It is often said that faith and politics don’t mix; but I will argue that such a statement is not only at best simply untrue, but at worst is deceptively misleading.
I don’t think it is contentious to state that everyone has a set of beliefs or understanding of how things should or should not work/be done. Some of these are based on empirical observations, some are based on emotion or feeling, others are based on personal experiences etc. etc. Not everything we believe to be true can be incontrovertibly proved – for if that was the case we should all have exactly the same world view and beliefs. And anyone who says they don’t hold onto views, opinions or ideas which haven’t been incontrovertibly proved as correct is either lying, or doesn’t understand the concept of incontrovertible fact.
Inevitably when we vote for a particular person or party we do so because of the degree to which we believe they will implement policies or approaches that seem most aligned with our worldview. It is therefore easy to note that not only do faith and politics mix, but that they always have, always will, and by design must do so.
It is therefore of great importance to be open with how our worldview is shaping our desires, preferences and policy direction, and also to be humble in accepting that these are inevitably imperfect. I know that my worldview and understanding is far from perfect, and even where those views are correct I don’t always draw the right conclusions or policy direction; and therefore must also be open to both challenge and change.
It is a trivial point to note that whatever we believe, or what direction we want our country to take, there will be those who fundamentally disagree. Taking the above points together it then becomes very important to discern between when it is right to stand firm on a particular topic and when to change perspective. This is one of the great challenges for anyone, but particularly for those involved in political leadership.
As someone who desires to serve the people of the UK as a local MP, I have thought at length on the above dilemma. For on the one hand voters want to know that they are voting for someone who is able to provide leadership, direction and clarity of thought on a vast range of topics and issues. On the other hand, anyone who puts themselves forward as having all the answers to the complex issues of life is clearly delusional!
This article is therefore written from the perspective of wanting to try and capture some foundational aspects of what I believe, and the lens through which I see the world. It does not seek to even try and ask many of the questions of life we face, let alone answer them – but rather it should help you to understand the things which will drive how I respond to the innumerable issues which we face as people and as a nation.
Many of you will disagree fundamentally with these founding principles of mine – that is fine; indeed it’s more than fine, for it will likely help to explain why we arrive at different conclusions and solutions.
The most deeply held of all my convictions is the existence of a loving creator God who is living and working in his world. I don’t claim to have a complete dogmatic theology (I use the world dogmatic here in the technical theological sense of the word – not the common usage), but certain things do follow from my Christian theism.
As an aside, as the purpose of this article is to explain where I’m coming from this is not the place for apologetics; but should anyone be interested in such a discussion, I would heartily recommend ‘Mere Christianity’ by C S Lewis (or indeed anything written by C S Lewis generally!)
It follows from the above that there is something called Truth, and that truth is both important and knowable. I reject the notion of there being ‘my truth’ and ‘your truth’. I accept that we can, and will, hold different opinions and views, but I do not accept that truth is something which changes between individuals. I will write a blog post on this topic in due course, but in summary, Truth is something both worth seeking and able to be known.
A second outworking is that humanity is fundamentally and ontologically different from the rest of created beings. The consequences of this worldview are hugely significant in many different ways, and this will come out in multiple issues I’ll be covering in various blog posts. But for now it is sufficient to note that as we, alone in all creation, are created in God’s image, then humans are of the highest value.
It also follows that there are consequences of choosing to try and live apart from, and in rejection of, our creator God. Moreover, I believe it is folly to seek to solve the issues we face apart from God. No Government, public body, political party, leader or other person is going to be able to ultimately provide the peace, satisfaction and fulfilment that we all desire. These institutions and people are hugely important for the good ordering of our society and our human relationships, but we should not put on them the burden of being our ‘god’ for it is a weight they are not designed to carry. Only God can shoulder such a task, and so should we burden anything or anyone else with this, then both they themselves will fail and they will fail us and let us down.
Lastly, this temporal and transient world is not the sum of our existence and being. Ultimately our time here is a passing phase – the bible uses the language of camping; as if we’re ‘passing through’ on a journey. Probably the most famous illustration of this is Bunyan’s book Pilgrim’s Progress. This means that we should not judge the value or merit of something solely in terms of what we see and experience in the here and now. That doesn’t negate or render as unimportant what is in the present experience, but rather that it can only properly be assessed from the perspective of eternity (a perspective we’re not able to properly observe – obviously).
My desire is to take who I am, my strengths and weaknesses, my beliefs, values and passions and put them to the service of the people of UK as a politician. Whether or not I do so will be for the electorate to decide.
As I engage with topics large and small through this blog please leave comments, ask questions, agree and disagree, and let’s see if we can do better for our country and each other.