Let justice roll down like rivers

When Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, quoted the prophet Amos, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, in his speech to the Trades Union Congress last week, he – not surprisingly – drew harsh opposition from those in power, including a number of Tory MPs. Ben Bradley, MP for Mansfield tweeted: ‘Not clear to me when or how it can possibly be appropriate for the Archbishop of Canterbury to be appearing at TUC conference or parroting Labour policy’, while his fellow MP in Shipley, Philip Davies, commented that ‘Justin Welby ought to consider removing his dog collar and replacing it with a Labour Party rosette’.

But as the Archbishop pointed out in his speech, the Bible is political – dangerously so.

‘Mary’s song, the Magnificat, central to the New Testament, is so revolutionary that anyone who takes it seriously finds it a threat to power and entitlement.’ – Justin Welby

A Labour Party rosette?

So perhaps Philip Davies is right, and Justin Welby should replace his dog collar with a Labour Party rosette. Perhaps every minister of religion, and indeed any serious follower of Jesus should do so. As Justin Welby pointed out,

‘To speak to the TUC in its 150th year, is to receive the enormous gift of being in the presence of a gathering that has been instrumental over that century and a half in reducing inequality, challenging injustice, and speaking up for the poor, the marginalised and the oppressed.’

And ‘reducing inequality, challenging injustice, and speaking up for the poor, the marginalised and the oppressed’ is precisely what Jesus stood for, so perhaps his followers should be more outspoken in doing so too.

Or a Green Party rosette?

Shortly after Justin Welby’s TUC speech, I received a copy of the new Green Party Political Programme. And, once again, I am impressed with the clear and refreshing agenda they are proposing, and just how much that aligns with the values the Archbishop was expounding in his speech, and how much they align with the Bible and Jesus’ own manifesto of the Sermon on the Mount.

Caring for our environment

Policies to care for our environment, reduce energy consumption, accelerate the roll-out of renewable energy, reduce waste, and protect and care for all animals; promoting creativity

‘We live on an amazing planet, rich in resources and able to sustain an incredible diversity of life. But we cannot take for granted it will always be this way.’ – Green Party Political Programme

‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it’. – The Bible

‘Have a good look at the birds in the sky… Take a tip from the lilies of the countryside…’ – Jesus

Challenging privilege

Making every vote matter; reforming the House of Lords; enabling diversity across politics; ending discrimination; an economy which delivers for the people who make it; tackling workplace exploitation and inequality; introducing a Universal Basic Income

‘Reducing privilege increases the power of ordinary people – of all of us. As the establishment shrinks, democracy grows.’ – Green Party Political Programme

‘At the heart of the Green Party is a belief that everyone is equal, that all lives have intrinsic value and that personal life choices are deserving of dignity.’ – Green Party Political Programme

‘He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,

And lifted up the lowly.’ – The Bible

‘Blessings on the meek! You’re going to inherit the earth.’ – Jesus

‘We will take immediate action to deliver real gender equality and to tackle violence against women and girls. We will make misogyny a hate crime and make it easier to challenge media sexism. We will fiercely protect and enhance women’s rights.’ – Green Party Political Programme

‘Whichever of you is without sin should throw the first stone.’ – Jesus to a group of men about to stone a woman ‘caught in adultery’.

Building peace and promoting international friendship

Standing up for migrants and refugees; building bridges; nuclear abolition; increasing international aid

‘We believe in waging peace not war, and are the only Party in England to unambiguously oppose all nuclear weapons, with their potential to end all human life.’ – Green Party Political Programme

‘Whatever the outcome or terms of Brexit, we will continue to stand in fellowship alongside our European neighbours, healing the scars of centuries of conflict through sharing and collaboration.’ – Green Party Political Programme

‘All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’ – The Bible

‘They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.’ – The Bible

‘Blessings on the peacemakers! You’ll be called God’s children.’ – Jesus

Embedding collective kindness in our society

Restoring the NHS; empowering children in education; promoting local services; renewing communities; and supporting disabled people; making housing accessible

‘We envision a country underpinned by well-funded, locally led public services providing care and support for all – a society rooted in kindness.’ – Green Party Political Programme

‘He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich he has sent away empty’ – The Bible

‘I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you made me welcome. I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you looked after me; I was in prison and you came to me.’ – Jesus

A dog collar and a rosette?

No doubt others of different political and religious persuasions will find lots of gaps in this, see all sorts of ways in which the church has not lived up to the Bible’s teaching or Jesus’ manifesto, or see more alignments with other political parties. And there will be those who would argue that religion and politics don’t mix.

However, it seems to me that if my faith – or anyone else’s for that matter (whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Humanist, or any other belief system) – is not political then it is of no value at all. And it has to be political in a way that promotes justice, peace, diversity, compassion, and care for our environment.

So I don’t think the Archbishop of Canterbury should get rid of his dog collar just yet. But I do think he is right to speak out for justice and to wear a rosette (preferably green) alongside his dog collar.

Reflecting on the events of the past few days, I feel both saddened and encouraged. After 10½ hours of impassioned debate, our elected members of parliament agreed, in a free vote, to extend British air strikes from Iraq into Syria, joining the USA and France in striking out against the awful group who call themselves Islamic State.

I feel saddened, because it seems clear to me that there will, inevitably, be civilian casualties from these air strikes. Those will include innocent children, whose lives already are marred and now have one more terror to add to those surrounding them. I feel a sense of despair that this action cannot achieve what its proponents seek – the elimination of Isil – but will merely exacerbate their resolve to fight back. In his concluding speech in parliament, Hilary Benn spoke of Isil:

“They hold us in contempt. They hold our values in contempt. They hold our belief in tolerance and decency in contempt. They hold our democracy, the means by which we make our decision tonight in contempt.” He pointed out their “belief that they are superior to every single one of us in the chamber tonight.”

Powerful words, and no doubt true. But it doesn’t take much imagination to hear almost identical words being spoken in a room of Isil leaders in Raqqa – about the leaders and people of the United Kingdom, United States, or France.

I long for an end to the terror and injustice being inflicted on the people of Syria.

But I fear that this action will exacerbate rather than eliminate that suffering.

However, I do, at the same time, feel heartened by the way in which this decision has been made. And I am grateful for the privilege, the immense and awesome privilege, of living in a land where such a decision has not been made lightly, behind closed doors, or by an unapproachable group of omnipotent tyrants. I feel grateful that I was able to write to my MP (who, incidentally, opposed the motion. Whether my letter in any way influenced his decision, I do not know, but I remain grateful for the freedom to write); others were able to stand outside parliament to express their views; I and others were able to blog and post our views on Facebook; to accept and respond to comments from both sides.

And in Westminster itself, no-one was taking the issue lightly.

Reading some of the words that were said, both in the House of Commons and the House of Lords, it seems abundantly clear to me that this was not a vitriolic debate between a bunch of trigger-happy war mongers and their opposing terrorist sympathisers. Rather both sides seemed to approach their arguments from a deep desire to do what is right. And yes, this was far from perfect, there were no doubt mixed motives on both sides, and there was, at times, enough vitriol both in and out of the chambers, but that was far from being the tone of the debate.

Arguments in favour of air strikes

So the arguments in favour of air strikes were mostly framed in a sense of justice, wanting to put an end to the terrorising regime of Isil; not wanting to abandon those who are suffering on the ground in Syria, to “walk by on the other side of the road” (although that is an interesting twist on the parable of the good Samaritan who stopped to bind up the wounds of the one who had been brutally attacked, not to beat the hell out of those who had attacked him); wanting to protect the freedoms and democracy that we hold so dear; and longing for a more peaceful world, free of terror. Those are attitudes and beliefs with which I sympathise.

Arguments against air strikes

Likewise, those speaking against air strikes were longing for a more peaceful world, one that is free of terror and violence; they, too, want to protect the freedoms and democracies of our society; they want an end to the injustice and suffering of the ordinary people of Syria. They are not ones who are burying their heads in the sand, or walking by on the other side of the road. Rather, they were calling for alternative approaches which would get more to the root of the problem, without further escalating the violence.

A more comprehensive approach

So a free vote committed us to military action. I believe, for most, if not all, those in Parliament, that vote was not taken lightly.

And now our planes are flying over Syria, dropping their weapons of destruction. In his speech in the House of Lords, Archbishop Justin Welby, while believing that ‘just war’ criteria had been met, warned that the UK could “end up doing the right thing in such a wrong way that it becomes the wrong thing”.

That is a warning we need to reflect on. He called for a far more comprehensive approach. While we cannot now undo the decision that has been made, surely we can put equal effort and resources into seeking the further non-violent actions that are needed to truly defeat terror.

Tag: Justin Welby

Why the Archbishop of Canterbury should wear a Green Party rosette alongside his dog collar