I suspect 2023 is shaping up to be a tough year. I claim no particular prophetic insight, just good old proverbial wisdom. THE The NHS is overwhelmed, strikes are widespreadTHE the economic situation is difficult and the war in Ukraine appears no closer to a resolution.
But the challenges ahead do not only concern us as Christians, and I believe they also offer us a huge opportunity to tell the world a better story.
Here is my guide to issues the Church may face this year and how we can respond:
1. Census
THE census results will continue to spread throughout the year. Despite our increasingly secular culture, 46.2 percent of the population checked the “Christian” box. We know from other research that about six percent of the population are practicing Christians – people who read their Bible, attend church, and pray regularly. These numbers remind us that a large portion of the population – another 40 percent – is open to Jesus but not committed. It’s an opportunity.
Are we going to use culture to deconstruct the Bible or are we going to use God’s word to reconstruct our culture?
The latest census tells us that 1.5 percent of the population identifies as gay and lesbian and 1.3 percent as bisexual. When it comes to transgender people, 0.5 percent of the population reported that their gender identity was different from their birth sex. These numbers are based on hard data and are much lower than many expected. We’ll get a lot more numbers as the year goes on, but this research helps us put things into context.
2. Sexuality
The issue of sexuality will come to the fore next month when the Church of England synod meets. Hopefully this leads to clear conclusions; fudge won’t satisfy anyone. It’s time for for bishops to recognize that their job is not to listen to and engage with culture, but to lead the Church to follow Jesus.
The Church must admit that it has sometimes been wrong in this area, and then present a positive biblical view of marriage, sex, and sexuality. Marriage is a testimony to the eternal love of Christ for his Church and is intended to be a faithful, sacrificial, lifelong alliance between a man and a woman. It’s time to decide: are we going to use culture to deconstruct the Bible or are we going to use God’s word to rebuild our culture?
3. Sex
Speaking of culture, we face even more important questions with Scotland passes recent self-identification bill. This allows people as young as 16 to change their gender without a medical or legal examination. Amendments proposing guarantees were blocked because ideology outweighed evidence.
It seems unlikely that the UK government will follow suit, as the bill undermines the basic human rights of women, children and parents. It is fascinating as Christians to be on the same side as JK Rowling, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the growing scientific consensus.
Scotland has also indicated it intends to pass an extreme anti-conversion therapy bill.L. Christians are clear that coercive practices are wrong and should already be illegal. But today, traditional therapists and others worry the ban prevents them from helping children and young people who are confused and struggling.
These are difficult areas, but slogans are simply not enough. Trans people to have human rights – and that’s something we should all support – but it’s very different from the slogan suggesting trans rights are human rights. There is no agreed set of trans rights and, furthermore, the general idea is that human rights are universal – they apply to everyone. Everyone has the right to life, to a fair trial, to freedom of conscience and religion, etc. Different rights for different groups are not the right way forward.
4. Right to life
The UK has a mixed record on rights. We offer the unborn some of the weakest rights and protections in the world. You may think our abortion laws are normal, but allowing abortion up to 24 weeks gestation makes us an exception – 12 weeks is the norm.
New laws have also createdd areas prohibited from prayer near abortion clinics which led to the recent arrest of a lady for praying silently near a closed abortion center. I pray that in 2023 the Church will begin to speak out for both lives in any pregnancy and that we will work with others to ensure freedom of expression on controversial issues.
Opportunities
If this all sounds a bit pessimistic, there are great opportunities in this contested and chaotic cultural period.
The sexual revolution failed, leading to pornography addictionhookup culture, fewer marriages, family failure, people having less sex And young people are less sexually fulfilled. But it offers the Church a unique opportunity to offer a healthy and positive alternative vision of relationships based on commitment and marriage.
The NHS is in trouble so it is encouraging to see the archbishops putting forward proposals to reform social care.
The economic situation is uncertain, but it is great to see the Church at the forefront in responding through initiatives such as Christians Against Poverty, Warm Welcome, food banks and many others.
It is fascinating as Christians to be on the same side as JK Rowling, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the growing scientific consensus.
As more of us work from home and life moves increasingly online, churches will need to continue to navigate the possibilities and limits of online church. How can we maximize the potential offered by technology without losing the embodied reality of being in person?
As we continue to deconstruct certain cultural “elements” that have been added to the gospel, we must find better ways to help people on their path of reconstruction.
Good news for everyone
With information overload and a divisive social media space, I sometimes wonder how people do without a relationship with Jesus and his invitation to the good, true, beautiful story of God. He brings order from chaos, life from emptiness, and hope from despair; I don’t think I could live without it.
Much has been revealed, but we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. This is not an arrogant assertion of moral superiority, but a statement of truth and reality in a post-truth world.
As Lesslie Newbigin noted: “Relativism, which does not want to talk about truth but only about ‘what is true for me,’ is an escape from the serious business of life. »
Life’s challenges require truth and good news – which should suit us just fine.
