Harold Gibson, former editor of the Evangelical Presbyterian magazine, gives his comments.
The change in Irish society within a few years has been enormous and was reflected in the recent referendum on the issue of gay ‘marriage’ held at the end of May.
The Republic of Ireland has a written constitution and therefore any proposed change must be by referendum.
This once Roman Catholic dominated country has moved significantly from the moral teaching and views of the church to that of a secular and liberal country. All the main political parties were in favour of a ‘yes’ vote and it appears that those on the ‘no’ side were almost afraid to speak out in public for fear of intimidation and threats.
Pressure is now building in Northern Ireland, the only region within the UK and Ireland where same sex ‘marriage’ remains illegal. Attempts to introduce legislation has been debated four times in the Assembly in the space of three years and defeated on all occasions, though last time with the slimmest of margins: 47 for, 49 against.
Church and state
It is true to say that the Roman Catholic Church has held a privileged position within the Republic of Ireland for generations. However, in recent years the exposure of sex scandals and child abuse has greatly diminished the standing of the church in the eyes of many, particularly the younger generation. The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, has called for the Church to take a ‘reality check’ in light of the vote saying the Church needs to reconnect with young people. What the archbishop means by ‘reality check’ is uncertain. Many fear it may lead to a shift from its traditional view on marriage and a move towards accommodating the prevailing view. Matthew Parris, the self-confessed gay atheist, writing in The Spectator, hits the nail on the head: ‘let me restate the conservative Catholic’s only proper response to news such as that from Dublin last weekend. It is that 62% in a referendum does not cause a sin in the eyes of God to cease to be a sin’.
The church has become marginalised and its voice is seldom heard in the public square and sometimes when its voice is heard the message preached is somewhat uncertain and unclear and the world at large pays no attention to it.
Malachi O’Doherty, writing in the Belfast Telegraph, comments: ‘The real shock for all the Christian churches in Ireland is that they now function inside a state which has a different moral focus’.
The church in the wilderness
Few in Ireland, both North and South, could have envisaged the day when the church would feel exiled within its own country. When we think of exile, our minds turn instinctively to the exile of God’s people to Babylon. While we may not have been taken captive to another land we may feel we are captives to laws and culture within our own society. Peter McDowell has written: ‘The move from being the church in Christendom to a church living in cultural exile will be painful.’
The Protestant and evangelical church in the Republic of Ireland is a tiny minority, yet, in recent years, centres of Biblical witness have sprung up in many towns and cities where no gospel light had ever shone before.
The Protestant and evangelical church in Northern Ireland has been a large majority, yet sadly many centres of biblical preaching and witness have rapidly declined over the years and some are no more. Two contrasting situations, yet both are facing an identical crisis: the challenge of living as the people of God in an alien society and culture.
How should the evangelicals in Ireland respond to this new situation?
Living as strangers and pilgrims
The Apostle Peter in his first letter addresses the Christians as strangers in the world! While our real home is in Heaven, Peter reminds us of our great privilege – we have been born again to a living hope, inheritors of that which is imperishable, undefiled and unfading and are being guarded and kept by God’s power! The various trials we face are but for a short time, so that the tested genuineness of our faith may be found to result in praise, glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ. We are to be a joyful people!
As we read and study the Bible, one thing we discover is that there is nothing new under the sun. The ungodliness and immorality that we find in our world today was present in Bible times too. Examples abound in the Bible of men and women who remained faithful in difficult and hard times. Daniel is a shinning example of a man who lived for God in an alien culture. He continued to worship, pray and witness to the living God. We are to be a faithful people.
Alien culture
We are to be good citizens of the country in which we find ourselves. Jeremiah has instruction (chapter 29) for exiles living in a alien culture. We are to get on with the normal routine of life, planting, eating, building, marrying, having children, seeking and praying for the welfare, peace and prosperity of where we find ourselves. Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that we are to be as salt and light in society. We are to be ambassadors for Christ, bringing an influence for good to a decaying society and are to bring light to a dark world. We are to be a witnessing people.
Chris Wright comments: ‘The role of God’s people in the midst of such reality is still to pray for and seek the welfare of the people they live among, even when we are aware that people in every nation and culture stand under God’s judgment.’
Whether we live in Dublin, Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow, London or in some small town or village, our Christian duty is to so let our light shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven.
