If any religion has shaped Britain it is Christianity which has gone deep into the warp and woof of our culture and substantially affected it in profound ways, to the extent that many of us are living off the fat of the land, the rump of Christian culture that is our heritage passed down from generation to generation. However that culture is now seriously compromised and so poses the question does this leave Britain weak when faced with serious challenges such as that which faced our grandfathers in the Second World War.
Covid 19 has proved almost a step too far for our survival as a nation and things were very much in the balance with a fully vaccinated population, vaccine passports and even digital ID in the pipeline at one point. We have and are, like many other countries, in danger of moving swiftly into a surveillance society the end game of which is what we see in communist China with its social credit scores and coercion and control of each individual. The common law, primacy of Parliament, independent judiciary, freedom of worship and association, freedom of speech and all things associated with being British are fast disappearing and will be a thing of the past unless there is a massive backlash.
It is interesting given our Christian heritage to draw some parallels between true Christianity and Covid 19, which became almost like a substitute religion for many people. The foundational difference is that the religion of Covid is based on fear whereas true Christianity is based on faith, hope and love. The fear of course Is fear of death which was ramped up shamelessly by a ruthless government and mass media machine which relentlessly pushed a narrative of the dangers of Covid out of all proportion to the reality. Of course fear of death is a reality, but those with a Christian faith know that death is not the end and that this life is just a precursor for eternal life in heaven forever with their Saviour. Many have no faith apart from the insecure trappings of this life, reliance on personal abilities, intelligence, money, power and material success, so are easy prey to that which threatens their security.
Covid 19 is a Pharisaical religion, based on rules and regulations, crossing every t and dotting every i. This was the only way to achieve freedom from Covid with the eternal mask wearing, track and trace apps, plastic screens, signage and arrows on floors. This was the way of the Pharisees in the New Testament who believed the only way to heaven was a religion of works, adhering to thousands of petty rules which produces a never ending feeling of falling short if one does not adhere to the Covid code, which like the Ten Commandments must be obeyed at all times. Contrast this with real Christianity, a religion of grace, mercy and forgiveness which offers pardon to the most recalcitrant sinner and respects free will. Anyone can choose to follow or reject the message, you still keep your personal liberty.
Any true religion is based on solid rock and its adherents are secure in who they are and what they believe. Covid 19 was an insecure religion and gave itself away by refusing to countenance any other interpretation of how to deal with a virus. We must have lockdowns, everyone has to be vaccinated, we have to limit human interaction to the extent that family members are cut off from one another, weddings and funerals are curtailed and the hard face of the law governs what we can and cannot do. Anyone who thought outside the box was a heretic, even if they were seasoned professionals and experts in their field, and had to be shut down. There is another way of doing things they cried, you are disregarding the huge collateral damage of lockdowns, Covid is of little threat to healthy people, emphasise the importance of a healthy lifestyle, diet and exercise, with lots of sun and vitamin D, let the body build up natural immunity, there are other remedies and medications for Covid apart from vaccinations. But the MSM, the social media giants and government shut down or ignored such voices, shamefully, demonstrating their huge insecurity over what they were doing or supporting. That alone should have been an alarm bell to everyone.
Meanwhile real Christianity emphasises the importance of free will and respect for an individual’s right to make their own decisions on whether they follow the narrow way that leads to salvation or the broad way that means doing your own thing and not submitting to any divine will. It is based on a secure foundation of theology and historical witness, and has weathered the storms of criticism and persecution without having to dominate the narrative and shutting down opposing opinions. Sure, twisted interpretations of Christianity have been use to dominate and control societies in the past, but true Christianity respects the dignity of the individual and its enormous value before God such that you cannot force the Christian worldview on anyone
Covid 19 had its prophets of course, found amongst its so called SAGE experts, spokespersons like Whitty and Vallance and lockdown fanatics like Professor Ferguson. Their platform was the BBC and other mainstream media from which they issued their edicts from on high and mathematical models. They presented their vision, the latest graphs with their doom laden predictions, emphasising how many people could go to hospital or die if we didn’t have another lockdown. They came with their Ten Commandments, to stay at home, not socialise, meet only in a bubble, only visit essential shops, get vaccinated, get a booster, get the flu jab.
Of course counterfeit religions have their rituals and sacraments, and perhaps the most ghastly and soul destroying was the lockdown, a policy which had not had any clear cost benefit analysis on its effects on society but was churned out as the panacea to the Covid problem. But if ever a religion could be accused of taking a leap of faith without any sold evidence that it worked it was in relation to the disastrous policy of lockdown. And the Covid 19 adherents kept coming back to the same policy despite evidence that it didn’t work and the slightly more obvious point that you don’t quarantine healthy people, which is exactly what they did!
The Covid crisis has exposed the leftist stance for what it is. In the UK Boris Johnson”s conservative government has hardly acted in a conservative way in dealing with the pandemic, imposing lockdowns and restrictions on an unprecedented scale. It might be argued that Johnson’s libertarian instincts prevented England from experiencing some of the worst excesses pursued by some governments around the world. Yet behind Johnson were the Labour Party who supported these measures all the way and it is a small mercy that they were not in power as they would have been even more restrictive and coercive in their policies. It was only with the help of the Labour Party that Johnson was able to push through vaccinating NHS workers and vaccine passports for big events in the Commons. The Labour Party have been as useful as a chocolate teapot in critiquing lockdown and all the other big state interventions.
Again you saw leftist policy at play in Europe, in Austria where they mandated vaccinations for everyone, Germany where they considered the same, Italy where you were not able to function in society unless you had a Green pass, and France where Macron set himself against his own people with vaccine mandates. The USA has been one giant experiment in how to deal with Covid. Again it was Democrat leftist states that pushed the vaccine ie mandates, mask restrictions and coercive control measures whilst Republican states left the people to make judgements on whether they want to wear a mask or take a vaccine. Florida is the glorious outlier here, and De Santis the buccaneering governor who did away with all Covid restrictions and encouraged an influx of migrants from other states. It’s always the same, people will move from oppression to freedom, wherever you are in the world, whether it’s east to west Germany or from New York to Florida.
Meanwhile in other parts of the Anglosphere, notably Canada and parts of Australia, the hard left has outdone itself in draconian regulation of peoples lives. Dan Andrews in Victoria has been possibly the most extreme western leader with lockdowns in the city of Melbourne continuing for virtually longer than any other place on earth. The heavy handed behaviour of the police has been one of the most disturbing features of the Australian lockdown.
Sadly, the deception of the Covid narrative has captured the one institution that could have taken a clear alternative angle on all this, the church. Instead of shutting its doors when Covid struck, the church could have kept its doors open and ministered to the spiritual and moral needs of the nation which had been so very great over the previous two years. Admittedly at first when Covid struck we were all flying blind, having not experienced a serious epidemic for a hundred years. This was an unknown and potentially lethal virus and many would say the government could not be blamed for taking a cautious approach at the beginning. However the truth came out pretty quickly for those with eyes to see and who would not bow down to the powerful spirit of manipulation and control which was working through the media. The church could have held the government to account over its draconian restrictions and policies, and challenged the lawfulness of banning normal human interaction in the name of health and safety. The church could have taught the nation the reality of the healing power of God, that deliverance from viruses is not only found on the NHS or through vaccines, but also from the power of prayer and the ministry of the laying on of hands. There have been notable exceptions to this of course, with church vicars criticising state interventions and standing up for freedom, whilst much good has been done in the form of food banks and helping the poor and oppressed, whilst some in the church have threatened the government with legal action over church closures and saw the government back down. All this was very laudable but the case remains that the church was relatively supine, uncritical and far too accepting of the government line and not open enough to the possibility that unscrupulous men and women were using this crisis to further unhealthy agendas. The church is called to prophetic discernment of the times and the seasons and to give spiritual leadership to the nation. In this it singularly failed. A tragedy that will blight our nation for years. The sad fact is that non church people have had more discernment on the wicked oppressive plans that have been rolled out over the last two years in the guise of a health crisis. I have witnessed this myself having attended about five of the demonstrations in London over the last eight months or so of the Covid era. It is those people who have stood up for out freedom and seen the dangers of state overreach so clearly, whilst the church has meekly stood on the side.
However all is not lost. When all’s said and done there is always hope and grace and an opportunity to do things a different way next time round. Who’s to say this won’t be an opportunity for a reboot of society and for the church to rise up in new boldness and faith in a time when courage and fearlessness are in short supply. God is that God of the second chance, and his grace covers a multitude of sins. Who’s to know that Covid may have been a time of seeding, when the hearts of men and women have been prepared in the quiet places for future leadership and influence. The past two years will have opened the eyes of many to the deception and wickedness in high places, working through big government, the MSM and the social media giants and they will have learnt that the greatest malevolent spirit we face is the spirit of manipulation and control that works through the majority. An article was written recently that heralded the rise of war leaders to deal with the present situation. Not made for times of peace, such warriors arise when courage is needed to stand against extreme wickedness
Christianity has the cross, the supreme symbol of self sacrifice as God invaded the earth, becoming a man to bear the punishment for our sin. The past shows us that Christianity gets right in amongst the poor, marginalised and sick to minister relief and healing to people. In the plagues that hit the Roman Empire it was the Christians that got in amongst the sick and diseased with no care for their own well being, knowing the risks of catching deadly disease but motivated by love and care for their fellow man. The church has risen to the occasion in terms of social care, ministering to the poor, supporting food banks and suchlike. However by and large the church has complied with government regulations rather than challenge lockdown which is arguably the worst public policy disaster in modern history. The draconian restrictions on human contact, limits on attendance at weddings and funerals, bans on meeting with loved ones in care homes and hospitals, especially when sick family members were at the end of their lives were an opportunity for the church to face down the government on the unprecedented bans on human interaction. We have to,pray that with future threats like Covid or otherwise, that the church will respond ina more discerning manner.