The last few decades have been an eyeopener to me. Our country has changed dramatically and those changes have effected everyone. This Blog is about what has happened and how it has changed us.

Everybody hates a self appointed know all, and anyone taking on the subjects I have is likely to face this accusation. Who am I to set myself up as someone worth paying attention to? Good question. The truth is I had a bad experience in the education system, came out of it with no qualifications and for good reasons was considered an irredeemable dunce. However, if you are reading this I can assume you’re at least interested and have probably read some of the Home page. In response to that you may now be any of the following: neutral, hostile or supportive. Because this is a Christian apologia: a defence of my faith it is to an extent argumentative, the inevitable result of taking a stand. In any argument a judgement is involved, especially in one concerning true and false. Between polar opposites like The Truth and everything else there should be a clear divide, like opposing armies lining up on a field of battle. In warfare there are often winners and losers, in arguments this rarely happens. Winning or losing an argument is not usually a decisive moment because neither will admit to being wrong and a body count of dead and wounded is not an option. My conviction is that Truth is only found if it is revealed from somewhere outside ourselves. To be right in our own estimation makes us a god of one in many billions, and of a  type whose only devout worshipper is oneself. As God’s word says: every person is right in their own eyes. If the Truth exists it must stand above every error and falsehood. In these articles I will lay out conclusions drawn from beliefs revealed in the biblical scriptures. This will almost always appear as arrogant. I will speak as if I know what I am saying is true. However this is only because the source of revelation is one who said of himself, I am the Truth. You will know his name: it is Jesus Christ. I believe he is infallible and therefore without error.  As far as I can I have tried to limit any certainties expressed to those based on this foundation; the Word of God in the Bible and what this God has said to be the standards and norms which underpin every part of His creation. I make this point because the Maker of any object, the scale does nor matter, decides the rules: what can and cannot be done. It also involves the moral order and the commands of a God who loves all that he has created. And we, for reasons not covered here, have a human nature messed up to the point of near total ruin. A measure of that love is our God given freedom to reject him and spit in his face. Jesus was hated by the establishment and for much of history so have those who have spoken in his name.

I may well be called many things when this blog site goes public. No doubt various forms of phobias and hates will be diagnosed and condemned. You cannot safely express views considered traditional, evangelical or right wing in the public sphere without consequences. A schoolboy was recently given a detention by his teacher for admitting he favoured the political party UKIP. Comments and articles seen as out of sync with progressive thoughts and social advances are unwelcome, particularly on social media. So I thought it might be an idea to get my reply in first.

For starters, the word “phobia” is an inaccurate term to throw around since it is dictionary defined as an overwhelming fear. It is a disorder requiring psychotherapy, called exposure therapy. If a fear is well justified in a persons mind then it is probably best expressed rather than suppressed. And then there is the thorny problem, who is to decide whether a fear is justified or unjustified? The state law or the person taking offence? Either option is available under current legislation. My difficulty is this: suppose the State is siding with groups and opinions which in some areas conflict with long held social values; and also with realities known to science: biology and genetics, and with Judaism, Islam and Christianity. The result? Within little more than half a century it feels as if the world has gone completely bonkers.

The British State apparatus seems willing to fold before the agendas and lobbying of prized pressure groups. Especially those gathering support from luvvies, celebs and comedians who support anything which keeps them on trend and in public view. That’s the soft side, the face of government shown towards any “progressive” cause. In other areas it is hard, doctrinaire and oppressive in promoting the reign of British Values. As principles these are all fine and good. I have no problem with them as ethical statements, but with their enforcement I have many problems. And as a self confessed dissident what is happening makes me fearful. One reason being I am an evangelical bible believing Christian. A category of person no longer found among the approved of the State or even in large parts of the Church.

British values, equality and diversity legislation and those called to enforce these laws do so on the basis of offences defined as hate speech or action. These laws in my opinion have become dictatorial. Once upon a time giving and taking insults of every conceivable variety was integral to British life. Taking offence was a rarity. Did it get out of hand sometimes, yes of course, and it needed dealing with. However demonising the smallest offence or misguided joke is another matter. And it is on this basis that careers and reputations are being lost. Decent people falling foul of changing language conventions. In the papers as I was writing this section today there appeared a report of a case thrown out by the presiding judge on its first day in court. A senior policeman had been accused by a female police officer, junior to him, with barging into her while in a group of other people. She was not hurt but made a complaint and the wheels and cogs began turning. The accused had been suspended for six months, his career and reputation threatened by the attempted prosecution. When even the judge has contempt for a case then there is cause for thinking that in these areas the law has become an ass. No one is safe from falling foul of the law because it has become like a gun with a hair trigger mechanism: just waiting to go off.

Hate crime is a threat to us all as currently defined, but is expressing hate always bad?

In my view it is often well justified. Hatred of slavery was a great motivating force leading to its abolition. Hatred of child labour led to its being removed from society. The definition of hate in a dictionary takes a lot of the sting out of the word. It is much more nuanced than the Law seems to allow for. Words like abhor, or having an aversion for, or even strongly dislike are listed. What has happened in our society is that some unidentified group of people gathered together to decide how hate crime should be defined. It seems obvious to me that this group had a very well established agenda. It took sides, it was partial rather than what it should have been, impartial. A sign of this is that Christians have been targeted. Many cases that reach court concern the group to which I belong. God is himself guilty of hate speech. He hates sin, loves the sinner but definitely hates sin. And those who framed hate legislation approve of what God has called sin. Our society has turned away so far from God that it now loves and endorses as good what God hates and rejects. This  reversal of roles provides the reason why evangelical Christians holding a traditional conservative biblical theology are now the subjects of hatred. But when the state wraps itself in hate it is no crime, it is a service to the community. The best man that ever lived was crucified according to the demands of this prospectus. Jesus was hated: mainly because he told the truth.

Those of us who hate what others love and admire are now among the hated, and not permitted to say what we believe to be true without risk. Is that fair or just? For myself there is not much I actually hate, but if asked to name one it would be Hate Crime as currently described and enforced. If the criteria for a criminal offence is that someone is offended by something said or done, then no one is safe. It is a law open to malicious misuse, and it has been misused. I strongly dislike being led into a refurbished reality of a type unknown to any previous generation by vociferous, relentless, over sensitive ideologues who form the tiniest of tiny minorities. In the face of this, the great silent majority do what they do best, keep quiet. We are turning ourselves upside down and inside out for the sake of agendas led by an array of individuals who have lost track of what is normal and natural, and in some ways even worse, a sense of humour and proportion.

I do admit however that there are things I dread, fear. loathe and abhor. Here is a short, random and off the top of my head selection. I cannot stand seeing our prime minister, a vicar’s daughter no less, jumping on the LGBTQ bandwagon in order to ingratiate herself with sections of the electorate normally out of her party’s reach. On this kind of manoeuvring  the Conservatives have form. Prime Minister David Cameron dressing himself in the garb of an Old Testament prophet while proclaiming his same sex marriage legislation. Calling it his greatest political  achievement. Confidently asserting the merits of this change despite it being in direct contradiction to the teachings of Jesus Christ. He must have asked himself: who knows best: him or me? After a moment’s consideration, he perhaps looked in the shaving mirror, saw the god he worshipped and came to the only logical conclusion. On the other side of the political spectrum is Jeremy Corbyn, a Marxist who at the time of writing may be close to turning this country towards one of the most hateful and dictatorial forms of government ever seen in the Western world.

I also admit to hating, yes hating the fact that young children in our country are being taught from primary school age upwards to consider what sex they are. As if growing into your biologically and genetically decided gender was not difficult enough. He or she will watch and experience the process of their body and mind developing according to nature’s plan. But nowadays we ask what does nature know? Nothing about modern life, stuck in the past with no thought of change. I know there are those born into intersex bodies, but that is not as yet perceived as an evolutionary advantage or a third sex. On the contrary it is often recognised as a tragedy deserving every kind of help and support. But given the trend of seeing reality in a new light it is little wonder we are watching a generation grow up with increased suicidal inclinations, terrible anxieties and an attraction to dangers like drugs, booze and aimless acts of extreme violence. Many retreat into a virtual world. An unhealthy move which can cause them to lose contact with simple pleasures like communicating conversationally. I mean face to face with a real person. If some of these children are victims they are victims of those who are constructing a dangerous social cesspit of a society close to unfit for human habitation. Information overload and availability to anything anywhere online is not a prescription for healthy living. Also ignorance pervades our society. If we have little sense of proportion or understanding it could be that we have lost our grasp on history.

I have used the word hate a few times to make a point. As a word it is a blunt instrument, easily confused with other expressions like strong dislike or deeply concerned. I have deliberately hyped up the tone of this outburst. It mirrors what is going on in society. Hate Crime for example is a massive over reaction to perceived injustices. Many of our social problems are caused by the loss of a long held moral order and an understanding and appreciation of traditional social conventions. Among these, self discipline, good behaviour, respect for others, kindness, understanding, self sacrifice and love properly understood. We have instead created everything required to sponsor a broken society. And just to make sure, we have decided to take up a sledgehammer and beat the living daylights out of what is left of good old common sense.

The Blog is titled Here Lies the Truth. I hope you now realise why. The truth once known was based on Christian foundation’s. Multi-Faith and Multi-Culture and Political Correctness have conspired to upend that foundation. And the Church has in large part contributed by committing craven suicide through appeasement and compromise. Peace in our time was not a good political slogan to stand under. It had its day and presaged a world war. The Church in our country is for the most part trying to make peace with the world. The precise opposite of that which should absorb its attention. Nevertheless, I still believe in hope. Why? Because the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be proclaimed in good times and bad until the end of the age. It is my intention to add my voice to those others who feel the same. Below is a video about the young Irish couple who ran into trouble over their refusal to bake a cake with a message upon it celebrating and promoting homosexuality. As Christians they decided it was something they could not do. That decision involved them in a four and a half years of legal action ending in the Supreme Court. They are looking back over the experience.