Lyndon Letter (March)

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CARE also brought Care for the Family and other organisations into being, founded the CARE Leadership Programme, initiated ministries helping women affected by abortion and offering hospitality to people in crisis situations, pioneered Christian fostering for young people on remand, worked in education and supported those affected by pornography addiction.

Lyndon Bowring CHAIRMAN

CONFIDENT FOR THE FUTURE Fifty years on from the NFoL, CARE has a gained a wealth of experience thanks to our involvement with hundreds of politicians and Christian leaders, an amazing staff team, and also you — supporting us faithfully as ‘light and salt’ partners in God’s kingdom in these challenging times.

We don’t know yet what long term effects the Covid crisis will have on society. Priorities have shifted and I believe the pendulum’s starting to swing away from the socially liberal stance promoted by the media in favour of a fairer society founded on stronger moral values and more open to tolerant debate.

I close with this from The Noble Liar: ‘Whether you are a supporter of the current orthodoxy or not, here is one certain thing you can rely on: it is not permanent. The qualities that made Christianity a force to be reckoned with — the truth that wins human hearts and compels belief — have not changed, and will go on winning converts to its banner. In the coming years, who is to say whether the old beliefs will not triumph again over the arid fictions of our current noble lie?’

We look back in wonder at God’s faithfulness. May we be granted the privilege to continue for many more years, encouraging future generations of Christians to ‘care for what they believe.’

Yours in His grace,

March 2021

POWER OF THE MEDIA One of the most important books I’ve read this past year is The Noble Liar by Robin Aitken. The title refers to the 4th century BC philosopher Plato’s comment that rulers can tell a myth or untruth, a ‘noble lie,’ to their people so as to maintain social harmony or advance an agenda.

We may not agree with all of the book’s content but one of Aitken’s powerful arguments is that in Britain the BBC promotes some of the ‘noble lies’ put out to popularise the increasingly liberal, secularised worldview that underpins British society today. The BBC, now almost a century old and by far our most important media organisation, produces superb programmes — particularly appreciated during Covid-19 — but on some important issues there are questions about its impartiality and fairness. The argument goes, that the media simply reflects real life but it’s often the other way around, with ordinary people losing their right to express views that differ from politically correct doctrines.

Lyndon Bowring CHAIRMAN

Views that oppose assisted suicide and abortion are given little or no airtime and being pro-life is increasingly unacceptable. Former MP Ann Winterton stated that the BBC had ‘ignored the rights of the disabled, despite the fact that every disability group in the UK is opposed to the legislation of assisted suicide.’ And it’s rarely suggested that escalating family breakdown, availability of harmful pornography and an encouragement to experiment with sexuality and relationships contribute to the worrying growth of mental health problems in children.

CAREORGUK

CARE.ORG.UK

CARE (Christian Action Research & Education) | Chief Executive Nola Leach | Chairman Rev Lyndon Bowring 53 Romney St, London, SW1P 3RF | 020 7233 0455 | mail@care.org.uk | Charity No: 1066963 | Scottish Charity No: SC038911

CELEBRATING THE NATIONWIDE FESTIVAL OF LIGHT Fifty years ago, on 25 September 1971, tens of thousands of Christians came together for what became known as the ‘Nationwide Festival of Light’, NfoL, in London’s Trafalgar Square. It was the largest open-air gathering of Christians in British history, a rallying call to uphold God’s truth in the face of rising secularisation, followed by a gospel concert in Hyde Park. My wife Celia was there! It was a watershed moment, particularly for evangelicals who’d previously considered political and social action the domain of the liberal wing of the Church.

‘God Almighty; it is our prayer that all things hostile to peace or decency may be banished from this house, and that the people, inclining their ear to whatsoever things are beautiful and honest and of good report, may tread the path of wisdom and uprightness’ Sadly today, BBC soaps and dramas often feature explicit sexual behaviour, swearing and violence along with a tolerant bias towards liberal views on many important moral issues.

WHAT DIFFERENCE HAS CARE MADE? We believe that, without CARE, secular, anti-Christian worldviews would have advanced even more in society. Since those NFoL beginnings CARE has endeavoured to ‘stand in the gap,’ persistently campaigning, informing Christians, and mobilising prayer. I pay tribute to Raymond, Nigel, Charlie, Roger, Claire, Dan and Nola who have led our Public Affairs work down the years, along with our brilliant current team. We’ve championed our Life, Family and Justice causes within the UK Parliaments and the Northern Ireland Assembly, providing secretariats for All-Party Parliamentary Groups and supplying parliamentarians with research, information and other support for debates, consultations and committees.

LIFE: The evening before, I helped to organise a march to the top of Caerphilly Mountain in Wales with local Christians, carrying blazing torches and singing. There we lit a bonfire, one of scores of historic beacons across the land, shining out to warn of an invasion of ungodly influences — like those lit nearly 400 years earlier to warn of invasion by the Spanish Armada.

If you were involved in any of these events, we’d love to hear from you — via email at 50Years@ care.org.uk, by letter, or by phone on 020 7233 0455. I joined NFoL’s committee and became Chairman in 1981. Two years later Charlie Colchester and I renamed the ministry CARE. During the 1950s and ‘60s, Christians were largely unaware of several key pieces of legislation passing through Parliament that brought fundamental changes to our national culture: the Witchcraft Act was repealed; the Theatres Act abolished censorship; and laws relating to obscenity, abortion, divorce and human sexuality were added to the Statute Book. The Home Secretary Roy Jenkins oversaw these changes, declaring that ‘the permissive society’ was ‘the civilised society’. And then the NFoL was born!

PRAYING FOR THE MEDIA We give thanks for everyone who is committed to excellence and communicating truth throughout the media industry, including many Christians who promote values of integrity.

Enclosed is CARE’s new ‘Seven Ways to Pray about the Media’ and on our website care.org. uk/media-card you can find guidance on how to contact media companies — whether to commend or complain.

The BBC was founded on Christian faith and values. The first Governors’ intent is inscribed in marble in the entrance to Broadcasting House, quoting from Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

• CARE’s work helped to defeat five separate Bills to legalise assisted suicide.

• We’ve frequently led the way to tighten abortion law and oppose efforts to liberalise it.

FAMILY: • During the ‘70s and ’80s CARE assisted Christian MPs with three successful Bills to guard public decency and protect children. We’ve been involved with several online safety Bills and worked with parliamentarians to include compulsory age verification for pornographic websites in the 2017 Digital Economy Act. CARE’s now pressing the Government to implement this measure.

• In 2014, CARE drafted an amendment to the Gambling Bill to set up a Gamstop so that anyone concerned they have a problem can exclude themselves from all gambling sites.

So far over 173,000 people across the UK have benefitted from it.

• Since 1995, CARE’s specialist tax consultants produced widely publicised annual reports, finally persuading the Government in 2015 to recognise marriage in the tax system.

JUSTICE: • CARE has championed freedom of speech, recently making the case for ‘reasonable accommodation’ for people to live out their religious beliefs within the workplace.

• We’ve addressed human trafficking, modern slavery and sexual exploitation. CARE served on the Government review that led to the 2003 Sexual Offences Act. We were principal advisors to Lord Morrow’s Northern Ireland Human Trafficking Bill passed in 2015. Work on the 2014 Immigration Bill led to the Government including Child Trafficking Guardians in the Modern Slavery Act. We proposed Lord McColl and Iain Duncan Smith MP’s Modern Slavery Victim Support Bill, forming a coalition of 25 supporting organisations.