Article
Until the middle of the 18th Century the controversy between church and state was largely concerned with the balance of power between the two jurisdictions. For the next 200 years there was stability in this area and Enlightenment ideas and Christian tradition were not seriously at odds: Protestant and Reformed Churches were generally constitutionally conservative but socially liberal; and Catholic claims, though strongly asserted, were barely recognised and its moral position was not threatened.
There was a watershed in the First World War with the emergence of pacifism but this was reasonably well contained; the state upheld its right of conscription but was generally lenient with genuine objectors.
Differences have now come into much sharper focus in three areas: medicine, gender and pluralist religion.
a) Biblical Claims
Many Christian claim The Bible as their authority for resisting legislative support for medical development. This has been particularly true in the area of human reproduction but 5the issues are not straightforward:
- Abortion is generally opposed on the basis of the Sanctity of Life argument but the Old Testament is littered with instructions from Yahweh for the Chosen People to commit what we would now consider disproportionate aggression, including the murder of women and the destruction of their foetuses
- Contraception is opposed on the ground of Interference with Nature but The Bible is almost completely silent on the issue of medicine and surgery
- Many ethical situations we face could not have been imagined by the authors of the Bible, e.g. the use of embryos for research, the change in gender perceptions, the effectiveness of weapons
- The Old Testament in particular is equivocal on the issue of religious pluralism: the Jews had a love/hate relationship with the Egyptians and God used non Jews to punish his people for their wickedness
- Christians have changed their minds on issues for which they claimed Biblical sanction, such as slavery; and the 'male headship' argument is supported by many who accept divorce in spite of clear New Testament strictures.
Any Biblically based argument must be very clearly thought through. When we talk about "Christian principles" we are likely to mean derivative positions held by Christians at a given time.
b) Law
- The over-riding Christian principles of the primacy of love, the centrality of motive, the reservation of judgment and the imperative of the exercise of conscience all present problems in coming to terms with secular law.
- One of the most frequently cited principles against reform is the prudential principle (the thin end of the wedge) but that is hardly Christian. Should we halt the use of embryo research just in case a mad scientist tries to behave like Frankenstein?
- The civil powers generally accord ownership of tissue to individuals and it is difficult to frame a Christian argument contrary to this
- In democratic states, law has to be proportionate and consensual; the best law is self generated not imposed
- Some proposals, such as exempting Christians from civil rights legislation, require a very rigorous justification
- Opposition to a just law cannot be grounded on the argument that this spares Christians the sacrifice of conscientious objection, of public civil disobedience and acceptance of the consequences.
- We cannot claim the right to discriminate against homosexual people and condemn Muslims for discriminating against women.
c) Experience
As Anglicans we are asked to take into account our life experience in framing codes. That means looking at scientific evidence such as:
- The relationship between fertility, homosexuality and wealth
- Definitions of life and viability
- The existence of pluralism
This last point is particularly difficult: Christians advance the "Do as you would be done by principle" so it is hard to propose opt-outs for Christians but not for Muslims.
KC III/08
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