highlighted the extraordinary place we find ourselves in as a “Christian” nation. Mr Yousaf never hid the fact that his Muslim faith, to a large extent, defined his outlook and way of life. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Mr Rishi Sunak, a Hindu, has said that his faith “guides me in every aspect of my life”. Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, is also a Muslim and none of these three are treated with the dismissive disdain for their religious beliefs as is Kate Forbes, a member of the Free Church of Scotland.
Not a whisper of scandal has touched Kate Forbes, but she is widely regarded as unsuitable to be First Minister because she has socially-conservative views and belongs to the Free Church. She has put on record that, had she been an MSP at the time, she would have voted against same sex marriage. She is against premarital sex and disagrees with allowing people to change their legal gender through self-identification. She could have obfuscated as others do, but she is honest and upfront. The electorate complain of deceitful politicians, but when faced with a truthful one, many will not accept her because she does not say what they want to hear, and anyway they regard her as a retrograde influence and a Calvinistic Puritan.
According to The Times, reporting on a YouGov poll for the think tank Theos, “Britons are surprisingly hostile to mixing piety with politics. 11% said Catholics should be barred from public office; 13% said Orthodox Jews should be; 16% held that Muslims should be disqualified. But the most outcast of all were the evangelical Christians: 19% said people like Forbes had no right to positions of power because of what they believe.”
There is no doubt that a practising Christian would find many aspects of life as a parliamentarian difficult. Separated for periods from their spouse and children; under pressure to break the Lord’s Day by campaigning, attending to constituency and committee work, and travelling; refusing to compromise on matters of principle with worldly colleagues. These things and others mitigate against a Christian being able to do the work of an elected representative.
An example of how public life may lead one into compromise is that during the previous contest for the position of First Minister, Kate Forbes pre-recorded two interviews which were to be broadcast on the Lord’s Day. According to The Herald newspaper of 22 March 2023, this fuelled “speculation about whether she would be a full-time FM, or keep Sundays separate for faith reasons”. In the interviews she insisted that if she won, she would be “present” as First Minister 24/7, not least because emergencies and other events would require her to respond. She said nurses, doctors and emergency responders have to work on the Lord’s Day and as FM she would be available, illustrating her point by saying, “There were decisions that had to be made on a Sunday during Covid, such as procuring PPE. It’s a 24/7 job.” The responsibility is, without doubt, 24/7 but to be freely available 24/7 is a systematic disregard of the Fourth Commandment. One hopes that Ms Forbes was not attempting to justify that.
Our nation needs Christian rulers who will rule according to God’s Word, but how can that happen while we forsake the truth, and atheists, secularists and followers of false religions appear to have the upper hand? We must pray earnestly that the Lord would turn the battle to the gate. “Turn Thou us unto Thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old” (Lam 5:21).
It was noted last month that there are Christians who speak out in Westminster. May the Lord give such politicians the words to speak in a time of need.
FRD