This is a follow up to my earlier article – Here
President John Dramani Mahama,
President of the Republic of Ghana
Your Excellency,
I am writing to you on the occasion of your recent visit to my country, Scotland. I write to you as the Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland and as a Christian brother. I wanted to welcome you to our country, to apologise for the rudeness you experienced and to explain something about where Scotland is at, in the hope and prayer that your country does not go the way we have gone.
Firstly let me apologise for the rudeness of some of our politicians in refusing to treat you with the dignity and respect that your office demands. This was done because the touchstone ‘shibboleth’ issue for some of our politicians is the question of LGBT rights. I’m afraid our governing elites and media have become obsessed with this, to the extent that anyone who has a different point of view is demonized and excluded from public life. Such is their sense of moral superiority that they feel they can treat you in this way and bully you and your country into accepting ‘our’ values. I felt that there was a level of hypocrisy as well, because the same complaints were not made when another more powerful country, China, were given the red carpet treatment.
The trouble is that our liberals believe that we are at the top of the evolutionary tree. We are progressives who have ‘progressed’ further than other countries in the world. We are so convinced of our own morally superior cultural values that we see it as our mission in the world to export these values. This is why the United States government offered to ‘help’ you with LGBT rights, and why you will doubtless receive offers of ‘help’ from Western liberals on issues such as gay rights, abortion and transgender. As is our habit we often tie in such ‘help’ with economic ‘aid’ – despite the fact that you are the 9th largest economy in Africa and growing to the extent that it will soon be us who need your aid! It is patronizing and to be honest a 21st Century form of Western colonialism. It is a subtle form of racism – not so much based on skin colour, but rather on perceived cultural values. We call them ‘human rights’ with the implication that those who do not agree with them are somehow lesser humans. It is a more subtle form of racism/cultural superiority. Our liberal elites do believe in their heart of hearts that your country is backward and not as ‘progressive’ as us. Of course they go in a rage when this is suggested, because after all one of ‘our’ values is to be anti-racist, so how could white liberal elites ever be racist? But actions speak louder than words. You shall know them by their fruits.
The issue is, as you are aware, who decides what human rights are? Is there a right to kill the child in the womb? A right to have sex with whoever you want? A right to kill the elderly and infirm? My view is that the laws of men should be based on the law of God. We, in the West, have been greatly blessed by our Christian heritage and tradition that has given us values such as equality, tolerance and respect for all human beings. But the trouble is that we are moving away from that. We are rejecting the Bible, and we are rejecting the God of the Bible. Whilst we retain some of the fruits, my fear is that having removed the foundation, we won’t be able to stand when the storms come. The fruits of Christian civilization are withering, as the roots have been poisoned. Our society is descending into moral chaos, the gap between rich and poor is widening, our education system is declining and the family, the building block of any society, is being undermined. We have replaced the Bible with the morals, fashions and fads of the ruling elites as the basis for our politics, education and laws. Sir, I beg you to learn from us. Don’t follow our example. I note that you, like me, are an historian, with a history degree. I think there is much to be learned from Scottish history, both good and bad. Perhaps the greatest lesson is not to give up your Christian heritage.
I have been reading a bit about your country and I have to say I am impressed. You have a population more than five times the size of Scotland and a landmass three times the size. In Scotland we like to think of ourselves as the home of Presbyterianism (other than of course Jerusalem!), and countries like yours as in need of missionaries. But I have discovered that your evangelical Presbyterian church is more than three times the size of our national church…you are growing and we are in decline. It is us who need missionaries from Africa! Please come over and help us.
I see that you once belonged to the Presbyteria Nyanyui Hame le Ghana, but you are now in the Assemblies of God. No matter – it’s not the denomination that matters, it’s the Jesus we follow. It is important that we follow Christ whatever the denomination. I address you as the leader of your country but I also address you as a Christian brother. My own denomination is also an Evangelical Presbyterian church – although we only have 15,000 members. The next time you are in our country we would be delighted to have you as an honoured guest.
Once again please accept my apologies for the behaviour of a minority of our politicians. I am thankful that most applauded you and were glad to have you in our country. I hope one day to visit yours. Please accept the prayerful good wishes from the many Christians who remain in Scotland. May the Lord bless you and keep you,
Yours in Christ
David Robertson
Rev David Robertson
Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland
St Peters Free Church
4 St Peter St
Dundee
DD1 4JJ
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
Excellent. You should send this into the Scotsman/Herald.
Oh , Oh , Oh and triple Oh. a an an and can I just add,,SUPERBLY SPOT ON ! Serious newspapers take note .
What about the Christian from Ghana (a presbyterian as it happens) who told me that (and I quote word for word as it is indelibly etched on my brain) “homosexuals should be driven out into the jungle to live like animals, because they are nothing better than animals. They should not get any health care or any education and eventually they will all die out.”
Now David, before you say that this is an isolated view I have heard similar suggestions from several Ghanaian Christians (of different kinds) over the past few years.
What worries me is that by aligning with those against what our politicians did, you are effectively endorsing those sort of views. In a normal year this would be regrettable, but as you are in your moderatorial year this is a real problem for the Free Kirk’s communication to the wider public. The Free Kirk does not support those sort of extremist views, but as you know, there are people who would like to depict it as doing so. You have walked into that trap really.
No – I havn’t. Only in the black and white world of the fundamentalist can that be so. There are more than just the two extremes. The fact that there are some Ghanaians who state this is no more relevant that the fact that there are some homosexuals who think that everyone should participate in gay sex. Any attempt to smear me or the Free Church with such extremist views is the worst kind of ad hom…and sadly all too typical of the kind of bullying associated with this issue. If the President had these views then you would have a point. But he doesn’t. Which is why, by the way, Ghananian LGBT groups were opposed to him.
Sorry you feel that way about me and sorry you can’t see the point I was making!
Gordon – I said NOTHING about you. Please don’t be so sensitive. And I did see the point you were making. Just because I don’t agree with it does not mean that I can’t see it!
Yes, homosexuals prey on Innocent people, your perversion is not passive, but a scavenging threat to human dignity and existence. You rather want all to be homosexuals but no to co-exist. You aspire to RAPE God himself in the back. Just keep defiling your bodies, but don’t force that violent violation of the human essence on others. There are homos in our communities, but we won’t have them disturb the last thing we have, our humanity. You have robbed our resources and dignity, but this one thing, our humanity, as made in the image of God, we will rather die with it – I rather prefer the ISIS cut my throat than to allow your homo self to make me worse than an animal.
Yes, I had a lecturer like that – didnt think that you understood if you didn’t agree.
Gordonhudsonnu:
1 Although David said nothing about you, your post said a lot.
2 To tar presbyterianism with the a single quotation and seeking to align, even indirectly, the Free Kirk with it by looking to undermine, weaken, moderate or close down David’s stance by linking it to a “communication problem” is not very humane, enlightened, nor tolerant. And tellingly, it does not reflect the totality of David’s open letter.
3 I think the “communication problem” is that David communicates too clearly!
4. I’m an outsider, and not a presbyterian but the issues raised are not parochial.
5 You never did come back with your stance on abortion.
6 There is wholesale worship the god of “choice”, of self determination, worship of a god who wouldn’t dare contradict them, a “Stepford wives” god, whose only response is “Yes dear, yes dear, yes dear.”?
You cannot apologise on behalf of these politicians. You are not authorised to do so. You canonly issue an apology on behalf of yourself or on behalf of anyone else who authorises you to do so. That’s all.
Or if you can apologise on behalf of these politicians, then I can apologise on behalf of you. I could legitimately stick leaflets through letter-boxes saying, “I apologise on behalf of David Robertson for…”
I love this letter. Excellent, thanks David.