Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth for the Colson Center. I'm John Stone Street. Back on July 18th, British Conservative Party member Danny Kruger gave a beautiful and passionate speech before a British Parliament. He called on England's leaders to remember where they'd come from, and he warned what lie ahead if they don't. Britain's glory, he argued, is rooted in the riches of Christianity.
and abandoning that heritage is why the nation is now struggling. In a somewhat fitting development, Kruger spoke to a mostly empty room. The speech has since gone viral, but few other MPs bothered to show up for it live. It's difficult to imagine a better analogy for our cultural moment than a faithful voice warning against looming dangers and yet being widely ignored. Kruger's speech should be listened to in its entirety.
It's that good. After sharing the long history of Christianity in England, which dates back over a thousand years to when the nation first emerged from pagan Germanic tribes, he noted the unique bond between the Church of England and the nation. The very room, he noted, where he was speaking, was once a chapel, and the government still plays a role in leading the church.
Now Americans obviously differ on the idea of a state church, and with good reason. But yet we ought to share Kruger's concern about losing our religion. Christianity is what made the modern world. As historian Tom Holland has noted, our ideas about justice and love and mercy and human rights certainly did not come from pagan idol worshipers. These ideas first came from the ancient Hebrews who handed them to the early church.
They result now in their final form from the long meditation on Christianity's divine truths. From the British context those truths gave the world incredible cultural treasure, from the writings of Shakespeare, Milton, and Austin to the science of Newton and Faraday. From this fertile soil came Wilberforce, who liberated the slaves, and Churchill, who saved the world from tyranny. All of these minds grew up in a world that was shaped by Christian truth. And it is this truth that's now under such grave threat across the West, especially in Britain.
Instead, as Kruger pointed out, it's Islam that's taking root in many British cities and far left ideologues who oppose the very ideals which built the world from which they now benefit. But it's becoming more and more obvious that getting rid of Christianity is not going to bring about the secular utopia that was promised. Here's how Kruger put it: quote. To repudiate Christianity is not only to sever ourselves from our past, but to cut off the source of all the things we value now and that we need in the future, such as freedom and tolerance, individual dignity and human rights. A new restoration is needed now with a revival of the faith, a recovery of a Christian politics, and a refounding of this nation on the teachings that Alfred made the basis of the common law of England all those centuries ago.
This is a mission for the church under its next leader, whoever that is. It is a mission for this place, the old chapel that became the wellspring of Western democracy, and for us, its members. And it is a mission for our whole country. It is the route to a prosperous modernity founded on respect for human dignity, responsibility for the created world, and the worship of God. ⁇ That sounds an awful lot like what might be called Christian nationalism.
But here Kruger is pointing to the very heart of Truth Rising, a new project of the Coulson Center and focus on the family. The new documentary exposes that we're living in a civilizational moment where so very much is at stake. Co-hosted by Oz Guinness and myself, Truth Rising combines the insights of experts about this moment with incredible stories of courage. Together, Truth Rising teaches all of us that those who are committed to truth in this moment can still make an extraordinary impact. Even as the world works hard to redefine truth, truth rising is calling people to clarity and courage, and to trust God with our obedience.
Now Scripture of course tells us that there's nothing new under the sun. Certainly times have been bad before, but things can be renewed again. The same truth and the same power that God used to bring blessing to his world is still available to us. It's available to his people today. Go to truthrising.com for more information about the new film Truth Rising.
That's truthrising.com. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with Breakpoint. Today's Breakpoint was co-authored by Dr. Timothy Padgett. If you're a fan of Breakpoint, please leave us a review wherever you download your podcast.
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