DAVID CAMERON's article for last week's Church Times
was, in one sense, unremarkable. Most past prime ministers have
shared the faith that has informed the political class down the
ages, manifested in either Anglican Toryism or Free Church
Socialism. Exotic Continental brands such as fascism or Communism
have never taken well on British soil. Responses to the article in
some quarters have been fierce, however. Part of the Church has
been suspicious of the Prime Minister's motives. And in a letter to
The Daily Telegraph, 55 non-Christians ignored Mr
Cameron's caveats and took exception to his appropriation, on the
Church's behalf, of virtues that they say are universal.
Mr Cameron's list of the components of national Christianity -
"responsibility, hard work, charity, compassion, humility, and
love" - was pretty comprehensive. The fact that it is hard to
gainsay makes it more, not less, offensive to secularists. He was
defended from an unlikely corner: Jack Straw told the BBC: "There
has to be a clear understanding that this is the UK and there are a
set of values, some of which I would say to the letter writers to
The Daily Telegraph are indeed Christian-based, whether
they like it or not, which permeate our sense of citizenship." The
secularist response has been to cast such sentiments as these as
special pleading. This must not be the case. Our readers know the
attendance statistics as well as anyone. The Church is still a
force to be reckoned with, but the country's welfare is too great
an issue, and its problems are too intractable, to be the subject
of philanthropic rivalry. The Church must earn its right to a
public hearing, like any other institution. Its influence depends
on alliances made for the common good, even with those in the
Conservative Party.
Mr Cameron used the word "evangelical". There is a fear that the
values listed by Mr Cameron will wither if hacked from the vine of
Christianity which gave them life. The "evangelical" impulse is
more sophisticated than this, however. Christian believers know how
impossible it is to respond to Christ's call to be perfect without
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This impulse can, however, warp
into something less humble: the mistaken conception that the God of
love cannot work through people who do not acknowledged Christ as
Lord. Secularists are rightly offended when they feel their good
works are dismissed by a set of people some of whom display less
than admirable qualities. Once again, this must not be the
case.
Mr Cameron also used the word "love". This has been overlooked
in the arguments about the rest of his article. Perhaps Christians
take it for granted (
Letters). We would argue that to have a Prime Minister
using as his watchwords "compassion, humility, and love" has great
significance. If these are the words by which the Government is
willing to be judged, the Church has something to work on, and
somebody to work with.
