In Northern Ireland, we have a Westminster General Election in a few weeks. The Republic has local government and European elections.
Organised properly by voting for candidates who share a socially conservative view of society, the churches can lay to rest the perception they have a muted voice when it comes to challenging the forward march of secularism across this island.
In ancient times, the Christians were fed to the lions. Now is the time to feed the lions to the Christians! Long-term, of course, I’ve made no secret that the churches need to launch a united campaign for compulsory voting at elections.
I sometimes fear that Christian unity is becoming as big a practical myth as Unionist unity. For generations in Irish elections, it was a case of them’uns versus us’uns - or put bluntly, orange versus green politics. People voted for candidates and people, not necessarily because they believed passionately in their manifestos, but because they knew it would be a chance to keep the other side out.
The Christian faith in Ireland needs to wake up and smell the coffee that there is a fresh them’uns and us’uns battle to be fought - Christianity versus secularism.
Christians cannot act like Biblical Pharisees. They cannot condemn political parties for following a woke agenda or passing anti-Christian laws if they sat on their backsides and did not bother to vote for candidates who pledged to oppose such legislation.
But the Christian faith faces two real hurdles. Firstly, many churches are too scared to vehemently speak out against secularism for fear of being ridiculed, especially on social media. For them, it is better to hide behind the pulpit rather than use the pulpit as a launching pad to push an overtly Christian agenda.
Secondly, and more significantly, there is such theological division between the various denominations that trying to get a common agenda to challenge parties and candidates is proving as impossible as trying to find a Unionist unity candidate in some constituencies which could be snatched from nationalism.
Take the institution of marriage. The mainstream Presbyterian Church in Ireland believes marriage is between a man and woman. But many in the smaller Non Subscribing Presbyterian Church, also known as the Unitarians, will openly support same sex marriage and even have gay ministers.
Given these theologically opposing views - even within the broad frame of Presbyterianism - how on earth as the churches expected to agree a common agreement or agenda for these elections?
The basic premise if the churches are really serious about using the ballot box to influence legislation in the various chambers of power is that every cleric of whatever denomination should tell their flocks to vote in the first place based on the simple question - which candidate or candidates (depending on the voting system) do you view as being the most Biblically sound?
It should not be a case of hoping the right people are elected. Clerics must use the pulpits, or wherever they can spread the message that it is their flocks’ Christian duty to vote.
Before we can take beam out of society’s eye, Christians must take the mote out of their own (to quote a popular New Testament text). Stop sitting in the pews moaning about society; get off your butts and into the polling booths and fill those ballot boxes with votes for Christian candidates.
This is the only way that secularism and pluralism can be hit where it hurts. Indeed, Christians actually need to go a step further and join political parties en masse so that they can influence their manifestos from within.
If more Christians joined political parties, it stands to reason there would be more Christians on the ballot papers as Christian lobbies within parties can heavily influence the candidate selection meetings.
The time for Christians to stop sitting on the political fence for fear of causing offence or argument is now. Christians must establish themselves as one of the most influential lobbies on this island.
That is the only way we as a Christian community can stop secularism in its tracks.
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| Follow Dr John Coulter on Twitter @JohnAHCoulter Listen to commentator Dr John Coulter’s programme, Call In Coulter, every Saturday morning around 10.15 am on Belfast’s Christian radio station, Sunshine 1049 FM. Listen online. |
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