I remember swimming lessons with my kids. Unlike my fellow NCT mummies who dunked their new-borns into deep water as they returned quickly to pre-birth shape with some nifty aqua-aerobics, I avoided both baby dunking and mummy shrinking.
This complete failure on my part left me terrified whenever we approached any body of water upwards of a deep puddle. The new-borns bobbed up alright and quite remarkably seemed to know instinctively what to do in water, but by the age of seven, fear had ebbed away at that instinctive trust mine had and it required building up.
Something had to be done. I booked some intensive one-to-one lessons and watched them go from that first tentative toe dip to full blown channel crossers, almost. They are fearless and strong swimmers now, leaving me doggy paddling in the shallows with my glasses on.
In 2010 Edward Feser wrote The Last Superstition: A refutation of the New Atheism. In conversation with me recently he said that one of the things that impressed people about the new atheism was its tremendous self-confidence which too many Christians were needlessly intimidated by.
This intimidation and accommodation came at a huge cost, the price of which we continue to pay for today as attempts are made to squeeze Christian politicians such as Tim Farron and Kate Forbes out of the public square, silence Christians who fight tirelessly in defence of human life such as Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, and cancel pastors such as Calvin Robinson and Bernard Randall when they stand up for traditional Christian morality.
This rising tide of anti-Christian bigotry across Europe and North America is alarming and as Feser rightly points out, the “weakness and accommodationist strategy that many Christians have adopted in an attempt to harmonise with the spirit of the age isn’t working”. So, what is the answer? “We need to stop apologising,” he says, “If we are really going to be pluralistic and allow all points of view, that has to include the traditional Christian point of view, it can’t be the one thing that’s not allowed a place at the table”.
Feser is right, but as with many things, it is easier said than done. In scripture, some variation of the words “Be not afraid” are written 365 times, a daily reminder for us to be strong and courageous; but like my kids at the point where land gives way to water, a lack of confidence renders us too afraid to take that leap.
Fortunately, there exists a Christian leadership equivalent of an intensive swimming course. On a recent visit to Stonyhurst I met with Stefan Kaminski, director of the Christian Heritage Centre who told me about their mission to form Christian disciples for the 21st Century.
In practice this involves meticulously honed courses that offer philosophical, ethical, spiritual and practical formation for tomorrow’s leaders.
“In an increasingly fast moving and complex world, where decision makers have to grapple with ethical challenges about which they feel ill-equipped to deal, a course which provides formation, maps and signposts will be greatly welcomed by many.,” explained Lord Alton of Liverpool, a founding trustee of The Christian Heritage Centre
The Thomas More Christian Leadership Formation programme is an exciting and unique initiative that was launched by the charity in 2021. It is offered to students currently in Year 12/Lower 6th or S5 (Scotland) who are motivated by their faith to help shape and create a society founded on Christian values.
It is hard to think of a more noble aim than this as Europe faces a new type of fundamentalism in the form of aggressive secularism, pushed by those who believe religion has no place in public life.
As Paul Coleman, executive director of ADF international, observes, “many countries across Europe don’t mind paying lip-service to Christianity as long as it evolves to fall in line with the modern secular orthodoxy of the day on issues like abortion, sexuality and marriage.
“Where it refuses, what we see is a complete breakdown of the exchange of views, just resorting to name-calling, to trying to shout the other side down. We see Christians who end up being fired or dragged before the court accused of hate-speech, or discrimination.”
For centuries people across Europe have been engaging with different views and reasoning things out together. This approach is imperative to the survival of the Judeo-Christian West as we know it. We need future leaders who stand with confidence as they defend the natural law for all; Christian and non-Christian alike, who defend life from conception to natural death, heterosexual marriage, the role of parents as primary educators. We need young Christian leaders emboldened to state, “We are not going to be intimidated, we will not be threatened into silence and we are not going away”.
We need young people to get out of the shallows, to take that leap and to fearlessly enter the stormy seas of public service, unafraid to sink.
(Photo: Christian Heritage Centre, Stonyhurst)
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