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November It has been widely reported that President George W. Bush has claimed that, in some sense, God 'told' him to go to war against Iraq. Although the story, at least in its starkest form, has been denied by the White House, it remains all too believable.
If it is true it is monstrous, a flagrant misuse of the Christian faith and a public taking of God's name in vain, just as the claim by an Islamic terrorist that God has 'told' him to blow up westerners is a misuse of Islam. Religion is, and always has been, capable of being abused and exploited by people for their own ends.
Yet, as Christians, we believe in seeking God's guidance and direction for our lives and for the world in which we live. We do it through prayer and by searching the scriptures. There is nothing wrong with any of that. What this episode reminds us is that a good deal of humility needs to accompany any conviction that we have found the guidance we are seeking. If we come to believe that God is indeed telling us how to act, we need to test that belief with how others perceive things and, most especially, against what Jesus has revealed to us of the character and nature of God.
There remains the acid biblical test, 'You shall know them by their fruits.' God, being all-good, only ever guides us to act in ways which bring blessings to others and contribute to human flourishing. Anything else is self-delusion.
December No Christian could be in favour of allowing people to stir up hatred, against either individuals or groups, on any grounds whatever. So on the face of it, the proposals for legislation to ban the promotion of 'religious hatred' would seem to be a good thing. And, given the current climate of fear and suspicion, we can well understand why the Muslim community and some other religious groups are broadly in favour of such proposals.
Yet the disquiet expressed by others (evangelical Christians and the National Secular Society for once making common cause, though for different reasons) seems well-founded. There are huge difficulties around how such legislation would be interpreted in practice and whether, for example, evangelistic activities and the proper scrutiny and criticism of religious beliefs might be caught up in its provisions.
Freedom of speech is hugely important in our culture and curbing it is a serious matter. It is unarguably right for society to protect people from being
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