Our glorious Triune God: Father, Son and Holy
Spirit, intrinsically ‘embodies’ qualities of
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). Our God
is no solitary, lonely individual – as worshipped in
many Eastern religions and in Islam. Not surprisingly,
such a God has fashioned a world of dazzling
diversity, as the Psalmist exclaims: “How many are
your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all.
The earth is full of your creatures”. (Ps. 104: 24).
For human beings, the Bible sets out God’s
plans and purposes for human life,
individually and collectively. Part of this plan
is for the development of legitimate cultural
diversity, within the unity of
humankind, as people have
expanded numerically and
geographically across the earth. But
the Bible recounts how rebellion
against God has become embedded in
human culture, again as the Psalmist
questions: “Why do the nations conspire,
and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of
the earth rise up … against the LORD
and against his anointed [Jesus, the
true king]”. (Ps. 2: 1-2). Accordingly,
human cultures have developed a dark
underside as the consequences of human sin are
worked out in history.
Situated in the ‘western world’, our nation and culture
have received immeasurable blessings
from Christianity, underpinning our legal
system, the institution of marriage, care
for the weak and many other aspects we
have taken for granted. We have become
a ‘prodigal’ culture rejecting God in
defiant atheism, suppressing the truth,
embracing paganism and following
selfish idols of money, power, celebrity
and fashion.
Within our society, ‘culture wars’ rage
and abject folly is embraced, as Douglas
Murray details in The Madness of Crowds: Gender,
Race and Identity. Gender confusion – the ‘trans’
issue – is a prime example of explicit rebellion against
created biological reality. This is the real ‘conversion
therapy’, bringing profound harm to immature and
vulnerable young people.
What is the Christian’s
responsibility? Negatively, our
response cannot be weary
acceptance of retrograde
tendencies. We must be “wise
as serpents and innocent as
doves” (Matthew 10:16) in the
manner we fight; but fight
we must. We need
those who will analyse
and understand
philosophical and cultural trends. Wherever
possible, our response must be strategic,
thought-through and collective. There are
numerous opportunities for signing online
petitions, writing to the press and
cautiously using social media, as
suggested by organisations like The
Christian Institute. Such action might
sometimes receive a hostile reaction
but the Bible warns us to expect that
(1 Peter 4:4). In such times our
church leaders will need our
encouragement to maintain a clear
stance, something that is sadly lacking
at the top levels of the Anglican church in the UK at
the moment.
In many spheres of public life, Christian leadership is
lacking. It seems a minority of evangelical churches
actively encourage – in preaching – their
members to step forward when
leadership opportunities become
available in the workplace or community.
Consider The Parable of the Talents
(Matthew 25:14-30). We should be actively
training, mentoring and praying for
suitable sisters and brothers. The London
Institute for Contemporary Christianity
(LICC), founded by the late John Stott, is
excellent at facilitating these goals. In
every workplace, respect for the Christian
voice must be earned – through integrity,
kindness, consistency, honesty and all-round
excellence. This takes time and effort. But once it is
gained and maintained the outcomes are
immeasurable.