Forever and Ever

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

So starts the Nicene Creed, the governing text spoken at Eucharist, Mass or common serving at any church in either the Anglican, Catholic or Nonconformist traditions. It goes on to affirm belief in God's son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit, making up the Trinity, which is at the centre of Christian belief regardless of denomination. 

I take very seriously the words of the Nicene Creed, despite having not spoken them aloud for some time. It may seem a touch hypocritical of me to speak up for Christianity when I have in fact not properly entered a church for some months. Nevertheless, there is no getting away from Christianity for me, in particular Anglicanism, which is the faith in which I was raised. At primary school we had prayers and hymns during assembly, I was confirmed at age 11 and this prepared me for life at a Church of England school. I still enjoy the choral works composed by Bach which illustrate aspects of Christian culture, in particular his St Matthew Passion, which is simply beautiful. 

We cannot, as a nation, escape our Christian heritage. From the parish churches in the centre of rural villages to the very seat and heart of government, Her Majesty the Queen, who is Supreme Governor of the Church of England. We exhort God in our national anthem to protect and preserve her (and He's not done too shabbily). Our national flag is made up of three crosses and when taken to using hyperbole, one can often be forgiven for using such words as 'heavenly' and 'divine'. 

So was the Prime Minister, therefore, right to call the UK a Christian country? In my view (and many others', it seems), the answer is a resounding yes. Christianity is embedded in our very bones and has been for nearly 1500 years. Admittedly the messages can seem a bit mixed when bishops in the Middle Ages were living lives of lordly leisure while many people struggled and starved (though that doesn't quite seem to have gone away). Regardless, some of our more magnificent structures are cathedrals and many families would not have come to prominence during the Tudor period had so many monasteries been closed. Even English law, which has some basis in equity, has roots in Christianity. Lord Chancellors were usually bishops until the Stuarts arrived and so were -- supposedly -- good judges of equality (Latin roots, gotta love 'em!). 

So then, Christianity is a massively rich vein that runs through our island story. Its codes of compassion and brotherly love have contributed to British people's famed philanthropic streak. We are regularly generous and will always fight for the underdog. Did Jesus do any less or indeed teach us so in the New Testament? I realise the arguments may be a little simplistic, but I'm no theologian sadly. 

We must therefore ask what the hell gives 50-odd "public figures" (I'd only heard of seven) the right to rain on this magnificent parade? I saw that letter to the Telegraph and was astounded. I was saddened slightly to see Terry Pratchett's name in there, but my respect for him does not diminish. Tim Minchin and Peter Tatchell were also among them, but the crowning glory was that third-rate no-good rich-bashing guilty-as-hell tired hack, the Guardian's answer to Jan Moir -- Polly Toynbee. I will address the lot of them here and now; what a completely shameless (if unsurprising) performance. This lot wish it to be known that secularism ought to be the order of the day; Christianity, indeed any religion for that matter, has no place in a modern progressive society. They will do down any attempt for anything to compete with their own religion, that of multicultural inclusiveness which must be preserved and promoted at all costs. Not one of them saw fit to excoriate Ed Miliband when he dared point out the obvious that the UK is still ostensibly a Christian country, oh no. They are not interested in fair debate, particularly not the hypocrite Toynbee, who has a second home in Tuscany and weeps openly for the poor and destitute while also screaming for the heads of the Royal Family. 

Let us put this into context. A centre-right Prime Minister has the gall to speak his mind on the state of the majority faith in the country he governs. A bunch of the fashionable cause brigade then weigh in and accuse him of fostering division. Just who precisely do they think they are? I realise that among them are equality campaigners, journalists and peers and therefore of course they know better, but I'm willing to bet that many of them are also atheists. Atheists who will of course be offended if anyone tries to "push" a faith on them but think it perfectly proper to foist their faithlessness on everyone else. Well they are the ones who are wrong, the kind of people George Orwell says in The Lion and the Unicorn are ripe for ridicule. In fact to say that David Cameron fosters division is in itself ridiculous. There will be many Christian people in this country who will have risked a small cheer on hearing the PM give the proper position of their faith in the UK. It is a faith which, sadly, does not seem to bear up on the figures. Despite roughly 60% of people saying they are Christian, one must wonder if that is reflected in the pews each Sunday. 

We are lucky in this country that we can have such a debate. We may never be able to drown out those nay-saying voices, but we can give it a damn good try. So once again, I believe in one God...