Lord Carey...

...former Archbishop of Canterbury, is much quoted in the press today on the subject of Christians being bullied by politicians, and Christianity being marginalised in our country. He's quite right, of course. It would be useful if his comments could stir people to a greater sense of the possibilities of challenging the ghastly culture that is fostering this bashing of Christianity. But the worst thing about it is the sense of defeat and inevitability that seems to surround the subject...some Catholics speak of imminent persecution with a sense of misplaced relish and glee.

"Remember" a Czech friend told me years ago "persecution works in crushing the Church.Of course it is true that there are brave people - often unexpected ones - who hold out and are an inspiration. But for huge numbers of people, the Church disappears, and they are left ignorant, uninstructed, and confused. What you get is a general feeling of hopelessness and cynicism,lots of dishonesty, people finding ways to cope and get along in life, a loss of daily contact with the things of God. People start to believe the anti-religious propaganda that they are given, and the Christians they meet may just appear bigoted, out-of-date, narrow-minded and not able to give answers. Don't make the mistake of thinking that it's all romantic." He was certainly correct with regard to his own country, where despite the heroic witness and sterling qualities of Vaclav Havel,and his recognition of the great spiritual truths on which civilisation must be founded, the arrival of freedom has seen a continued decline in religious belief and a widespread sense of detrachment from historical Christianity. Young people brought up on trite slogans do not neccesarily opt for womething larger and more glorious when given the opportunity, nor is it easy to introduce it when material goals seem more important...

Pray for Britain.