“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD.”
Isaiah 31:1 NIVUK
This is the third and final part of my reflections on my struggles with deciding who to vote for. After I post this I will be on my way to post my vote!
Who Can I Vote For? – The Agony of Democracy in 21st Century Britain.
Who Can I Vote For – Part 2 – The Personalities.
The uber capitalist socially liberal Economist has come out against May and for the Lib-Dems. The Economist of course cannot stand May because it is fanatically pro-EU and uber- globalisation. pro social and economic liberalism. May is none of these. And so she must be stopped.
May’s Mayhem
May is not having a great campaign. She is being harassed in an ugly and horrible way but she has made a fundamental error and was almost asking for that when she made the campaign about her. The Presidential style is something that really jars with me. Her battle bus doesn’t mention the Conservatives – it is all about her. Perhaps her hubris will come back to bite her. Even if she wins I hope that she will have learned an important lesson.
I have been trying to learn about her because I despise the knee jerk reactions – for example on one friend’s FB page I noted a number of comments along the lines of ‘I despise that woman’. Why? Do they even know that woman? What they despise is an image and a caricature. I doubt they really know anything about her. This morning I read Nick Spencer’s insightful chapter on May in The Mighty and the Almighty. It is fascinating. Even her opponents describe her as hard-working, strong and ‘someone who listens to people’ – rather a change from the political sound-bite slang ‘weak and wobbly’. She is a very private person and does not talk a lot about her faith or her personal life. What I liked most of all is that she is neither an economic liberal or a social liberal – which is precisely my position. I loved this for example –
“We’ve always been a party that believed that, while we should be releasing the abilities and energies of individuals, people do have a place within society and we should always ensure that the government provides a safety net for those who can’t help themselves and, for a whole variety of reasons, find themselves in particular difficulties”.
If this were a presidential election my vote would be a no-brainer. May is the only serious option for Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. I know that this will upset many of my friends and all of those who have a knee jerk reaction against voting Tory – but I need to ask such to stop and think. Get your facts. Don’t go by image or what others say. Think for yourself. For me I have come to the conclusion that May is streets ahead of Corbyn and Farron. Her only real competition is Sturgeon but as my SNP friends now keep reminding me Sturgeon is not standing in this election!
Farron’s Farce
Tim Farron’s interview with Andrew Neil was astonishing. As Neil pointed out, whenever Farron was asked a question he answered another one – and then talked over the interviewer. Doubtless he thought this was tough and smart. It was shockingly bad. The chirpy working class lad with lots of stories about his background has just worn thin. He has completely blown it in this campaign. The Lib-Dems had a real opportunity as the anti-Brexit party to reach the 20% of people in the UK who still want to stop Brexit. But I suspect they are going to almost be wiped out as their votes morph over to Labour. Which is why Labour have a chance, even if a small one. of becoming the government – or at least making the Tories into a minority government.
Corbyn’s Communism
There is a question that really puzzles me. If Theresa May had once supported the BNP, and was surrounded by people who had Fascist connections, does anyone seriously think she could be the Conservative candidate for Prime Minister? Why is Fascism (rightly) so unacceptable but Communism isn’t? I heard some students being interviewed on the BBC and they waxed eloquently about Corbyn’s honesty. They are convinced by appearances but it’s what underneath the skin that counts. Incidentally speaking of appearances there is something deeply disturbing about the fact that Labour have set up thousands of ‘bot’ accounts which tweet anti-Tory pro-Corbyn messages – this is just basic lying aimed at young people who probably really are that gullible
Corbyn was asked about his election co-ordinator, Andrew Murray, and his links with Communism. “Andrew Murray is a democratic socialist and a member of the Labour party like me”. Neatly forgetting that Murray was a member of the Communist party until last December. He served on its executive and also on Corbyn’s Stop the War Coalition. He praised North Korea as ‘People’s Korea” and said that ‘although Stalin imposed some harsh measures, we are all Stalinists’ in the fight against imperialism. (Can you imagine what would have happened if May’s election strategist had said the same about Hitler?!).
although Stalin imposed some harsh measures, we are all Stalinists’
This is again the Islington Champagne Socialists. Murray’s mother is the daughter of a Baron; his father was also of an aristocratic line. Murray once boasted that his bloodline allowed him to belong to an aristocratic society limited to the descendants of the Kings of Navarre “who must not be Jews, Arabs, mixed blood, bastards or villeins”. Which brings us back to another recurring theme of the far left which Corbyn represents – anti-Semitism. When Gerard Coyne of the Unite union said that “in the Labour party and the Labour movement there is an issue of anti-Semitism” he was suspended by Andrew Murray. (All the above came courtesy of this weeks Private Eye which seems far better at getting the facts and details than anyone else in the UK media).
There is something deeply rotten at the heart of Corbyn’s Labour and it is incomprehensible to me how normally sensible and intelligent people can be taken in by it. (I accept of course that many Labour MPs are not like that – indeed the majority – but they are not the ones in charge. Corbyn, Abbott, McDonnell, Thornberry and the cult-like Momentum are).
Just imagine. On June the 19th the Brexit negotiations begin and Corbyn and Thornberry step forward to represent Britain. That thought alone should be enough to keep you awake at night! (A caveat – Keir Starmer the shadow Brexit minister, seems sensible, intelligent and principled.)
Sturgeon’s Statism
We can’t leave this without mentioning Nicola Sturgeon. Compared with the rot at the heart of the Labour party, the incompetence of the Tory campaign and the political suicide of Tim Farron, the SNP must seem like models of virtue and political campaigning. They are certainly the best political campaigning party in the UK and, because the Labour vote in Scotland has not collapsed I suspect they will still have an incredible 50 out of the 59 seats (although with a considerably reduced share of the vote).
But the SNP continues to depress me because they largely have become like Momentum with their cult like qualities. If you dare to question The Beloved Leader you immediately get the followers on to you. So for example last night I questioned why everyone was up in arms about the Conservative Leader not being present at the Leaders debate (and sending her deputy instead), but nobody said a word about the SNP leader not being present and sending her deputy instead. Cue outrage and the same answer being repeated drone like. “She can’t be elected to Westminster and Angus is the leader of the party in Westminster” – which if they stopped to think about it (critical thinking appears to be something that is not particularly welcome in The Party at the moment) is not an answer. Sturgeon has appeared in UK wide debates before and she is the Leader of the Party, not Robertson. I have no problem with that happening. My concern is with the hypocrisy of those (including the BBC who made May’s absence a headline and did not mention Sturgeons) who condemn the one but not the other.
But enough – all the above is bread and butter for the chattering classes but I am beginning to think that the many working class people who can’t be bothered voting because nothing changes are perhaps wiser than their more ‘educated’ fellow citizens. I don’t know which is worse – the starry-eyed delusional faith of those who think that if only their politician/party got elected things would ‘progress’, or the cynicism which says ‘don’t vote it only encourages them’! But there is another perspective – a Christian one – which goes a lot deeper.
Why Are our Politicians Struggling to Heal our Broken Society?
It’s because of their theology. Or rather I should say their philosophy, their worldview. For the most part they cannot see the iceberg that we are heading for, and so they continue to rearrange deckchairs on the Titanic. Ultimately Brexit, a few billion more for the NHS, a penny on income tax, Scottish Independence, a new system of education – none of these deal with the heart of the problem – which is the problem of the human heart. The politicians won’t say so because they believe that human beings are essentially good and where things do go wrong, they think they as politicians can fix it all on their own. Which is why you get the ridiculous promises and the attempts to portray our political leaders as Saviours. One example will suffice – this from a leaflet popped through our door today “Labour will guarantee decent jobs for all”. No they won’t. Because they can’t. Any more than the Tories can guarantee a good Brexit deal for the UK, or the Lib Dems a better NHS, or the SNP a fairer Scotland. There are too many things out of their control. Our politicians need to learn some humility and perhaps then they might avoid the hubris that goes along with the State playing God, rather than realising they are God’s servants.
The problem with not recognising that the dividing line between good and evil goes right through the middle of the human heart, is that politicians struggle to deal with the consequences of that evil and don’t know how to encourage and create the good. A ‘One Love’ concert in Manchester does not deal with the problem of terrorism. Telling us that ‘love trumps hate’ or all the other meaningless slogans does not help anyone. The poor don’t need middle class virtue signalling or nannyism from those who love to talk about the poor whilst continuing to enrich themselves. Anyone can say they are for motherhood and apple pie (or its modern equivalent Same Sex Marriage and Fair Trade Coffee) but that does not replace action.
The fundamental problems in the United Kingdom stem from the fact that we have removed the rock on which we were built – our Christian values (cue mocking, abuse and lots of angry Wiki wise secular atheists!). What are these? There are the modern shibboleths, so shamelessly borrowed cuckoo like from Christianity – equality, diversity, and tolerance. But they are also things like the family, the Protestant work ethic, education and equality before the law.
Rights without responsibilities, children without parents, democracy without intelligence, schools without education, and businesses without morals are the inevitable fruit of the rejection of Christianity.
The reason that our social services, welfare and NHS are under such strain is because these have been undermined and forgotten. The State cannot replace the family as parent, the Church as the source of morality and the community as the best welfare system. Rights without responsibilities, children without parents, democracy without intelligence, schools without education, and businesses without morals are the inevitable fruit of the rejection of Christianity.
But what is even worse is that as the State takes on the role of parent, church, community and God, it increasingly undermines what remains of those, because it becomes more authoritarian and intolerant of those who dare to question its authority. The State will tell us what to believe and how to behave – from parenting to eating – Nanny State knows best.
And the State will fail. The poor will suffer. The wealthy will, in this ‘global free-market’ move on elsewhere, finding other suckers to exploit.
How would Jesus vote?
If all of this were not embarrassing and sad enough for British politics, sometimes the Church also manages to join in the act.
I read about Christians who ask who is the candidate most like Jesus – the answer is Jeremy Corbyn because his initials are JC! Others want to know how Jesus would vote. Some tell me that Jesus would not vote Labour because of Corbyn’s anti-Israel stance. Others tell me that Jesus would never vote Conservative because he loves the poor and the Tories don’t. But the question is as daft as the answers. Jesus didn’t have a vote in 1st Century Israel and he isn’t here today as a citizen of the UK with a vote. What they mean is ‘how would Jesus want us to vote?’ To which the answer is, I haven’t a clue and neither does anyone else. If we did it would be easy to make a decision!
But I do know some basics about how Gods Word applies to our society and culture today. I will give three examples.
“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD.”
Isaiah 31:1
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.” Proverbs 14:34
“Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.” Psalm 82:3
“But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! “Amos 5:24
“For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer”. Romans 12:4
“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth”. 1 Timothy 2:1-4
We need to be able to live quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. We need our State authorities to protect us from ‘wrongdoers’. They should encourage righteousness and discourage sin. They should uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. They should encourage us to seek help from the Lord.
And those of us who are Christians should do so. Which is why next week, the week of the election, St Peters will be open from 12-2, Monday to Thursday so that we can pray 1 Timothy 2:1-4. We won’t be praying for any one particular party or leader to win. We will be praying for all our politicians and for our whole nation – that righteousness and peace may flourish and that we may retain freedom to proclaim and live the Gospel, so that we will see people being saved. Because it is only as people become real Christians that we will see our society turned upside down. May God have mercy on us, and turn us as a nation back to him.
Now off to put my cross on this and pray that we look to The Cross…
That’s odd – all the reports I saw about that poll said Mrs May, not Corbyn, was identified as “most like Christ”. Here’s one: http://archbishopcranmer.com/theresa-may-voted-party-leader-most-like-jesus/
That poll was a disgrace, and that question should never have been asked.
But I’ve had a quiet bet with myself since your first post that you were dying all the time to vote Conservative, if only the debate would help you past your distaste for her record on personal morals. As my father used to say: “I’d vote for a Conservative if I could only find one.” Not my business, either way, and quite right to keep your decision private. I hope you are at peace with it, whatever it is, given the thought and effort and prayer you have put into it.
Thanks Karen – I don’t think I said that Corbyn was the one said to be most Christ-like? I agree with you it is a ridiculous question…
Yes, I noticed afterwards that I’d skipped past the link to read direct from your preceding paragraph to the one that follows. Try it and see how I went astray…. sorry.
Top hole, David! 4 points:
1. I’m not convinced that it was May’s hubris that made her the focus of the Conservative campaign. As you said, we don’t know her or her thoughts so we can’t then judge her to have been motivated by pride or arrogance – in fact, that seems very unlike her. So I’m inclined to think it was her campaign advisers that pushed it while she plugged away on tour and knocking on doors.
2. I have great reservations about Keir Starmer. He certainly comes across in the way you describe but some of his actions and decisions when he was Head of the Crown Prosecution Service were so wrong in my view, particularly concerning Christian cases. Beware too: he’s a lawyer!
3. What would Jesus do? SO relieved you didn’t answer that useless question. I would differ with you, though, on the adjusted question i.e. how would Jesus want us to vote? Somehow even this question doesn’t feel right. “Would” is the conditional so I’d want to know what the condition(s) is/are. Either way, for me the question is always “what is He saying about this nation and about these elections?” I am confident of His sovereignty over the referendum and the result because in the enormous praying that my church and I engaged in, we received a very strong impression even the night before that He was going to “tip the balance” – that’s exactly what He did. SO, my point is, we absolutely can know what He is up to if we believe that His Word is prophetic and that He speaks to us individually and corporately about all affairs including those relating to our nation and government. At the beginning of the US presidential campaign I was not at all for Trump for similar reasons to most others. But then that position changed as the Lord began to reveal His intentions and I am now firmly behind the leader He has chosen. This is exactly the same position I take with our elections next week. God is not silent. He speaks to us in many ways and sometimes very precisely. His Logos Word is a signpost and full of revelation that He quickens to us as we engage with His Spirit. As the day approaches He continues to speak and reveal amazing things to His Church. The answer to the voting question isn’t an intellectual exercise (God forbid!), nor is it a guessing game, it’s a listening thing…to that still small voice that tells us which way to walk.
4. My MP is the delectable Caroline Lucas (!). Since you debated with her back in the day when you visited my previous church in Brighton, and you know something of my journey with her and the Greens, I wonder what you thought of her “performance” in the leaders’ debate? I haven’t actually watched it because I just couldn’t bring myself to do that, but I’ve listened to some of the soundbites.
Sorry for the l-o-n-g reply – feel free to ignore it all!
Blessings!
Caroline Lucas was the best – but thats not saying much – it was a very low standard.
Agree with your analysis David. I know who I don’t want to vote for – none of the above – but I don’t know whom I should vote for. You are correct, prayer is much needed. Will seek to do this where we are too. God’s Kingdom come.
Very very helpful.
One advantage of being in a “safe seat” where the sitting member has only had to turn up to win since the days of the Rotten Boroughs, is that one can vote freely for the next nearest candidate and cut his majority enough to make him sit up and think. No MP should be so safe he doesn’t have to listen to his constituents for 5 years at a time.
He clearly has much more funding than any of the other candidates (including a brave independent who is explicitly challenging him on the plan to shut one or both of South Essex’s A & E units – one way of solving the overpopulation crisis) as I got two leaflets in the last hour from him, and many more in the last few weeks. I have rather more respect for the neighbouring Tory who appears to be recycling his 2015 posters to ensure both his own name and “Conservative” are the caption, rather than following the Presidential route we see elsewhere.
The influence of money and sheer weight of spam should not be underestimated and clearly the Tories don’t if they are doing it even where they have no need to. I have to break off here (see the other thread) but will be reading further posts as they arise.
Sent from Samsung Mobile on O2
Really appreciate all your writings/musings on the candidates. Insightful and trustworthy, which means a lot. Thanks.
Another great post David.
I particularly liked that you touched on the similarities between Communism and Fascism (that is the political force as defined my Mussolini rather than the mere insult of the modern use of that word).
I’m not sure that Jesus was that into the idea of Parties, but there are some things that we do know:
He didn’t speak out over the Roman occupation of Israel – much to the annoyance of some.
He did state that people should pay their taxes.
In the sermon on the mount, he did underline that people knew the letter of the law, but then went on to explain to the people that understanding the spirit of the law, and even extending the mere letters of the Law was the way in which they could build up themselves and their society. Not to change the Law but to bring deeper understanding of the Law. In doing this, the people could move towards a society that closer resembled the Kingdom of God.
That third point would suggest that Jesus saw the primacy of the individual(s) to act together, regardless of the government of the land, to make their society work. Thus, your recognition of the authoritarian nature of the reality of the parties at this point would suggest that Jesus might not vote for any of them.
When I was a young child, in primary school, many of my classmates had grandparents that lived with them, nowadays, this is not so frequently the case, as more and more family matters are handed over to the state – there are many reasons for this, not least smaller houses, both partners having to work, etc..
When it comes down to it – we are not actually voting for May, Corbyn, Farron, Sturgeon… but are actually voting for our constituency MP. I shall therefore vote for a constituency MP who will represent the people of my community, who is not forced to vote ‘en bloc’ on every parliamentary issue – this constituency is not the same as either the Central Belt of Scotland, nor is it the same as the Home Counties (or Islington or Maidenhead), thus I hope for one with a good moral conscience and who is not afraid to use it.
Andrew Neil’s interview with Tim Farron was a disgrace because Neil didn’t give Farron any time at all to answer the questions. However, Tim Farron’s idea that he could broker a deal with the EU on the basis that we might not leave after all is also a disgrace and is illogical. It’s a bit like a wife saying to her husband that she wants a divorce but only if she can have half of their belongings. All he has to say is that she can’t have anything at all and that’s the end of the matter; no divorce. Why can’t people see this? Are we all blinded by the media hype? I think so.
No- Farron was shockingly bad because he didn’t answer the questions put to him. He answered a different one and wouldn’t stop. He has so gone down in my estimation. If I was a Liberal I would be embarrassed!
Hi David
Apologies for missing your talk in Linlithgow a week past Monday, unfortunately I came down with a chest infection. Thanks for you blog prior to the election, it really helps to put things in perspective. If truth be told I don’t think any of them deserve our votes but we don’t live in a perfect world and it is our duty to vote. Hopefully the holy spirit will intervene and give us some inspiration next Thursday.
All the best
Eddie Love
Who would Jesus vote for? Didn’t Joshua get the answer to that question?
Very pithy analysis and nothing I would disagree with. However, my main concern in this election regards my liberty of speech, belief and religious expression. The SNP/Greens leftist coalition proposes TIE, Named-Person and smacking ban. Christian folk wake-up – this is on our doorstep! Read the Greens manifesto and consider the pronouncements of Patrick Harvie. He clearly aims to banish anyone who does not bow down to LGBTI agenda to the margins of Scottish society. Teachers, doctors, social-workers etc all required to take the oath of allegiance: consider Tim Farron’s capitulation and understand that this is coming our way backed by the full force of the law (Asher’s case).
Consider also the possibility of Corbyn, Abbott and MacDonnell in power at Westminster and think of the terror unleashed by Marxists upon the Church throughout the past century. Alarmist perhaps, but these people have only one direction of travel and all true Marxists believe that ‘religion is the opium of the people’.
I really have no solutions to the NHS or Social Care crises and I know that there are no outright heroes or villains among the various parties regarding these matters. However, I also know that on-balance, and all things being equal, the political right offers the greater opportunity for the Christian to live according to his or her conscience in the home, the workplace and society at large.
I understand that this is not a Holyrood election, yet the outcome will send clear signals to both parliaments.
I believe the situation in Scotland is poisonous and divisive at the moment, far more so than at the Indyref. A vote to the right might bring some necessary balance to our politics, and at least prolong our existing liberties.
It is right that we should pick over the finer points of each manifesto, but for me the matter is simple, there may be much to question about the political right, but it can be easily demonstrated that the doctrinaire left is the enemy of the Church. Christian be aware and vote wisely.
Thank you so much for this Rev Robertson.
Given the incompatibility of the Tory manifesto, general Tory beliefs and Theresa Mays record in the Home Office with Dt. 10:19 I am surprised you havent said no to the Tories yet.
Just came across this site theweeflea and have to say what I have read up to now is excellent and much needed
Whoops must get back to my prayer time – it’s 2.40 am – my time for 🙏
May on this feast of Pentecost we all be filled with The Holy Spirit and on fire for Love of Him and everyone
Thought you might be interested in this post from your Catholic oppo (although I don’t think he’s ordained) on the same subject.
https://thoughtfullydetached.wordpress.com/2017/06/02/uk-general-election-2017/
Thanks for the plug Karen 😀 I should point out though that thoughtfully detached is my non-religious blog. I only go full papist on Catholic Scot my blog on the Google platform.