More from Muggeridge

I have now finished reading the biography of Malcolm Muggeridge. I was arrested by this sentence: 'To a younger generation growing up in a world which had less and less interest in the past, his name meant nothing.' Well, it is not surprising that a younger generation did not know his name, but I think it is true that that generation and now the present young generation, has less and less interest in the past. And that is serious for a historical religion like Christianity.

Malcolm Muggeridge

At present I am reading Richard Ingrams’ biography of Malcolm Muggeridge. One of the striking things it reveals is the antipathy to Christianity by the left-wing literary elite who were part of Muggeridge’s life. ‘… supporters of the Soviet Government welcomed its strenuous efforts to impose atheism and eradicate Christianity almost more than anything else that had been done.’ As A. J. P. Taylor wrote to Muggeridge, ‘… think of the fact that a new generation is growing up free from Christianity – that’s something worthwhile.’ It is the successors of that generation who are largely responsible for quite a measure of success in eradicating Christianity from Great Britain. One reason for our interest in Muggeridge is that we knew his eldest son Leonard well – a gentle, humble Christian man, a member of the Christian Brethren who studied at London Bible College in the early 1950’s, now into his eighties. He became a believer long before his father’s turn to Roman Catholicism.

Love me do

Yesterday the local news in the North West reminded us all that it was the 50^th anniversary of the Beatles first record, Love me do. Over 1600 hundred people gathered in Liverpool to sing the song and get their name into the Guinness book of records as the largest choir – or something like that. Whether that was quite as significant as Bill Hailey’s visit to this country or the first record by Elvis Presley is a moot point. What can’t be denied is that pop music has grown ever more important and dominated the life of teenagers – and others – at least from the Sixties onwards. I have often tried to decide what effect this has had on life in Britain, on moral standards, and on the whole culture. I have thought of preaching on the subject several times but have never been able to come to any decisive conclusion – mere condemnation does no-one any good. Yet I cannot but believe that much pop and rock music has had a seriously harmful effect on young people and so on the whole ethos and outlook of a couple of generations. Personally, I think it is also responsible for damaging Christian worship; in the first place at least, through the charismatic movement. Just when many churches were seeing the importance of reverence and seriousness in the worship of God a whole new emphasis began to be brought in and is still spreading its effects. I post these thoughts for any others who may wish to ponder the influence of the Beatles and many other popular groups before and since.

[I delayed posting this from last week for a reason but have now decided to put it on my blog.]

Same-sex Marriage

There is a very interesting, thoughtful and provocative article on Same-sex Marriage by Stephen Clark on the Affinity website under Table Talk. It can be accessed via http://www.affinity.org.uk/TableTalk.