What reasons might there be for a Christian Faith to influence us to support Brexit now?

What reasons might there be for a Christian Faith to influence us to support Brexit now?

This is a puzzle. I know a number of Christians who support Brexit, and have sought to understand whether there are reasons why their Christian faith might lead them that way. Of course, there might be none – some might view it as a morally neutral decision on which they have made a political, economic or constitutional judgement. Also, they are not obliged to tell me their reasons. That’s fair enough. But I have searched for faith-related reasons, which I could listen to and understand, that influence Christian friends to support Brexit, and my efforts have not been very fruitful.

This article presents the reasons that I have heard, bolstered by some I have read in relevant blogs, and with one extrapolated reason at the end.

Now I need to say at the start that I may not be the best person to present those reasons, and others may do this much better – this is not surprising, bearing in mind that I see strong faith-based reasons in the opposite direction.  I respect the fact that Christian friends of mine support Brexit and may have well-considered reasons for doing so.  I respect those views, and seek to understand them; I think it’s important to respect others and their views when discussing these matters.

But I do want to list what I have heard. If there are more reasons then I am interested in hearing them.

1.       We should respect decisions already taken- We voted “Out”; Parliament voted to send Article 50 notice.
2.       God is in control and we should have peace about the situation.
3.       The Bible supports the nation-state, not organisations of nation-states.
4.       Leaving the EU allows us to be free from the influence of the other EU countries.
5.       The architecture of the EU Parliament building and of the statue of Europa riding the beast have sinister implications 
6.       We need to suffer (or thrive) together outside the EU to bring the UK back together.

Brexit, of course, under Boris Johnson, means leaving with No Deal, because
- he is insisting on leaving on 31st October, "no ifs, no buts"

- he rejects the Theresa May Withdrawal Agreement and no alternative Withdrawal Agreement has been agreed or has even been proposed

- there is not Parliamentary time to pass the legislation necessary for any new Withdrawal Agreement, even if it had already been agreed.

In the rest of the blog I will explore the above reasons, stating my understanding of them and my response to them. If you are reading this blog and there are other reasons,  or any here that I have not understood fully, please comment - I am interested. 

ANALYSIS

11   We should respect decisions already taken-
We voted “Out”, Parliament voted to send Article 50 notice.
This is a constitutional consideration, much commented on in our Parliamentary democracy. How should the situation be resolved when a vote for a variety of Leave options has proved unimplementable because the advocates of those Leave options could not agree, and when public opinion (upon which the case for Leave rests) may well be different now? The public was told clearly that “the Government will implement what you decide” which is an argument for no further consultation – however it has not proved possible to “implement” the Leave campaign undertakings. I can understand that people may feel that morally we should honour the views expressed in 2016, and I can understand that others feel that morally the views reached in 2019 may be more significant; it’s a constitutional question upon which much has been said and written, and neither of the moral arguments can be dismissed. In other words, I do not view this as a decisive argument to Leave; taking the argument to its natural conclusion, would we still Leave if 80% of the 2019 voters were opposed to the Leave proposals, informed by what we now know?

22.  God is in control and we should have peace about the situation.
Christians will not I think argue against this, and it is good to keep this always in mind, particularly if it seems that the outcome is one that is likely to have unhappy consequences – deaths from medicine shortages, increased poverty, reduced UK influence on important issues such as climate change.
It is not, as far as I can see, an argument for or against Brexit, but an argument that we should put Brexit into perspective. So it does not really belong in this list, but I include it because I have seen it used eloquently as part of a blog on “Why I have peace about Brexit”.
https://prostheticpastor.wordpress.com/2019/09/01/brexit-a-reason-for-the-peace-i-have/?fbclid=IwAR07DO7IblKIBWfABTq-9WMYnCPUdsTHxi7NCtNr_biw7Rt5fRQae68RgX0

33.    The Bible supports the nation-state, not organisations of nation-states.

See “A Christian Case for Brexit (undated). This dismisses economic considerations

https://www.gerv.net/writings/brexit/

The idea of a world divided into nations is one approved of by God. Nations are not a result of the fall. On the last day, “the nations will walk by [the] light [of the glory of God], and the kings of the earth will bring their splendour into [the new Jerusalem]” (Rev. 21:24). National distinctives are not a bad thing; every nation has its own splendour. By contrast, Rev. 13 does not look with favour on the idea of one world government. Having nations limits the power of any single ruler

The author is in favour of free trade deals, but not of the organisations that have been most successful in bringing them about. I am not attempting to summarise the whole article, but just highlight the points about the nation-state.

These points are developed further in Joe Boot’s Christian case to Leave (April 2016)

https://www.ezrainstitute.ca/resource-library/blog-entries/voting-and-the-role-of-the-state

which finishes

“Until we can wrest control of Britain back from the EU we cannot hope as Christians to truly reshape it. But if by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit we are committed again to biblical faith as Christian people, then an exit from the EU may constitute the beginnings of a renewed opportunity for Britain to recapture the gospel truths that shaped her.”

This is an extensive piece (6,800 words) and I don’t claim that the final two sentences provide an adequate summary. It was written April 2016 and perhaps the author would revise some aspects now. One thread is the fear of influence of the Catholic Church and the Vatican on the EU, which has not been a factor I have seen cited elsewhere.

Diving a bit deeper:

“The four basic institutions that God has clearly established are marriage (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:5; Eph. 5:31), the family (Ps. 68:6; Eph. 3:14-15; Eph. 6:1-4), the church (Gen. 12:1-3; Matt. 6:18; Acts 2; Eph. 1:22-23) and the state (Gen. 9:1-10; Dan. 2:20-21; Rom. 13:1-7). These are all legitimate areas of government in human life. All of them are ordained by God in Scripture .”

It is the passage from Romans which appears to be most relevant to his argument

Submission to Governing Authorities

13 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ² Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³ For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. ⁴ For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

⁶ This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. ⁷ Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honour, then honour.

The author is not referring here to democratic protest about Brexit; the article was written in April 2016. But he is seeking to establish the morality of the principle of the nation-state.

“Second, what especially arises from the Christian understanding of the state, that is peculiarly relevant here, is the importance of maintaining realistic expectations of political institutions and so limiting institutional political power in the light of sin. We are going to see that at the very founding of the EU, in its earliest iterations and since, it set out almost utopian expectations for itself that would require far-reaching powers. In fact its framers placed central hope for Europe in its transnational forms of government and so laid upon political technocracy a shepherding role and responsibility that belongs to God – and under him, the sovereign state, the family and the church – not to transnational political institutions. When this happens, stifling regulations, controls and political coercion quickly erode freedom because the vain goal of moral and spiritual reformation of people through a planned society, created by political engineering, of necessity radically limits local independence and freedom.”

This is clearly a question of interpretation. The author treats Romans 13 as placing the nation-state in a special position, answerable only to God (though Paul may in fact have been referring to the Roman authorities). In that case we would have to reject the United Nations, NATO, the Paris climate change accord and all international trade agreements presumably. My interpretation is that the Romans 13 passage is about respecting those in secular authority, not as any comment on the level of governing organisations. Nor do I hear Jesus encouraging nationalism. Personally, I see increased co-operation between nation states as, broadly, a positive rather than negative development; of course, there could be exceptions to this, but I do not view the idea of nation states working together as intrinsically evil or un-Biblical.

There are further arguments in both references - I won’t repeat them in full because you can read those points in the articles concerned; I have just sought here to bring out the central point.

44.    Leaving the EU allows us to be free from the influence of the other EU countries.

This is expanded in this blog, which includes Christian arguments for Remain as well as for Leave, and has been extensively commented on.

https://www.psephizo.com/life-ministry/reflecting-on-brexit-from-a-christian-perspective/

“It’s Impossible To Stay: A Christian Case To Leave

We should leave because the EU, despite Christian elements in its vision, and past successes for example in relation to peace, is now failing and damaging members and others. It is increasingly captive to contemporary, particularly economic, idols as seen in the Euro, and is developing characteristics of an imperial project which do not adequately respect national integrity. Given its history, the UK is well able to discern and to alert the EU to these trends but attempts at reform have largely failed. Subsidiarity, for example, is honoured in word but not action as EU competences extend across so much of our lives. Particularly since the EU’s expansion, the possibility of representative political authority structures has diminished. There is even less—and far from sufficient—common identity uniting us and we should not seek to engineer or impose such an identity.”

“The principle of free movement of EU citizens denies the importance of our locatedness and does not do justice to distinct national identities. It is no longer enabling solidarity but increasing tensions and, as with other policies, leads to an unjustifiable preferential option for the EU rather than other, poorer, parts of the world. Brexit, though it will have costs, opens the possibility of creatively rethinking and reconfiguring this negative dynamic to enable the creation of a better situation not just for the UK but for the EU and wider world.”

A contrary viewpoint is very clearly stated here

British Christians and Brexit:
 To claim that somehow Britain is morally superior to the other 27 countries of the EU is a dangerously arrogant position to take.

http://evangelicalfocus.com/blogs/3652/Christians_in_the_UK_and_Brexit

55.    The architecture of the EU Parliament building and of the statue of Europa riding the beast have sinister implications based on the Book of Revelation.

This is an argument that has had influence on people that I know and is covered further in this link:

                 https://www.heartpublications.co.uk/is-the-eu-in-bible-prophecy/

I have to say that I do not tend to take decisions based on artwork. However, if we were to look at the architecture of the European Parliament , then its arrangements (semi-circular set-up etc) would suggest a design for co-operation that is stronger than in our own Parliament.  That does not mean that co-operation automatically follows. But I consider that the design of the Parliament chamber has more influence on what goes on within that chamber than the external architecture does.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_of_the_European_Parliament_in_Strasbourg#Principal_building

66.    We need to suffer (or thrive) together outside the EU to bring the UK back together.

This is not an argument I have seen made elsewhere. But if one is guided by arguments 1 and 2, and if one believes the economic forecasts from the UK Government among others, then do they lead to this argument (with the second outcome most likely)?

This is my own extrapolation, and it would be wrong to attribute it to any particular person. It is in inverted commas because it is not a view that I personally hold. However, it is my attempt to fill the vacuum of Christian reasons to Leave – to explore what the beliefs might be if one supported Brexit, and had a Christian faith, while recognising the possibility of the damage that could be caused.

“UNITING THE COUNTRY

The UK is very divided and it seems nothing will bring us together. Old are divided from young, well-off from struggling, the North and other regions from the metropolitan South, and many people seek to further their own interests and/or damage others’ interests. Further, the UK has an exaggerated sense of its own importance, evidenced for example by the idea that the EU would agree to all our trade deal demands, and that other countries would grant us trade deals equivalent to those enjoyed under the EU. There is no cure for this division except to Leave with No Deal, as being the most extremist position (so, no-one can claim that “We didn’t go far enough!”). There are then, at the extreme, two outcomes:

(1)    ‘SUNLIT UPLANDS’: The damage is not as great as has been suggested. The UK recovers from the effects of Brexit so far (loss in value of the currency, slow-down of the economy, loss of manufacturing jobs, loss of financial centres in London, divisiveness) and thrives, with increased employment compensating for the jobs lost so far. We establish a new immigration system favouring those who contribute most to the UK.   Gaps in NHS provision are filled. The Irish border question is solved. The vast majority of those who supported Remain realise that the fears were exaggerated. The country unites.

(2)    ‘FORTY YEARS IN THE DESERT’: The damage to the country is every bit as bad as was feared. Many people die from medicine shortages, NHS staff shortages, and poverty. The NHS is overwhelmed by elderly British people returning from continental Europe. The NHS ceases to become free at the point of use. Those who supported the Leave campaign leave politics. A new recognition of Britain’s diminished place in the world now becomes accepted. (Possibly, Scotland and Northern Ireland leave the UK). In adversity, people rediscover their wartime spirit of co-operation. The fact that some people voted for this outcome is forgotten as people work together. The U.K. eventually unites – with a shared view, among other things, that we would be better off in the EU. This might or might not take forty years, but the UK would be populated with a new generation, and some attitudes from 2016 would be a thing of the past”.

In either case, the country ends up united because we have enacted a form of Leaving the EU and have seen the consequences.

I hope that we do not experience the “Years in the Desert” scenario. This would represent a failure to reach sensible agreement in 2019-2020, leading to shared experience of the consequences.

CONCLUSION

I have devoted some effort to understanding why Christians that I know would or might support Brexit, and I can summarise my conclusions here.

Reason 1 – the question of what is the democratic decision – could influence Christian either way

Reason 2 – God is in control and we should be at peace – is a good point, encouraging Remain supporters to accept Brexit if necessary. It could just as well encourage Leave-supporters to be at peace about a Final-Say Referendum.

Reason 3 – places a significance on the nation-state which I don’t see as validated by the Bible.

Reason 4 – freedom from influence of other EU countries – carries a danger of arrogance as identified in the rebuttal. To be fair to the author he put the Christian case for Remain as well as for Leave.

Reason 5 – the architecture of the EU Parliament building – is not in my view a substantive reason for taking a decision of this magnitude, and as I’ve said I think the internal architecture has more impact.

Reason 6 – (my estimated extrapolation) - eventual uniting of the country after the consequences of Brexit – may turn out to be the outcome of failure to agree in 2019, but I don’t see the “Years in the Desert” as the best outcome.

This is against the backdrop of many faith-based reasons to Remain.

https://viewdelta.blogspot.com/2019/08/9-reasons-why-i-as-christian-am-in.html

Readers of my other blogs will not be surprised that I have not been convinced by what I have enumerated as reasons for Brexit. I stand ready to hear if people who read this have other Christian-based reasons for supporting the current Brexit path.