The one and only King

On the basis of what they describe as ‘a landmark survey’ of frontline Anglican clergy carried out by themselves, The Times newspaper claims that three quarters of Church of England priests believe that Britain can no longer be described as a Christian country, and view with unease the increasing decline in Church attendance.  In an effort to reverse the trend, The Times claims that the majority of clergy now want to bring Christianity more into line with public opinion by conducting same-sex weddings and dropping the Church’s traditional opposition to premarital and gay sex (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/church-of-england-christianity-survey-gay-marriage-sex-female-archbishop-70ck07sj6).   
 
To conduct the survey, The Times tell us that they contacted a total of 5,000 names, selected at random from Crockfords Clerical Directory of Anglican Clergy, out of which 1,200 chose to respond.  As well as calling for a radical overhaul of Church doctrine, many of the respondents also apparently reported high levels of stress, even claiming to be at breaking point, and with almost a third saying that they had considered quitting in the last five years.
 
One cannot help but feel, if they really are so intent on changing The Church’s historic doctrine, that it might be better if they had, because, whatever faith they now espouse, as sure as God made little apples, it’s not Christianity.  From their calls for change, it would seem indeed as if the wolves have got in amongst the sheep, and our misguided clerics are no longer acting as guardians of the flock, but have rather become agents of subversion – spokespersons for a new religion, that has at its heart not obedience to God, but worship of ‘Self’. 
 
This then truly is a survey of the Church of England, wedded, as it appears, to upholding and celebrating contemporary culture.  But let’s be honest, it’s a religion founded, not on Christ, but on secularism … and to this extent it is demonic.  In this belief system, man is acclaimed as the centre of the universe, architect and determiner of moral value, with the power to control and even re-orchestrate the building blocks of life.  So God is dismissed as an illusion before what is claimed the reality of humanism – perhaps the greatest delusion of all. 
 
Such a religion deserves to die.  But Christianity will not be so easily discarded, because, whatever the claims of respondents to the survey, it is founded on Truth, and speaks to a higher good.  Christianity alone rescues men and women from the miasma and contagion of what is, at the end of the day, sin.  Christianity alone sets us free, allowing us to become fully what God has made, and intends us, to be.
 
VfJUK is conducting its own survey at the moment, directed at discovering the extent to which Christians are free to manifest and practise their belief in modern society.  We have so far received over 1,500 responses – far higher, it will be noted, than those collected by The Times, and responses are still coming in.  Full assessment of the data will not, of course, be carried out until the survey closes, but preliminary analysis already suggests a very different picture from that presented by The Times.  In particular, we have had a large number of responses from grass-root Christians under the age of 35, 90% of whom, far from wanting a more liberal approach to faith, are strong in upholding traditional, Bible-based belief. 
 
So does this reflect a declining Church?  Or does it rather indicate a resurgence of belief, as handed down by the apostles?
 
Perhaps more to the point, however, in relation to implied claims by The Times that Christianity, if it’s to survive, needs to become more ‘relevant’ to modern society, when asked about their freedom to express Christian belief in public, a surprising number of respondents of all ages have reported pressure to conform to secular dogma not just in work and social settings, but from within their local church, where staff teams, headed by clergy, appear to be pushing for change.
 
Two questions therefore occur.  First, is the apparent decline in Church attendance a result of society’s loss of interest, or rather the result of an unacceptable watering down of faith?   And second, is the pressure to align Christian belief with popular opinion part of a focussed campaign by those whose primary allegiance is not to God, but rather to the Woke values of society?
 
Yes, the survey by The Times is very important … not because it shows the state of Christian faith in the UK today, but because it reveals the extent to which Anglican clergy have become infected with the contagion of secular liberalism.  Indeed, it is arguable that our far larger survey promises to show more clearly the true state of faith in Britain today – and what has been revealed so far indicates not a call for closer alignment with populist woke values, but a vibrant and growing community of believers, dedicated to upholding the teachings of Christ in a compromised and increasingly hostile secular world.