On Asylum Seekers and Christianity

 

 

The controversy about asylum seekers claiming to be Christians is fascinating in a number of ways.

 

(Readers might also recall a relevant West Wing episode!)

 

On why one might claim to be a Christian

 

The pendulum has swung on this throughout church history. From persecuted and misunderstood minority, Constantine took Christianity mainstream. A profession may be advantageous. For some roles it was required. But the long death of Christianity has seen the social cache of the church decline. Observant nominalism is probably pretty rare these days, perhaps except among the elderly. Nowadays, bible believing Christians might again be seen as weird, foolish or even bad. So the asylum seeker may have unusual and particular motives.

 

On what is a Christian

 

And how one might be recognised. And who is to judge?

 

By their fruits shall ye know them. But is this really a matter for the courts?

 

Normally, we would expect a certain amount of knowledge, of intellectual commitment, of heartfelt trust, of changed life.

 

1 John might give tests of doctrine, conduct and love.

 

A Christian is one who trusts in Jesus and Lord and Saviour. But so many are unclear on this.

 

How many professing Christians would pass these tests with flying colours?

 

As the old poster put it, “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict?”

 

We can easily try to apply faulty criteria. It is tempting to give asylum seekers a quiz on the names of the Apostles or the books of the New Testament, but this tells us little about the heart of the matter, which is a matter of the heart.

 

On baptism policy

 

In the C of E, anyone living in the parish has a right to be baptised after suitable preparation and other things being equal. It is ultimately for the candidate to make the promises and declarations and for the priest to exhort them to do so thoughtfully and sincerely. There is no theology exam.

 

It now seems that some sections of the press would like the clergy to make jolly sure that asylum seekers pass the ten-week Christianity Explored course with flying colours and serve on the coffee rota for a few months. I wonder if they feel the same when their grandchild is up for baptism in the pretty parish church.

 

On the relationship between state and church

 

The C of E has rightly pointed out that it is not its job to police asylum claims.

 

The church can too easily be claimed to be the reactionary traditional conservative Tory Party at prayer and to have been captured by Guardian reading prelates. Whilst being responsible citizens, the church must absolutely live by the standards and values of a different Kingdom.