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MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF THE FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND FEBRUARY 2021 • £2.00
The pursuit of prosperity in a servant economy
Invisible Hands BY THE EDITOR
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The political parties, newspapers, trade unions and chambers of commerce will all have views to share about the direction the economy should take. But what about the church?
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ometimes it is the root of all kinds of evil. At other times, it is a source of common grace. At all times, the economy is idolised by policy wonks and politicians for the power it has to affect living standards and sway elections. Partly as a cause and partly as a consequence of this reverence, economists have come to replace lawyers as the great sages of public policy. Their influence is easily seen. In politics and current affairs, the economy is never far from the headlines. Politicians have a habit of quoting bald economic generalities as evidence of progress: the stock market is up, so is GDP, and the deficit is down. To compound this phenomenon, it’s an election year, meaning pledges and policies to reform the economy’s workings will come tumbling from the mouths of officeseekers in the coming months. The political parties, newspapers, trade unions and chambers of commerce will all have views to share about the direction the economy should take. But what about the church?
CHRISTIAN ABSENCE
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Economics is one of the more ambitious academic disciplines in that it attempts to understand, explain and predict human behaviour. It is also one of the most influential, readily applying itself to government policy by seeking to answer questions like: how do we prosper? There is much that is true among the work economists have produced. But, while it is an enormously useful tool, contemporary economics cannot explain everything. It has significant blind spots which often leaves modern economic theory at odds with biblically-focussed thinking. The economy is an aggregation of all the day-to-day decisions people make about how they use the resources they have — like money, time, or energy. As such, Christians cannot avoid taking part in the economy. But we usually avoid thinking about how we take part in it. A lack of assistance doesn’t help in this. We would naturally read John Lennox to gain a Christian perspective on science, we can choose from a range of thoughtful contributions from C.S. Lewis to Flannery O’Connor on literature, and even for the arts we could read Francis Schaeffer. It is not so easy to find biblical Christianity being applied to economics. Politically charged, and necessitating the study of wealth, economics is dangerous territory for a Christian to enter unguarded and ill-equipped. At present, it is also — to a very large extent — foreign territory. One of the few theologians who has tackled the dismal science, Greg Forster, observes, ‘the economic thought of the modern world has become detached from Christian thought and is deeply shaped by various secular and pagan ways of understanding the world.’ The omnipresence of economic ideas in government and throughout society shapes the way we think about some really important things. These ideas can influence the jobs we do, our generosity with the resources we have and certainly how we cast our votes. We should be aware of the foundations these ideas are built upon.
HOMO ECONOMICUS Humanity has always made decisions about the way resources are used, and the economy is present in the history in Christian thought. Material prosperity has a long, if complicated, relationship to theology. Thomas Aquinas applied his scholastic analysis to trade and concluded that goods
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WHY WE CHOOSE TO ADHERE TO GOVERNMENT RESTRICTIONS BY REV. DONNIE G. MACDONALD, MODERATOR OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE FREE CHURCH, ON BEHALF OF THE COVID-19 COMMITTEE
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he bible is clear , the people of god should not neglect gathering
together for worship ( hebrews 10:25 ). It may therefore seem strange that we in the Free Church of Scotland acquiesce to the Government’s requirement that we do not gather for in-person worship, and perhaps it is stranger still that a Church Committee encourages us to do so. But we are in strange times. COVID-19 is a new virus that has wreaked havoc across the globe. Like all viruses it spreads from person to person. The more contact people have with each other the easier and the further it spreads. COVID-19 is not the common cold, nor a winter flu. It has filled our hospitals, overwhelmed ICUs and taken tens of thousands of lives. New strains of the virus in particular are easily transmitted. And like all viruses it does not discriminate; it is transmitted as easily in church settings as it is in homes, workplaces, gyms, shops, pubs and restaurants. It simply spreads wherever people gather. The COVID-19 Committee therefore recognise that, in these exceptional circumstances, acquiescing to the Government requirement not to gather for in-person services of worship is not a denial of the scriptural injunction of Hebrews 10:25, but rather a fulfilling of the Sixth Commandment, and the equally clear Biblical instruction to love one another, to love our neighbour as ourselves and to put the interests of others before our own. We are also thankful to God that we live in an age where we have the technology that allows us to have services of worship online and to meet for prayer and fellowship. This in no way underplays the importance of meeting together in person, but as a temporary measure we are thankful for it. In normal circumstances a civil authority requiring the people of God not to gather would be viewed as an infringement on our right to worship, a challenge to the independence of the Church and the Headship of Christ, which we should, and would, vehemently resist. But not in this instance. This is a public health crisis that the Government is seeking to resolve, and the Church has a responsibility to support the Government in its efforts. In the preamble to the Route Map we were reminded that: ‘The Free Church of Scotland recognises the teaching of The Bible that
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we are subject to the governing authorities. We recognise the duty and authority of the civil government to protect the wellbeing of the nation (Romans 13:1-7). We shall therefore comply with the law, advice and timings given by government.’ At the same time, the Committee has recognised occasions when it was felt necessary to challenge decisions and make representations to the First Minister and Government officials. When certain restrictions are deemed to be unnecessary (the inability to conduct weddings during the first lockdown), or inequitable (numbers allowed to meet in church as supposed to restaurants or entertainment venues during the easing of restrictions), meetings have taken place and letters have been written. And it may be at the end of this pandemic, after a time of reflection, we will seek to remind Government of the spiritual independence of the Church. If so, it will be done strongly and clearly. There is a time for everything under the sun and the Committee believe this is a time to:
BE STRONG It takes strength and courage for an old person to live under the restrictions which prevent family and friends visiting as they would want. It takes strength and courage for ourselves, and for our congregations, to live under the restrictions that prevent us being able to gather together as we would want. But we find our strength and courage in the Lord. We must be strong in our togetherness, our care for one another and our witness during this time of pandemic.
BE SELFLESS When politicians, celebrities and sports people flout the rules, they are accused of having a sense of entitlement, ‘one rule for them and another for us’. Their behaviour is resented by the wider public who have to comply with the rules. Our right to gather for in-person worship in normal circumstances should not create in us a spirit of entitlement in these exceptional circumstances. Christ entered into our world, giving up his rights; he selflessly shared in the experience of our humanity, and all that goes with it, for the good of others. We in the Church of Christ enter into this pandemic along with our communities, sharing in the experience with all its difficulties, and we also selflessly sacrifice things that are dear to us for the good of others.
BE SENSITIVE These restrictions are hard for us, they are hard for the people in our congregations and they are hard for the people in our communities. We need to be particularly sensitive to the needs of our people and our communities during this time. It is challenging to minister in these circumstances. As we struggle, and as our people struggle, we need to do all we can to support and strengthen them, and each other. Our words in particular matter, whether that be in our preaching, pastoral communications or our presence on social media platforms. Just as we think carefully about what we preach from our pulpits, let us think carefully about what we post online. Let us be sensitive to how difficult it is for the people in our congregations and in our communities and use our words wisely and well to help and encourage one another. These are strange and difficult times, but we believe and trust in a sovereign and loving God who is in absolute control of absolutely everything. We seek to serve him and honour him in these trying circumstances, giving thanks for his provision, grasping the opportunities, and trusting in his purposes. • This letter has been sent to all Free Church of Scotland congregations
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esus appeared over 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of god (acts 1). Every
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Agnolo Bronzino: Reesurrezione (1552)
one of the Gospel stories about Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances is precious to believers. But here we will stand back from the detail and reflect on the journey of maturing faith during these vitally important 40 days. It took some time for the followers of Jesus to come to terms with the fact of the resurrection. Most recorded appearances, including the one when Peter took a few disciples with him fishing, tell of confusion and struggle to accept the momentous miracle. After the ascension 120 followers of Jesus were together in Jerusalem ‘constantly in prayer’ and Peter takes the lead in organising their strategy, arranging to replace Judas Iscariot. What caused the change from disoriented disciples retreating into their past life as fishermen, to leaders in an emerging church? Gradually Jesus moved his followers through a learning, maturing process. He demonstrated several times that he had a physical body, for example by eating fish. On one occasion, he appeared to more than 500 people and there is good reason to think that they were all believers. Luke, in Acts 1, says that Jesus ‘spoke about the kingdom of God’. The first person to whom Jesus appeared was Mary Magdalene. In this, and on other occasions, Jesus showed himself to be still the caring person his followers had known. He confronted Thomas with his doubts, resulting in the important declaration ‘My Lord and my God!’, a huge leap for an observant Jew. He confronted Peter, who was probably consumed with grief, unable to shake off the guilt of his denial prior to the crucifixion, and restored both his faith and his confidence. Jesus met with his brother James – was it this meeting which moved James from ‘did not believe in him’ (John 7:5) to being one of the 120 waiting for Pentecost? On the day of the resurrection Jesus ‘explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself’, but it is inconceivable that he spoke in these terms only to the two walking to Emmaus on that momentous day and later in the upper room; John tells us (twice) that ‘Jesus did many other miraculous signs…which are not recorded’. Jesus endowed the disciples with the Holy Spirit during his first appearance in the upper room in Jerusalem. He gave the disciples the Great Commission while in Galilee, and it is a sobering fact that on that occasion ‘some doubted’. The last the disciples saw of Jesus was back in Jerusalem, near Bethany, at his Ascension, with its promise of a glorious, dramatic Return. The Apostles’ Creed includes the words: ‘On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven…’ This brief mention contrasts with the greater detail listed about Jesus’ death. We too easily roll these two sentences about two momentous events into one ‘raised and ascended’. We must not lose sight of the critical work that the Saviour undertook in these last 40 days on earth and the steep learning curve that Jesus’ followers had to climb. In these few days, Jesus was preparing his followers for the outpouring of the Spirit, working toward enabling his church to be ‘witnesses’ to his resurrection, his teaching and his Lordship: each of these was built on the foundation of his sacrificial death. •
FEBRUARY
PART 1 FORTY DAYS
BY IAIN GILL A series of short articles about Jesus’ resurrection