Theos Report on Power

The latest report from Theos has recently been published:

Madeleine Pennington and Paul Bickley, A Theology of Power (London: Theos. 2026).

Here’s some brief blurb:

‘We live in an age of strongman leadership on the global stage.

‘From Putin to Trump, our global leaders wield their military, financial, and political power in a way that profoundly challenges historical norms. Is there a more constructive way to think about power?

‘In partnership with Christian Aid, Madeleine Pennington and Paul Bickley explore what power means through a biblical lens.’

More information is available here, and a pdf of the full report is available here.

Centre for Public Christianity (November 2024)

Among other items, the Centre for Public Christianity has posted a ‘Life and Faith’ interview (here) with Michael Jensen on the topic of his most-recent book, Subjects and Citizens: The Politics of the Gospel – Lessons from Romans 12–15.

‘Politics… feels increasingly existential as we angst over whether our political tribe, or the other side, will gain office…. [H]ow do we solve a problem like the ultimacy of our politics – the fact that it feels as though the entire fate of the country rests on whoever gets elected to lead it?’

The Big Picture Magazine 11 (2024) on Politics

The latest issue of The Big Picture, a magazine produced by the Kirby Laing Centre, has recently been made available.

According to the blurb:

‘Politics is a contentious and divisive topic, but it is integral to public life and public theology. With so many significant elections happening in 2024, we invited our community to think together about this topic… The articles we have chosen represent a wide range of perspectives, not all of which are compatible with one another. It was not our goal to find and promote one Christian political position but rather to provoke fruitful thought and conversation.’

More information is available here, and the issue can be downloaded as a pdf here.

Craig Bartholomew on Old Testament Wisdom and Politics

Most of the recent issues of Ethics in Conversation from the Kirby Laing Centre have been book reviews, and I haven’t bothered posting them here. But the latest is a piece by Craig Bartholomew on ‘Old Testament Wisdom and Politics’, which unpacks the following main points:

1. Faith and wisdom embrace and include in their remit politics and government

2. Faith and wisdom recognise that politics can go horribly wrong.

3. Wise politics prioritises the afflicted, the poor, the needy and those without a voice

4. OT Israel was never a democracy, but OT wisdom orients us in important ways

It’s available as a pdf here.

Evangelical Alliance UK on Thinking Faithfully about Politics

The Evangelical Alliance UK has produced a report, following a survey of 1,300 people, on what they call ‘a snapshot of how evangelicals think and act as they engage in politics’.

More information is available here, and a pdf of the report can be download here.

Centre for Public Christianity (April 2021)

The Centre for Public Christianity has posted two ‘Life and Faith’ podcasts: one (here) with atheist philosopher Julian Baggini and New Testament scholar Jonathan Pennington, asking, ‘if Jesus offers wisdom for how to live, how necessary is the “Son of God” stuff?’, and one (here) with John G. Stackhouse Jr. and Nathan Campbell ‘about the chaos surrounding the recent U.S. presidential election, and the place of Christian faith in politics and public life’.

Centre for Public Christianity (October 2020)

The Centre for Public Christianity has posted two ‘Life and Faith’ podcasts, related to the current US elections: one (here) which ‘speaks to Amy Black, Andy Crouch and Lisa Sharon Harper about how growing polarisation and the politicisation of faith are playing out in the 2020 presidential race’, and another (here) which ‘explores the role of faith, and particularly (white) evangelicals, in shaping the results’.

9Marks Journal (September 2020) on Pastoring Through Political Turmoil

The latest issue of the 9Marks Journal, available from here in various formats, looks at ‘Pastoring Through Political Turmoil’.

In the Editorial Note, Jonathan Leeman writes:

‘Our goal is not to tell you what to think politically. It’s to help you think about how to pastor when your church and country are enduring a season of political unrest or division. What posture should you adopt? […]

‘Humility in our politics means that our politics begins with the declaration, “Jesus is King.” This doesn’t require overturning the separation of church and state. But it does mean that a Christian’s view of the state must begin with what King Jesus says about the state in his Word. A humble politics is always under God’s Word, never over it.

‘Humility in our politics yields both courage and deference. It gives us the courage to stand fixed upon on God’s Word, no matter what opposition comes. But it also teaches us to defer to others by listening to them, knowing that we can be mistaken and that our perspectives are limited.

‘Humility in our politics means we can learn from different kinds of people, including from people who disagree with us politically. It means we’re open to critique.. 

Humility in our politics means we show honor to everyone made in God’s image, including our political opponents…

‘As much as anything, pastors, we’re encouraging you to model humility in your politics, a humility that trusts and stands on God’s Word more than on your own political inclinations and opinions.’

Business as Usual?

I wrote the below piece for ‘Connecting with Culture’, a weekly email service from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity.

Big Ben won’t bong, but time will roll on regardless and Britain will leave the European Union at 11pm on Friday 31 January 2020. It will be the end of one of the most significant political processes of our times.

How we feel about that and the new era that lies ahead will depend on a host of well-rehearsed and hotly-contested factors, which will not disappear overnight.

Noting that Christians ‘in good conscience continue to hold a wide range of views about Brexit’, leaders of church denominations have encouraged prayers for peace and reconciliation. Tweeting a prayer every day this week, Justin Welby notes the importance of ‘praying for our country as we move into a new season of challenge and opportunity’.

How, then, do we navigate this moment?

The slogan from Christians in Politics – ‘decisions are made by those who show up’ – offers a helpful prompt. It reminds us not just to ‘show up’ when it’s time to vote or debate, but to ‘show up’ in daily life too.

Many Christians are on the frontline in the world of politics itself, but politics affects us all, wherever we find ourselves – the teacher in the classroom, the cleaner in the hospital, the parent in the home.

Every sphere – education, business, economics, the media, law, health, family – can be influenced for the good by the presence of Christians. These are the everyday places where we are able to build relationships, seek justice, model reconciliation, make a gracious stand for the truth, live and speak as messengers of the gospel. And we do so not to get what we want, but as an overflow of our love for God and other people.

So, however we feel about the turn of the clock later this evening, we can move forward purposefully. Let’s pray for the Government and for our local MPs. Let’s ask trusted people to help us think through issues from a Christian perspective. Let’s inform MPs of matters that concern us – not simply the narrow range of topics where people expect us to speak out, but on other things too – education, health, unemployment, environment, immigration. Let’s get involved where we’re able to do so. And let’s recognise that the best changes will be brought about by demonstrating through our lives that there is a better way to do business as usual.

Belief in Politics

The below is a brief reflection I wrote for our local church community, following a brief spot on the General Election in one of our services.

‘Democracy is the worst form of  Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.’ So said Winston Churchill back in 1947. As we gear up for a General Election next month, it seems appropriate to recognise the long, albeit somewhat checkered, history of democracy we have enjoyed in this country. In spite of the cynicism some of us might feel about the possibility of our vote making a difference, the connection between the people and their government is crucial, especially at difficult times.

At the very least, elections provide an opportunity for us to reflect on priorities and concerns – for ourselves and for the society in which we live: health, education, transport, housing, welfare, tax, crime, environment, immigration. Not for the first time will we notice how many of these play to our fears as well as our hopes.

In all of this, we recognise that we can’t escape politics as followers of Jesus. Even to choose not to vote is itself a political act. We also recognise that Scripture allows us to be neither overly cynical nor overly confident about the potential of politics to make a difference. It’s important, but it’s not ultimate.

As Romans 13:1-7 reminds us, we acknowledge that ‘the authorities... have been established by God for... our good’ – words written in the context of Emperor Nero and the swagger of the Roman Empire holding sway. In the UK where we have a voice in deciding who the ‘authorities’ should be, where it’s possible to encourage the values by which society operates, it seems fully appropriate to accept the responsibility that comes with the privilege, and to vote wisely.

More specifically, a perspective nourished by Scripture and the gospel helps to reframe how and why we vote. We vote not simply for what will benefit ourselves, but for what will benefit others, for that which serves the wider community. Scripture places value on the right treatment of the vulnerable and marginalised. What do manifestos say about the poor, the elderly, the disabled, the asylum seeker? Since the gospel reframes our aspirations, we vote less for what might bring material gain (important though that is) than for what might bring moral gain. What will be the effect of policies on marriage, family life, poverty? Given the the centrality of relationship at the heart of the gospel, we vote for what will build and nurture relationships – personally, nationally, internationally. On issues related to religion, not least the freedom to practise our faith in public life, we vote for that which is more likely to promote the way of the gospel.

None of this necessarily makes it easier to know where to place our cross on the ballot paper! But it encourages us to take the process seriously. Who we vote for and why arguably says as much about us as it does about the candidates and parties.

So, let’s make the most of the momentum generated by the General Election. Let’s pray for the Government and our local MPs. If we’re inclined to do so, let’s inform MPs of matters that concern us – not simply the narrow range of topics where people expect Christians to speak out, but on other things too – deficit reduction, education, health, environment, immigration, civil liberties. And let’s recognise that significant changes can be brought about by demonstrating through our lives that there is a better way to do business as usual.

General Election Resources from Christian Orgnisations

CARE

Christian Concern

Christians in Politics

Evangelical Alliance UK

Joint Public Issues Team

Websites of Christians in the Major Political Parties

Christians on the Left

Conservative Christian Fellowship

Liberal Democrat Christian Forum

John Dickson on How to Vote Christianly

I found this article by John Dickson– ‘How to Vote Christianly’ – helpful as I prepare for the General Election in the UK next month. It was published in Australia before their election in May earlier this year, but I think the way it sets out its perspective on Christian priorities in voting carries well in a different context.

Dickson notes from the start that he doesn’t know how he will vote in the upcoming election, feeling ‘especially torn this time around, because some of my fundamental values and guiding principles are in deep conflict as I reflect on the party platforms’.

But he encourages Christians to vote ‘in a way that is informed by their faith, whatever decision they finally make’. For, ‘while Christianity is not party political, it is political in the broader sense’, and ‘everyone who is concerned with the life of our wider community (as every Christian will be) is “political” in the larger sense of the word’.

The bulk of the article outlines how some basic Christian beliefs should – and should not – influence a Christian’s vote.

1. How not to vote

• Precedent: ‘How we always vote’

‘[V]oting by personal or demographic precedent is not a thoughtful vote. Whatever else a Christian ought to be, he or she ought to be thoughtful.’

• Christian favouritism

‘Theologically speaking, good government is not the special preserve of believers. In Romans 13, Paul makes plain that even the pagan governments of Rome were to be thought of as “established by God”. Indeed, secular, non-Christian rulers are described by the apostle as “God’s servants”. The point deserves deep reflection.’

• Economic prosperity

‘Christians must seriously question a fixation with the “bottom line”.’

2. How a Christian ought to vote

• Vote for others

‘First and foremost, a Christian vote is a vote for others, not oneself. It is fundamental to the Christian outlook that life is to be devoted to the good of others before oneself... Those who follow the one who gave himself up for us all will endeavour to put their private interests aside, and seek instead to serve the wider community.’

• Vote for the moral health of the community

‘Christians will want to ponder: which party and/or policies will promote the values applauded by the Creator, the values of justice, harmony (nationally and internationally), sexual responsibility, honesty, family and mercy?... For the Christian, moral health far exceeds economic prosperity as an honourable goal for society.’

• Vote for the poor and weak

‘[I]n voting for the “other”, the Christian will particularly have in mind the poor and powerless... Whatever socio-economic model Christians sincerely believe in, they ought to vote for those who need their vote more than they do.’

• Vote for the gospel

‘Concern for the advancement of the Christian message throughout Australia... will potentially play a part in a Christian’s voting patterns.’

• Vote prayerfully

‘The Scriptures urge believers to pray for leaders and for governments. And, ultimately, believers will see this as more important even than their vote.’

Read the whole thing here.

CARE and Evangelical Alliance UK on the General Election 2019

Two Christian organisations have produced some helpful pointers for those wanting help to navigate the upcoming General Election.

Resources from the Evangelical Alliance UK are available from here, and include a series of devotionals based on the Psalms of Ascents, guidance for those planning to hold a hustings event, an election blog, and a prayer diary.

CARE have a dedicated site here, which includes policy information on issues like religious freedom, relationships, sex education, and many other topics, along with a hustings guide and a blog.

The Christians in Politics website is always worth checking out.

Theos Report on People, Place, and Purpose: Churches and Neighbourhood Resilience

The latest report from Theos has recently been published:

Paul Bickley, People, Place, and Purpose: Churches and Neighbourhood Resilience (London: Theos, 2018).

Here are some paragraphs from the Theos website:

‘We are living through a period of profound political, social and economic disruption.

‘Britain’s intended departure from the European Union creates new risks, uncertainties and – no doubt – opportunities. The ability of the cash-starved public services to help people navigate challenging circumstances is now questioned in a way that it has not been for 30 years. As civil society attempts to ‘plug the gap’, churches and faith-based organisations have achieved a new public legitimacy.

‘How can churches act in a ways that don’t just meet people’s immediate needs, but also build their capacity to negotiate uncertain times? Can they help neighbourhoods become more resilient?

‘Based on intensive research in three vulnerable communities in the North East of England, this report highlights the importance of engaging people in common action, curating places of public gathering, and refusing stories of decline and degeneration. In other words, churches can help build resilience neighbourhoods by focusing on people, place and purpose.’

A pdf of the full report is available here.

9Marks Journal (Spring 2018) on Political Witness

The latest issue of the 9Marks Journal, available from here in various formats and here as a pdf, is devoted to the topic of ‘Church Life: Our True Political Witness’.

Its North American provenance means some adjustment might need to made for other contexts, but there would seem to be wider applicability and thoughtful provocation in the articles.

In the Editor’s Note, Jonathan Leeman writes:

‘The goal of this 9Marks Journal is to redirect our political gaze from the nation to the church. Our political hope must not be in the next presidential election, or in trying to win the country “back” or “forward” to something different. Believe it or not, the political hope of the nations is in local churches...

‘Do you know where the world should first witness... just and lasting peace? In the life and fellowship of the boundary-defying local church. It’s in the local church where we first beat our swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. It’s in the church where one-time enemies learn to love one another.’

The Jubilee Centre and KLICE on Brexit

The Jubilee Centre and the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics have each recently posted items on Europe and Brexit, all written before this week’s announcement of a general election in June.

From the Jubilee Centre comes the latest Cambridge Paper, this one by Paul Mills and Michael Schluter:

Paul Mills and Michael Schluter, ‘Brexit in a Fractured Europe: A Relational Vision and Strategy for Reconciliation’, Cambridge Papers 26, 1 (March 2017).

Here is the summary:

‘The outcome of the UK’s referendum on EU membership has highlighted deep divisions within the populace, including among Christians, and increased the likelihood of further ruptures between the UK and EU27 as well as within and between the EU27 countries themselves. This paper first sets out the mandate for Christians to prioritise time and resources for peace-building within and between nations. It then presents an alternative ‘relational’ framework for peace-building within the UK and between the UK and the EU27. A Confederal model is then outlined as the basis for a new shared vision for reform within the EU. Within God’s Providence, we can pray that the Brexit vote will be seen in hindsight as a trigger for relationally-positive transformation, not just in Britain but across the Continent.’

From KLICE comes two comments, one from Richard Bauckham (‘Brexit: restoring self-governance’), and one from Nicholas Townsend (‘Thinking about Brexit after Article 50’).

Centre for Public Christianity (November 2016)

Among other items of interest, the Centre for Public Christianity has posted an audio interview on the science behind gender identity and the experience of being transgender, and a video interview with American theologian William Cavanaugh on the popularity of Donald Trump, recorded in July before Trump’s election win.

Mark Meynell on a Wilderness of Mirrors

I wrote the following mini review for EG, the quarterly magazine produced by the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. Mark is a friend, but that has in no way biased my reading of his superb book!

Mark Meynell, A Wilderness of Mirrors: Trusting Again in a Cynical World (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015).

One of the significant currents swirling around society today is the breakdown of trust – in politicians, businesses, authorities and institutions, including the church. Hand in hand with that goes cynicism and a sense of betrayal. How are we to live in such a world?

Addressing these issues, Mark Meynell serves up a well-researched, well-written book, with much to delight pundits of politics, history, philosophy, and popular culture. Here Thomas Hardy rubs shoulders with Monty Python, U2 with John Le Carré. But it’s deeply sensitive as well as informative. And ultimately hopeful too, because of what Mark believes about the way God works in the world, because of the self-giving love of Jesus in serving the powerless, and because of the community that gathers around him and his word.

A Wilderness of Mirrors calls us to rediscover the radical implications of the gospel for a disillusioned world, a world more than ever in need of Christ’s trustworthy goodness.

European Union Referendum Resources

Friends and colleagues in several organisations are producing some helpful information and resources on the forthcoming EU Referendum which seeks to engage with the issues from a Christian perspective rather than perpetuating the battle of ‘fear’ narratives that seems to typify much of the debate elsewhere.

See here for a short post by the Joint Public Issues Team (representing The Baptist Union of Great Britain, The Methodist Church, The United Reformed Church, and The Church of Scotland). They have a page on their website devoted to the referendum here, with a short pdf booklet downloadable here, aiming ‘to encourage individuals and churches to think through Britain's membership of the European Union in the light of the gospel command to love your neighbour’.

Theos, the public theology think tank, have produced some helpful material...

Ben Ryan, A Soul for the Union (London: Theos, 2016) – a Theos booklet, with information here and downloadable as a pdf here.

Ben Ryan, ‘The EU Needs Its Soul Back’.

Ben Ryan, ‘Does Europe Need to be a Christian Continent?’

Nick Spencer and Ben Ryan, ‘Putting Principles Back into the EU’.

As has the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics, with a special page here, with (to date) the following individual pieces...

Jonathan Chaplin, ‘What is the EU for? Introducing KLICE’s Referendum Coverage’.

Jonathan Chaplin, ‘“It is not so among you” – The Transformative Power of Powerlessness’.

Michael Schluter, ‘Brexit Unless... Three Fundamental Conditions for Staying in the EU’, Ethics in Brief EU Referendum Series 1 (April 2016).

This article sets out five biblical principles for political and economic life and finds that the EU currently breaches them significantly. It proposes three conditions for remaining within the EU but, in the absence of other EU countries supporting such conditions, argues that British people should vote for Brexit. The article represents the views of the author and not of KLICE.

Ben Ryan, ‘Rejecting Project Fear for Project Hope: Creating the Moral Case for the Remain Campaign’, Ethics in Brief EU Referendum Series 2 (May 2016).

The European Union has spent years staggering through a crisis with political, economic, theoretical and practical elements. It has been, in many ways, a disappointment, failing to live up to the standards that were set for it in the 1950s. It stands in need of some redemption. Despite all this it remains the best hope for a genuinely international, voluntary and moral model of governance. This article makes that case for the EU as the body with the potential to be the moral force the 21st century world needs and, therefore, an organisation for the UK to help save, not leave.

Then there is the Jubilee Centre, with a collection of pieces, including four briefing papers, here.

In addition, Christians in Politics have a page here with several links to short articles.

Andrew Goddard has revised a Grove booklet on the European Union first written nearly 20 years ago. It’s available for purchase from here, with some additional resources available here, and a helpful summary gist here.

Finally, here are a couple of friends who have offered their own reflections:

Eddie Arthur, ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’.

Mark Meynell, ‘Brexit Schmexit: Some (VERY) Random Bremainer Thoughts’.

Theos Report on the European Union

The latest report from Theos has recently been published:

Ben Ryan, A Soul for the Union (London: Theos, 2015).

Here’s part of the summary blurb:

‘The specific debate in the UK over the European question has been illustrative of a general trend across Europe, with arguments focusing almost entirely on technical issues, and with an underlying assumption that the single real measure on which to measure Europe is economic. This approach, though particularly prevalent in the UK is one that has been growing across Europe for some years, and is quite unlike the priorities and assumptions that shaped the earlier European project.

‘This report charts the development of the European project, from its origins in 1950s Christian Democracy, with a strong focus on solidarity and peace, through to its current period of crisis. It argues that today’s EU has lost sight of its founding principles and instead placed excessive focus on a particular conception of national economic performance.

Ultimately, this report argues that this is a weak basis for political union. A union worth saving would be on stronger ground if it could develop a clearer, explicit moral purpose that resonated with its citizens. Perhaps more simply, if the EU is going to be worth saving it needs to discover a soul.’

A pdf of the full report is available here.

The Bible Society on Democracy, Conflict and the Bible

Cristian Romocea and Mohammed Girma (eds.), Democracy, Conflict & the Bible: Reflections on the role of the Bible in International Affairs (Swindon: Bible Society, 2015).

Last night, I attended the launch and panel discussion of a report from Bible Society’s International Bible Advocacy Centre on ‘Democracy, Conflict and the Bible’.

Information about the Centre can be found here, and the above report can be downloaded as a pdf here.