Opinion – Bank lending; the basic unfairness

Media reports today of a number of UK Banks getting back to financial health largely fail to convey the sheer misery meted out to so many people in recent months who’ve lost their businesses and sometimes their homes as well.           

At one level we should be pleased that balance sheets are being rebuilt but at another level, this can seem as having been done in a rather heartless fashion. One worries that any social conscience banks might have had has been swallowed up in the rush to rebuild equity. Banks – generally speaking – are still NOT lending; and when they do, these loans come with stringent strings attached.           

Where is the justice in one section of the community prospering so hugely at the expense of another?  Knowing that some people are being paid massive bonuses poses very real issues when at the same time, business people dependent on bank credit are unable to move forward and in some cases are plunged into bankruptcy, often through no fault of their own.     

This is wrong.           

I know that this subject raises all kinds of hoary and difficult questions – questions concerning justice and fairness which, whilst although having been posed down through the centuries, still fail to find adequate answers in my view.  But I am reminded in these verses from Jeremiah 12 – often called Jeremiah’s complaint – that such questions have always been asked and probably will continue to be asked. However, that does not make it either right or fair to act in this way.           

 ¹ You are always righteous, O LORD,
       when I bring a case before you.
       Yet I would speak with you about your justice:
       Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
       Why do all the faithless live at ease?            

² You have planted them, and they have taken root;
       they grow and bear fruit.
       You are always on their lips
       but far from their hearts. (NIV)           

I’m sure that there are many fine theological responses to Jeremiah’s questions. I’m just not sure that these explanations make today’s reality any more palatable?  I can remember telling my kids when they complained of unfairness, ‘well, life’s not fair’!  Maybe we should heed these words? Is this little phrase actually the only correct answer? Do we simply have to accept that a basic unfairness is written into the very laws of the universe?           

A quick look at so many other unjust situations around the world leads me to that conclusion; not that that’s any excuse to do nothing in terms of social justice. There’s still an awful lot we can learn from the likes of the Quakers, the Co-operative movement and the Amish community.           

The Micah Challenge - Halve poverty by 2015

 

The themes of ‘Justice’ and ‘Fairness’ are on many people’s lips these days, not least from within the new UK coalition government. I pray that this Government will right a few basic wrongs and sort out the Banks in one way or another before too many more personal disasters unfold in our country.         

Tonight the BBC stated that lending to businesses in the past year by the banks has actually remained static!  Those increased profits just announced by the banks have been generated by higher fees and charges from the fewer loans that have been granted.           

What a topsy, turvy world!     

Opinion – ‘Righteousness exalts a Nation’; Faith in Europe and Asia

I’ve experienced two striking contrasts of the impact of Christianity on a nation in the past fortnight as a result of travelling to Wales (on holiday) and then on to Singapore (for business).  Proverbs 14:34 says; ‘Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people’ or as The Message rather bluntly puts it; ‘God-devotion makes a country strong; God-avoidance leaves people weak’.

As we toured Wales, it was hard to avoid the towering bulk of the usually grey-coloured Chapels in so many communities. These cavernous edifices often dwarfed the other buildings in the villages. They seemed to particularly dominant the landscape in the valleys of south Wales. These chapels, probably built by the sacrificial giving on the part of the faithful, are now either derelict or have been turned into homes. In the middle of Brecon, the Bethel Square chapel (1852) has been ‘converted’ into a Boots the Chemists shop complete with commercial signage and a glass frontage. I observed only a handful of chapels that remain open as places of worship.

Most of these chapels appeared to have been built in the period from 1860 onwards and, as we know, a major spiritual revival swept across Wales during 1904.  I well remember as a boy in the 1960’s being taken to many a Welsh chapel whilst on holiday with my parents. However, life has moved on and now the 1904 Revival is remembered only as an historical event and is totally meaningless in our present culture. As an aside, it was interesting to visit the Christian-run Helwick Lightship, Goleulong 2000 – with its resident chaplaincy – moored in Cardiff Bay, close to the Norwegian Church arts centre and the Welsh Assembly building; www.lightship2000.co.uk.

How different things are in Singapore!  This City State has almost 5 million people, living on an island the size of the Isle of Wight, and is home to some of the largest Christian churches anywhere in the world, certainly in Asia. As well as all the traditional denominations, there are two mega-churches; City Harvest Church led by Pastor Kong Hee with 32,000 members, www.chc.org.sg and New Creation Church led by Pastor Joseph Prince with 19,000 members, www.newcreation.org.sg

I felt privileged to attend one of the CHC weekend services and was forcibly struck by the vibrancy, devotion and spiritual intensity of its vast congregation. I felt decidedly old as the average age of the church must be somewhere in the 25–30 age range? I suppose this is not too surprising as Singapore itself strikes one as a very young nation. CHC has four services each weekend held in two locations; two on Saturday afternoon and two on Sunday. The Singapore Expo Centre service which I attended had an estimated Saturday evening congregation of approx 5,500 people!  Mind-blowing numbers for those of us from a European background!  

The complexities of the logistics in dealing with this number of people is simply awe-inspiring, the technology was as high level as you would find in any mainstream secular production, the worship was stunning and heartfelt, the corporate prayer deafening but above all a very real sense that here were people wanting to both meet with God and to affect their nation and the wider world. In 2011 City Harvest Church, in order to continue to accommodate its ongoing growth, plans a major move to the Suntec Convention Centre in the centre of the city of Singapore.

So I guess that with this background it is not surprising that CHC, together with David Yonggi Cho’s Yoido Full Gospel Church in South Korea, is the host for the Church Growth International 2010 Asia Conference from 26–30 May 2010; www.asiaconference.org.sg. The speaker line-up includes Kong Hee (Singapore), David Yonggi Cho (South Korea), Rienhard Boonke (Germany) and Phil Pringle (Australia). Crowds of up to 20,000 are expected to attend this 5-day international event at the Singapore Expo Centre, situated close to Changi airport, another huge logistical challenge for the church!

It is hard to escape the fact that God is moving across Asia and that the nations in this part of the world are very, very serious about their role in spreading the Gospel. Christianity has moved east; the spiritual torch has quite clearly passed from West to East. I look back on what God did in history in the nations of Europe – including the likes of Wales – and simply note that God is continuing to move mightily today in other national contexts. God is not dead, the Gospel continues to change lives around the world and we should take heart and realise that as stated in Habakkuk 2:14; ‘the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea’.  

The problems that we face in the UK seem to me to be the result of a rather cynical nation turning its back on God and against the Gospel. We would do well to ponder the Biblical proverb as quoted above; ‘God-devotion makes a country strong; God-avoidance leaves people weak’.

Opinion – UK General Election; Faithworks Statement

I am indebted to my good friend, Phil Groom for looking incisively – as he usually does – at the Westminster 2010 Declaration. Clearly, as Phil indicates, there is concern amongst other Christians regarding the wording and general thrust of the said Declaration. Good debate is always healthy and I for one have enjoyed reading and appreciating the various arguments.

For my part, I continue to find the Westminster 2010 Declaration useful as I tend to take its general points at face value. I regard it as helpful in terms of highlighting more widely the growing concerns about the continuing assault on Christian values and rights in this country – perceived or otherwise.

There are always two sides to every story. So – for the sake of balance – here is the Faithworks Statement that Phil has mentioned;

Faithworks believes that participation in democracy is crucial, and welcomes initiatives that facilitate this.  However Faithworks will not be signing the Westminster Declaration, as it suggests that government should be chosen according to their responses to only three issues – protection of human life, marriage and conscience – rather than the impact of the spectrum of their policies locally, nationally and internationally.    Faithworks rejects the implicit suggestion that a government who protects embryos, upholds the uniqueness of heterosexual marriage and protects freedom to express Christian beliefs is the government Christians should vote for without first examining their stance and policies regarding education, health care, welfare, poverty reduction, international development and the commitment of the local MP to the community he / she serves.  Faithworks represents 22,000 Christians from a variety of theological and political backgrounds, our theology is inclusive and not imposing, and our purpose is to encourage people to express their faith through serving others without discrimination.  In contrast, the Westminster 2010 Declaration sets Christians up on a moral high ground and implicitly creates divisiveness. It does this at just the time when the church’s morality has been called into question across the world.     

I have a great deal of respect for Steve Chalke and for the amazing work that he does through so many of his organisations around the world. For that reason, I am a torn between the two positions. There is much truth in both statements.

Perhaps someone should try to put the two statements together and reach a Declaration that all Christians can sign up too with good conscience? Maybe I’m just being an idealist and perhaps that is simply impossible. What do you think?

Opinion – UK General Election; Westminster 2010 Declaration

The UK goes to the polls on 6th May 2010. Commentators are already describing the result of  the General Election as likely to be too close to call. In my view this is proving to be a difficult election for many, including myself, in which to vote – the main parties are really very similar in their positions on so many of the issues and UK politics in general is increasingly mistrusted. There seems to be an air of disillusionment about the whole affair.

Thirty senior Christian (mostly Evangelical) leaders, including the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey and Peter Maiden (OM), launched a Christian Manifesto; ‘Westminster 2010: Declaration of Christian Conscience’ on Easter Sunday.

It’s well worth reading and is, I believe, a positive and useful tool for all in the wider Christian community.

Westminster 2010 is a declaration aimed to appeal to UK Christians of all denominations who subscribe to the historic Christian faith and who hold orthodox Christian beliefs about life, marriage and conscience.

It was initially inspired by the ‘Manhattan Declaration’, which was launched in November 2009 and has now been signed by over 400,000 US Christians. Westminster 2010, however, is a completely independent initiative by UK Christians focused on UK issues.

The Declaration calls upon all parliamentary candidates to pledge that they will ‘respect, uphold and protect the right of Christians to hold and express Christian beliefs and act according to Christian conscience’.

One excellent feature of the site is that you are able to search online to find the various parliamentary candidates in your area and ascertain their likely position on the Westminster 2010 Declaration.

I applaud this important Christian initiative and trust it will be helpful to anyone who, like me, is struggling to work out just who to vote for in May.

For more details log onto www.westminster2010.org.uk