I would like to discuss the churches response to this issue.  I believe that changing the day of the marathon to a Sunday would be a mistake, although this is not based on the grounds of ‘inconvenience.’  Setting aside my personal opinion, what we need to take note of is the message this situation conveys about the Christian church in our country.  If the main objection to having a sporting event held on a Sunday is that it is ‘inconvenient’ for church-goers, then we are sending out the wrong message to the community.  Firstly, because this argument is based solely on the selfish grounds that church attendance will suffer and people who manage to attend a service will have a longer journey than normal.  This is utterly selfish as it takes no consideration of those who are inconvenienced by the event when it is held on a Monday.  Secondly, as a church if we are going to object to something should it not be based on scripture rather than our own opinions?  Should the main reason for objecting to this day not be the upholding of the fourth commandment rather than “it will disrupt our day”?

My reasons for not holding the marathon on a Sunday are based on the scriptural teaching of setting the Sabbath apart as a day of worship and consecration; making it separate and different from the other days of the week.  While this view may be seen as extreme, it is what I believe.  For me, this is black and white issue.  Of course I cannot judge those who don’t share this view, but I can scripturally disagree with them.  As Christians we expect to hear arguments from unbelievers which say we cannot impose Christian vales and morals on people who don’t believe in God or the bible.  This has been and will continue to be an ongoing debate.  However, I believe the real danger comes from those in the middle of these two ends of the spectrum.  Those who have adapted and changed the teachings of true Christianity in order to fit in with our comfortable lifestyles.  Those who use their religion as the basis of their objection to the proposed change of day for the marathon, when really is their own convenience that they are fighting to preserve.  It is from this same group of Christians that we hear of plans such as cancelling a Sunday service because it falls on Boxing Day or cancelling Sunday Evening Services during the summer.  It is this type of Christianity that does damage to the efforts of true believers who are trying to reach out for the gospel.  This is because Christianity is not being seen as a firm, steadfast faith but rather a watered-down, ever changing accessory that we can just fit into our lifestyles.

I am not against change in many areas of the church, in fact making changes can sometimes improve the work of the church.  But on theological, scripturally proven doctrines and practises, we should be known as people who stand firm and voice our beliefs.  If the community were to see this firm stance based not on opinions but on the  bible, it may establish at very least, a respect for the gospel and at very best an understanding and an acceptance of it.

We can all think of religious faiths or even individual denominations who hold unmovable positions on certain issues.  We may not agree with them but we can respect them because they are devout in what they believe.  Until the Christian church (ie. the people of God, saved and living in accordance with scripture) earns the respect of unbelievers by upholding the very basics of biblical teachings, we cannot expect the Lord to work through us in reaching out in love with the gospel.  Why would an unbeliever trust what we say about the gospel whenever we show that our faith is so maleable and ultimately selfish because we pick and chose the parts of Christian teaching according to what suits our lifestyle best?!

I have heard a few suggestions that encouraged churches to use the change of day for the marathon as an opportunity to reach out to the local community in practical ways such as setting up water stands for the runners.  While I agree that this type of endeavour could give valuable opportunities for witnessing and serving others, I do not think it would right to undertake these on a Sunday, as these type of activities, despite being kind, are not a form of worship and rejuvenation for God’s people.  There is no reason as to why churches could not do this practical type of outreach on another day of the week.

As a church we need to be fired up by the Holy Spirit.  Standing up and shouting our biblical convictions, showing we are serious about our faith, unwilling to compromise on important issues.  When we honour the Lord in this way, even though it may be difficult going against the popular trend, we know that the Lord will honour us.

Do we think that maybe Mr Cameron has went too far in his campaign to emphasize the importance of ‘social values’  and ‘strengthening families’, by using individual crimes as evidence for social breakdown?  It may seem a little naive, but do horrific crimes not happen every day all over the country, regardless of who is in government?  I do not question the importance of good policies and a strong government, but we need to put that in perspective.  If I learn’t anything from my Gender Studies Course (yes, it was the minor part of my degree), it is that legislation doesn’t change people or their attitudes.  I would go further and say that in my personal opinion nothing will change a person deep down except the saving power of The Lord Jesus Christ, but that’s a topic for a different blog post.

Anyway, my point is I think he has made a big mistake because first of all, every other party is going to criticize him for saying it.  As I may have mentioned before, ‘Throwing mud at other people is good way to make yourself look cleaner’ (Its very sad that I’m using this as if its a proper quote -  I made it up myself lol).   Secondly, the upstanding part of the British electorate could easily be offended because he has basically said that the whole of the UK has sunk into social decline, based on a few horrific crimes.  Thirdly, the more cynical part of the British electorate will accuse him of bad political games, particularly when he is using some very sensitive and heartbreaking crimes as examples of the breakdown he so earnestly seeks to portray.  Finally, I think his repetitive pattern of dragging up everything that is bad about the current situation we live in and blaming it on Labour before he starts the lecture on how the Conquering Conservative Party will turn the country around and put it back on the path of the rainbow towards the pot of gold, is really annoying!

I’m glad I don’t have to decide between the Lab, Tory, or Lib Dem Parties, because I am just as cynical about them all.  While they all have the potential to run a successful government, the hypocrisy and corruption within all of them far outweighs any good they may do in the future.

Theologically, I believe that there are references in the bible to smacking children, as a form of discipline.  Sadly, as with many things in our society, sin has distorted this, with many people using it as a justification for outright abuse and assault on children.  Personally, smacking would be a part of the way I would discipline my child, but not the main way or the primary way, and certainly not in an abusive or sinful way.  We will all have different opinions on this, and as I have said many times before, we will all have different ways of raising our children, so I would never seek to push my opinion as the truth, it is merely my way of doing things, and I respect your way if it is different.

However, in light of this new loophole in the law, I cant help but wonder whether schools benefited from the right teachers had to smack children? So often we read stories in the media of the rebellion taking place in classrooms all over the UK, with verbal and physical assault on teachers happening daily.  I found it hilarious but also a little disturbing  that when my husband was inquiring about Income Protection Insurance, he was in one of the top two professions which are most likely to be out of work for a long period of time because of a stress-related illness!  Therefore making insurance quite expensive.  (For those who don’t know, my husband is a teacher).  As time has moved on, discipline in schools would appear to have become more relaxed, with physical punishment being banned.

Is there a connection between standards slipping and forms of discipline changing?  I believe there is a strong connection, but I must also point out that I in no way would ever want anyone else to physically punish my child, as I think that IF this is ever necessary, it is our decision, as parents.  Could it be, that it is not the taking away of smacking in schools that has resulted in the discipline slide, but what smacking represents?  The authority of a teacher over children is very important when keeping order and structure within a school, and the pupils need to respect this authority.  Maybe for many years this respect was earned through fear of physical punishment and now there is nothing to encourage children to respect figures of authority.

From a Christian perspective,  respect for figures of authority is taught throughout the bible.  One of the 10 commandments is devoted to importance of Honouring our father and mother, with many biblical teachers suggesting that this commandment is also a parallel to other structures of hierarchy in our society, such as the justice system.  If we were all living our lives according to the way the bible teaches us, then respect for teachers would be normal in schools, because it is a commandment of God to respect those who are in authority over us, not out of fear, but out of love.

I believe that it is the selfish, self-important nature of modern day living that has resulted in a corruption of scriptural hierarchical structures, which in turn has meant that we are not showing children how they should behave toward parents and teachers.  If we teach children that the bible is irrelevant and they can live as they please, then what do we use as justification for telling them they should respect their elders and follow certain rules?

More importantly, why are people judging her as a Christian?  So much of what I’ve been reading online has focused on her faith rather than her shortcomings as a politician.  Honestly, it is none of our business whether God has forgiven IR or not.  There are already blog posts reporting how pastors and ministers are confirming that IR will find forgiveness from God, and this true, but what on earth has it got to do with the electorate or the media?!  Should we not be looking at the situation from the viewpoint that she was elected to public office and acted deceitfully with her finances?  Is it not more of an issues that our First Minister may have turned a blind eye to this and not fulfilled his lawful duty to report it?  Above all,  why is there not an almighty concern for the consequences of this on the stability of our government?!  This should be the main concern, not how IR stands before God, that is her business, hers alone.

On UTV news this evening, Prof. Rick Walford (QUB – one of my old lecturers, very smart gentleman) made the point that other parties will have a field day with this story.  We must be careful not to be sucked into the campaign that has already begun to unfold from the other parties. Throwing mud at other people is always a good way to make yourself look cleaner.  It would be easy to give our vote to another party or not bother voting at all because we feel even more frustrated with the politics of our country.  However, we need to remember that it is the individual candidates that we vote for, and we should want to vote in the people that will work most effectively for us.  Although they are a member of a party, they are individuals.

I am truly saddened by this whole mess, it is only going to have a damaging effect on our already fragile devolved government.

As easy as it would be to jump on the high horse and judge Iris Robinson for her actions, we would all do well to remember the verse in Matthew 7v5 which says “Thou hypocrite, first cast the beam out of thine own eye; and then thou shalt see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brothers eye”.  Although many of us have never committed adultery, we should remember that we are not without sin.  It is easy to cast the first stone.  We may think that holding a position of public office carries some responsibility to set a good example, and maybe that is true, but we cannot judge.

The honesty and humility shown by the Robinsons deserves some credit.  There aren’t many politicians who would honestly admit what had happened.  Despite their honesty, there is no doubt that it will cause problems for Peter Robinson in the political sphere.  I know that the official party line is sympathy and support for Mr Robinson, but in reality we know that this won’t last long.  Elections being held this year and deep down no-one in the party wants the Robinsons marital problems to cost votes!  Sympathy is all well and good in a perfect world, but we are all too aware that politics doesn’t live in a perfect world and scandal equates to bad press, and bad press equates to losing votes and public support.

No doubt the media will have a field day exploiting this story for a while yet.