Preaching the faith

How wonderful to hear that David Cameron making such a strong statement of support for Christianity.  He is so right to say the country needs to get back to the values and morals of the Bible, and to remind people that it has been Christianity which made this country great by uniting people. Good to hear him say also that this is a Christian country despite the efforts of the fanatical Richard Dawkins with his desire to wipe out Christianity with the aid of his followers. 

In the United States they are proud of their country, and their religion, with so many more attending Church and even more supporting the Christian faith. 

From a personal aspect, I am delighted that from tomorrow I will be able to once again watch the religious channels on Sky television which I enjoyed watching until a few months ago, featuring some of the great evangelical Churches in the States.  The 700 Club hosted by Pat Robertson on the CBN channel was a nightly pleasure for me, together with Christian World News with Wendy Griffith on a Saturday.  Of course there was always the greatest preacher of all, in re-runs of the Crusades of Billy Graham. 

The Prime Minister was (indirectly)telling the Archbishop of Canterbury to get busy preaching the gospel and build the Church of England up.  Michael Portillo made an interesting defence when debating with an atheist.  I thought I recognised the atheist, and if he was who I thought he was, I would have expected the fatuous remarks he made.  Michael pointed out how the Church of England had made such a influence by following a moderate line rather than the aggressiveness of other faiths.  I am not sure it is always the best thing to be moderate.

I read of a service held at the Royal College in London and thought it was really a bit of a spoof, it was so unbelievable.  As the name of a Vicar who led it was mentioned, I looked her up and found it was a genuine name.  If what was reported was correct, I think she should have been summoned by her Bishop and given a stern warning of the duties she is bound to perform.  A carol service was held with the quotations from the Quaran rather than the Bible. This is improper under Church of England law. I have no objections to the Koran being read, but it is patronising to Muslims to include this in a Christian setting, and objectionable to both Christians and Muslim friends. 

Returning to the Prime Minister’s statement that we should uphold the morals and values of the Bible, can we take it he is not going to pursue ‘gay marriage’?   

I do wonder why an Archbishop has to be someone with high academic training.  As a cynic once remarked, ‘the Church is falling apart by degrees’.  What we need is some outstanding figure with Biblical integrity, who will capture the hearts and minds of ordinary people.  Billy Graham could fill any stadium anywhere in the world to its full capacity even exceeding 80,000 people.  Can you envisage any Bishop or Archbishop capable of doing this?