Church of Scotland General Assembly 2019
In reading the newspaper reports on the Church of Scotland General Assembly, one is struck with the unbiblical nature of the proceedings, and with the close relation between the dire state of the Church of Scotland and that of the whole nation. Communicant membership has dropped from 413 00 in 2011 to 336 000 in 2017, and the Church had a financial deficit of £4.46 million in 2018.
Assembly events began with Sabbath breaking in Princes Street Gardens, at which a prominent lesbian politician was to the fore. The retiring Moderator was a woman minister, as were many of the speakers at the Assembly. One speaker was an impenitent sodomite who continues in the ministry; and another minister was given a special opportunity to speak about a pilgrimage he had made to a Roman Catholic site in Spain. The First Minister Nicola Sturgeon addressed the Assembly and thanked the Church for the support that it had given to Scottish Muslims after the Christchurch shooting.
Other Assembly matters that made the news were concerns over Universal Credit; a supposed need for a “gender-balance” among the new panel of Assembly Trustees; and fears that a loss-making Church of Scotland hotel at Tiberias in Galilee might be sold to those with “Israeli interests”. Others at the Assembly were “demonstrating” because the Church was not withdrawing fast enough from her investment in fossil fuels and was insufficiently alarmed over the “need for radical action to save the planet”. Alas, it is their own souls that need saving, not the earth, which will continue to serve its purpose of sustaining human life until the end of time (Gen 8:22).
The Church of Scotland’s response to the numerical and financial decline is to reduce the number of Presbyteries from 43 to 12, and to aim at cutting staff at 121 George Street by 20-30%. The individual parish fees to central funds are reported to vary between £10 000 and £150 000 per annum which suggests a heavy central bureaucracy. Probably this arises partly from a lack of local commitment and partly from a central distrust as to how money might be spent locally. It might be spent on gospel work instead of promoting political correctness! On the important moral and religious matters of the day – smacking, homosexuality, transgender, abortion, Romanism, Islam, evolution, the Sabbath – the Church of Scotland Assembly had nothing useful or Christian to say.
DWBS
Persecution of Christians
The widespread levels of persecution faced by many professed Christians in various areas throughout the world has attracted the attention of some prominent figures recently. It is estimated that around 215 to 245 million professed Christians now face some form of persecution with an average of around 4000 being killed for their faith every year. Prince Charles has written concerning such persecution and violence: “There are times when it can feel as if the light has gone out of the world and darkness reigns”. The present Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has set up a review into how the Foreign Office handles cases of persecution.
It would be good if other influential voices were raised and that real pressure were put on governments in those nations where persecution is taking place. The record of the British Government and that of other European governments has been far from impressive in recent times in using their influence to counteract the terrible menace of persecution.
In China, where the Communist regime had seemed for a period to have been less determined to oppose Christianity, the tide seems to have once again turned against the underground churches. The reports of pastors and congregations being imprisoned and brutally treated are harrowing. In neighbouring North Korea, a country where Christianity is entirely forbidden, it is estimated that there are 200 000 to 400 000 Christians. It is believed that between 50 000 and 70 000 of these are cruelly incarcerated in labour camps as enemies of the state.
The carnage in Sri Lanka where churches were bombed during worship services is but one dreadful indication of the enmity of the kingdom of darkness to the Church and the gospel of Christ. In many predominantly Muslim countries, such as Pakistan, attacks on Christians seem to take place with impunity. While we may differ significantly in doctrine and practice from many of those persecuted, and while the definition of “Christian” used in the media is very broad, we must, nevertheless, feel an instinctive sympathy for all who suffer for their allegiance to the adorable name of Jesus Christ.
Indeed, we ought to bear them on our spirits at a throne of grace and plead that the Lord would bless those who suffer for His name’s sake with real grace to testify to the truth as it is in Jesus. “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life” (Rev 2:10). AWM
Ban on Smacking Children
Concerned at the prospect of the Scottish Government introducing legislation to ban the smacking of children, the Free Presbyterian Synod of 2018 sent a protest to the Office of the First Minister of Scotland indicating our objections to proposals which would criminalise parents for chastising their children. In its Protest, the Synod stated that the biblical principle of parental chastisement is one of the measures necessary to restrain a child from following the natural inclination of its sinful nature, and sometimes it is the most effective way of training a child to understand right and wrong. “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him” (Prov 22:15).
The Synod made clear its opposition to physical abuse and emphasised that parents, when disciplining, must be especially careful to have the child’s good in view and not to use it as a means of venting their own frustration or displeasure. The Word of God prohibits this in its warnings against improper anger: “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil” (Eph 4:26-27), and, “An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression” (Prov 29:22). There is no place for unrighteous or uncontrolled anger in the life of any Christian.
The Scottish Government invited comments on the planned legislation and 89% of respondents were against a smacking ban. Despite this, the Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Bill was debated and overwhelmingly approved in principle by the Scottish Parliament in May 2019. The bill, introduced by John Finnie, MSP for the Green Party, is said to be designed to give children the same protection from assault as adults. This first stage of the bill was passed by 80 votes to 29. It will now go to a Holyrood Committee, where it will be considered in greater detail, before MSPs are asked to give their final approval so that it can become law.
The law in Scotland currently permits a parent to claim a defence of “justifiable assault” when punishing their child, but the use of an implement, shaking or striking a child on the head is banned. Mr Finnie’s bill would end that defence, meaning parents could face prosecution for any physical punishment of their children. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, parents are currently allowed to use “reasonable chastisement” but can face criminal charges if they hit a child so hard that it leaves a mark, or causes bruising, swelling, cuts, grazes or scratches.
In his introduction, Mr Finnie said 54 countries across the world already prohibit the physical punishment of children, and claimed that his bill would bring Scotland into line with international best practice. He said that it was now time for action and that “a growing body of international evidence shows that physical punishment of children is harmful to their development and not an effective means of discipline”. He added, “We often in Scotland talk about zero tolerance for domestic abuse and violence, but we allow the use of physical punishment for children. This sends a message to our children that hitting someone is a way of resolving a dispute, or if you don’t like their behaviour.” The Conservatives argued that banning smacking is unnecessary and risks criminalising parents for disciplining their own children. Tory MSP Oliver Mundell stressed that violence against children was wrong but argued that the bill was an “assault on family life” as it would see the state intervene in cases where a child’s welfare is not at risk.
If this bill is passed, those who use what is currently regarded as reasonable chastisement will become guilty of assault. Anyone who argues, as some do, that this bill will not criminalise parents who transgress its requirements are denying reality.
This is yet another piece of proposed legislation which undermines the Word of God, in this case seeking to interfere with the responsibility of loving parents to exercise their God-appointed responsibility to chastise their children and placing those who do so outside of the law. FRD