The State of the NationTuesday 11th May 2010

A meeting was held in the House of Lords to consider the social and spiritual implications of the current financial crisis.  It was co-chaired by Baroness Caroline Cox and Lord Anderson of Swansea and attended by 80 active Christians drawn from all denominations, in positions of leadership in church and society. 

 The meeting expressed great concern about the declining stability of the nation.  Beyond the financial collapse, we are now facing a social crisis of enormous magnitude and all present felt impelled to bring this warning.

There is a deep and widespread unease among British people about the future of our country, especially in light of recent revelations about the corruption in politics.  There is growing disillusionment, cynicism and even despair.  There is distrust of our banking system and a deep chasm between the public and the political classes.  The true realisation of the catastrophic events of the last 18 months is only now emerging as the facts have been obscured by our political leaders.

The Judaeo-Christian foundations of our nation are being systematically destroyed and the social consequences of this are incalculable.  Deliberate efforts are being made to de-Christianise the country and already we are seeing signs of Christians in Britain being persecuted for their faith. 

The secular humanist experiment of the past 40 years has proved to be a social disaster.  We have created a godless, materialistic and sick society which has got its priorities wrong.  We have lived beyond our means.  We have encouraged a culture of debt and penalised saving.  The gap between rich and poor has grown wider.  There has been a catastrophic collapse of the marriage-based family, to the detriment of our children and young people.

In social terms we are living on our spiritual capital which is almost bankrupt and we are sleepwalking into a period of cataclysmic decline and upheaval in which all our social institutions will be shaken.  

We have sought to exclude God and to privatise faith. We are already paying the price and we predict that we will soon reap a whirlwind of social unrest and instability. 

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