Godless Britain
Britain has rejected God’s ways for living. Has God given Britain over to Destruction?
“Britain and the British are godless and godforsaken” [Financial Times, 25 September 2020 ]
false gods – abortion – redefining marriage – simplifying divorce – legalised homosexuality
paganism – misleading the young – abandoning creation – godless leaders – antisemitism
A Prophecy over Godless Britain
“… the whole nation that I created and sustained has turned from Me. They paganise their land, state and institutions; there is no voice heard to warn the nation. False religion, the work of world rulers of darkness, cover your Isles; A Laodicean church, neither hot nor cold, rumbles on like machinery … It is Christianity without Me.
… judgement is determined against your land. I can do no other. I will destroy the vestiges of her greatness; I will return her to her first estate. I will wreck her economy, destabilise her in every way. I will change her climate, even her weather. I will prove to her that the way of the transgressor is hard and terrible. I will allow demonic forces held in check erstwhile by My Word and Gospel, and the living faith of so many, to become rampant in her social life, to the destruction of her society.”
The Relevance of Biblical Law to Britain
The Bible is a mix of God’s laws for living life. For example, using the nation of Israel as a vehicle for establishing these laws
- God gave man basic criminal law (as in stealing, Exodus 22:1)
- God gave man basic civil law (as in the release of debt, Deuteronomy 15:1)
- God gave man basic moral law (rules governing right and wrong, as in the Ten Commandments)
- God gave man food laws (guidelines as to which animals should not be eaten, Leviticus 11:47)
- God gave man the ability to understand creation via scientific laws (Job 38, Romans 1:20)
Clearly, things have developed since Old Testament times and criminal and civil laws must be seen in their historical context. However, some of these laws are restated in the New Testament as commandments for today. Jesus expanded them into more complete and broader principles for living – for all time and for all peoples. He said:
Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
Matthew 5:17
For example, Jesus expanded the 1st commandment (to have no other god but the God of Israel) to the need to love and serve the God of Israel with zeal (Matthew 22:37).
He expanded the 4th commandment (keeping the Sabbath, and resting from work) to one of respecting it whilst being pragmatic, even to the extent of ‘breaking’ the Sabbath to show compassion (Mark 3:1-5).
He expanded the 7th commandment on acts of adultery (Exodus 20:14) to include even thoughts of adultery (Matthew 5:28), and the importance of marriage fidelity (Matthew 5:32).
He summarised the 8th, 9th and 10th Commandments in the commandment to “love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).
Similarly, Paul expanded the Old Testament law on acts of homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22) to point out that to do such acts is against the natural order of creation and so results in physical problems (Romans 1:26,27).
So where Old Testament law spills over into a broad, culturally-free command in the New Testament we are justified in using it as a critique for Britain today! In fact, it is claimed that, in the past, the Bible has strongly influenced English Common Law, link. The Common Law is essentially biblical principles adapted to the local culture.
Similarly, the Ten Commandments are also seen as a primary source of American law, link. The video below charges America with the sin of replacing God’s laws (God’s way of living) with man’s laws:
Here’s ten examples of Godless Britain
For detailed studies see Britain Under Judgement and Britain in Danger
1. Britain worships other gods, or none
But what does the Bible say?
You shall have no other gods before Me . . . Hear, O Israel: The LORD thy God is one LORD . . . For I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me.
Exodus 20:3, Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 46:9
So according to the Bible there is only ONE god – the God of Israel. Sadly, in Godless Britain many go after ‘other gods’ and worship ‘idols’ (Jeremiah 19:4, Deuteronomy 7:25,26). This is seen in the closure of institutionalised churches and the rapid growth of Islamic mosques and Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain temples across Britain.
In 1961 there were just 7 mosques in Britain, compared to over 2,000 masjids/mosques and prayer rooms in 2023. Combined with the adjoining London Muslim Centre and the Maryam Centre, the East London mosque is one of the largest in Europe.
The basic theology behind these faiths, specifically their view of Jesus Christ and the nature of God, are at variance with biblical teaching. Do these faiths honour even the first two commandments – to love and serve the only true God – the God of Israel – and not to worship idols? Yet Britain has welcomed the expansion of these faiths.
Godless Britain is now one of the most secular countries in the world. By 2015, UK church attendance had declined to 5%, link. In 1961 some 91% of Britons expressed belief in God, falling to 55% by 2018 [British Social Attitudes].
2. Britain’s adherents of abortion see personhood starting at birth
But what does the Bible say?
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you . . .
Jeremiah 1:5
Clearly, God saw the unborn Jeremiah as a person. The New Testament even records the joyous meeting of two unborn babies (Luke 1:39-45)! Sadly, by 2020, nearly 10 million babies had been lost to abortion since the 1967 Abortion Act, link, and today UK abortion kills some 200,000 babies (little people) each year. The vast majority (some 98%) of these are carried out under ‘Category C’ which is effectively for social reasons rather than to save the mother’s life.
In God’s view this sheds the blood of the innocent (Jeremiah 19:4), and is hated by Him. To make matters even worse, in 2022 MPs voted to make access to medical abortion at home (DIY abortion) a permanent option for women in England.
3. Britain simplifies divorce
But what does the Bible say?
What God has joined together, let not man separate . . . for the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce
Matthew 19:6, Malachi 2:16
Godless Britain views divorce as ‘acceptable’, rather than as the exception (Matthew 19.1-9). Divorce saw a rapid rise after the law was relaxed around 1970, and in 1992 Britain had the third highest divorce rate out of 20 European countries, link. A fall in Britain’s divorce rate over recent years has been attributed to the relaxation of social pressure to marry.
In 2022 No-Fault Divorce came into force in England and Wales with the aim to reduce the potential for conflict amongst divorcing couples. But now it will normally no longer be possible to contest a divorce: a person will be able to simply walk away from their marriage, no reason given. It is claimed this seriously undermines marriage, link.
4. Britain redefines marriage
But what does the Bible say?
Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?
Matthew 19:5
Clearly, God defines marriage as between one man and one woman. Until recently most Protestant denominations in the UK adhered to this biblical view, namely: that marriage is ordained by God for the union between a man and a woman. The primary purposes being intimate companionship, the rearing of children and mutual support.
Then came government redefinition of marriage. Same-sex marriage became legal in England and Wales in 2013 – a direct defiance of the biblical definition. Moreover, some biblically-liberal churches have followed this godless move by redefining marriage as “between two people“, link.
5. Britain embraces homosexuality
But what does the Bible say?
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.
Leviticus 18:22
The biblical case against the act of homosexuality is found, for example in the following texts:
Leviticus 18:22, 20:13; Deuteronomy 23:18, Matthew 5:17-19; Romans 1:18-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and Revelation 21:27.
Some claim these moral laws no longer apply; society has moved on! Really? Don’t most people still readily admit that it is wrong to lust after your next of kin (Leviticus 18:11), to commit adultery and to steal. And don’t they still consider it morally and physically repugnant to have sexual intercourse with an animal (Leviticus 18.23)?
But in defiance of such biblical injunctions, the UK has progressively legalised private homosexual acts between consenting adults. In response to EU directives the UK government introduced the Equality Act 2010, where sexual orientation is a ‘protected characteristic’. In practice this law effectively restricts free speech on homosexuality and free expression of Christian ethics on sexuality in the work place! The Act also encourages public bodies to support homosexual behaviour e.g. members from the UK Gay Police Association participate in uniform at Gay Pride Marches.
To their credit, some Middle Eastern countries still identify homosexuality as unlawful.
In Wales, Franklin Graham (son of the late preacher Billy Graham) was eventually legally cleared to bring his “God Loves You” tour to the International Conference Centre (ICC) Wales, in Newport in May 2022. In 2020 Graham’s tour was cancelled because of his views on homosexuality; he holds that “God says that homosexuality is a sin”.
Concerning the 2022 tour, Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford said: “I regret the fact that the event is going ahead . . . Revd Graham’s views absolutely do not reflect anything that the Welsh Government would be prepared to endorse or sanction”. In a statement Mr Graham said: “I’m not coming to Wales to speak against anyone, I’m coming to share a message of God’s love. Recall God’s warning:
For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and those who are led by them are destroyed
Isaiah 9:16
6. Britain leads the young into immorality
But what does the Bible say?
Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Mattew18:6
In 2003, Section 28, the legislation which banned the promotion of homosexuality in schools was repealed in England and Wales. In 2010 Nick Clegg stated in an interview with a British magazine for homosexuals, that all faith schools in the United Kingdom should be legally obliged to teach children that homosexuality is normal. Of course, it is not !
In 2020, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) became compulsory for all secondary age pupils. Children learn about consent, relationships, contraceptives, porn, LGBT+ rights, and all schools including faith schools have to comply. Children are taught that it is legal to be LGBTQ+. They learn to respect different family structures and that under British law it is legal to both enter into same-sex relationships and to get married, link.
Also, now there is widely available teenage sexual health advice, with no legal requirement to inform parents. This undermines the biblical picture of parental authority and care (Proverbs 22:6).
Drag Queens: these are men who use clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate the female gender. They are even presented to school children. Such activities are an abomination in God’s sight:
A man should not put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord God (Deuteronomy 22:5)
7. Britain teaches evolution as fact
But what does the Bible say?
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth . . . God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind …
Genesis 1:1,25
Oxford Zoologist Richard Dawkins has claimed that (macro) evolution is a fact. But the Bible claims God created all things. And there is much scientific evidence to support creationism and show that evolution is just a theory.
Nevertheless, over recent years Godless Britain has progressively banned the teaching of creationism as a scientific theory in free schools and academies, link. Specifically, all state schools are required to teach ‘a broad and balanced curriculum’, and the UK Government has decided that to teach creationism as scientifically valid would not be being balanced, link.
As for free schools and academies, these schools can teach any religious doctrine so long as they teach the religious philosophy of evolutionism in the science classroom and exclude student exposure to the scientific flaws in the evolutionary model, link. So truth really has “fallen in the street” (Isaiah 59:14).
8. Britain’s leaders abandon righteous ways
But what does God say?
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people . . . the leaders of this people cause them to err, and those who are led by them are destroyed
Proverbs 14:34, Isaiah 9:16
GOOD POLITICS IS NOT SUFFICIENT
At every election most people vote for what they hope will lead to a fairer and more prosperous society. Invariably the arguments look to improving our physical well-being and range from food banks to the NHS. This is good, but Jesus said there is more to our lives:
It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’ (Matthew 4 verse 4)
There are two elements here: Good politics attempts to provide “the bread”, but how many of our politicians look to the word of God in the Bible? How can Britain be blessed if she ignores God’s instructions for life?
In the past, the Monarch would call the nation to prayer during times of crisis. The last to do so was King George VI, who, acting under the advice of Winston Churchill, called the nation to a National Day of Prayer for Repentance and Petition for Deliverance during World War II. The churches were packed.
But when Tony Blair was asked by the Rev. Ian Paisley to issue a similar call, the request was declined. And when Tony Blair was asked in an interview about his Christian faith, he was interrupted by his spin-doctor Alistair Campbell (an atheist) who said: ‘I’m sorry, we don’t do God.’
Similarly, in 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer openly declared his atheism: “I am not of faith, I don’t believe in god”. But, to his credit, and despite allegations of his lack of integrity, Ex Prime Minister Boris Johnson swam against the godless tide by quoting Psalm 14: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’ “.
That said, over recent years UK government ministers have voted – in the face of Britain’s Christian heritage – to encourage civil partnerships, abolish blasphemy laws and implement sexual orientation regulations. And they have failed to provide clear legal safeguards for street preachers in the PCSC Bill, 2021, link.
Similarly, church leaders seem to prefer political correctness to biblical truth when they tread the interfaith path without stressing that Christ is the one and only way to God. In an attempt to appease other faiths, Christianity is no longer held up as unique amongst other faiths.
9. Paganism and Moral Corruption
Example: The closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London was broadcast to the world. It could have reflected the Christian heritage of the nation and glorified God. Instead it carried a strong occult theme and glorified Satan. It embraced the concepts of wizards, elves, ghosts, the new world order, heaven and hell, money, death, the sea goddess, Lucifer and the phoenix bird. The phoenix is an Egyptian symbol of rebirth and immortality. Some of the lyrics invoked the spirit world:
I call upon the spirit of Autumn. The spirit of water, of the ebb and flow of emotion; of open seas and running streams, of cleansing rain; spirit of the evening sun, of twilight and of Autumn … I call upon the spirit of Winter. The spirit of earth, of the womb of creation; of the night and the snows of winter, deep roots and ancient stones.
Example: The 2024 Eurovision Song Contest was another example. The UK entry received zero points – a fitting score for the most deprived entry in the programme. It featured men cavorting around in acts of homosexual lewdness, and the Irish entry featured a lesbian self-styled witch called Bambi Thug who engaged in sexual poses with a man looking like Satan. Observers said it was like taking a trip to Sodom.
How will the God of Israel, the one true holy and righteous God respond to such moral defiance?
10. Britain fails the Jews
Britain failed her Palestinian Mandate responsibility. Between 1922 and 1948 she illegally traded land mandated for the Jewish homeland; she proposed partitioning the remaining land; and most significantly she severely restricted Jewish immigration to Palestine when Jews were fleeing Nazi Europe. Currently the British government takes an anti-Israel stance, notably by pressurizing Israel to make peace with a coalition that states it wants to obliterate Israel.
Jewish people in Britain say they are considering leaving the country as it “feels like Nazi Germany”, amid a surge in antisemitic incidents since the 7 October Hamas massacre in Israel. In 2023 the number of antisemitic incidents across Britain reached 4,103, more than twice the figure in 2022, amid a surge of threats, hate speech, violence and damage to Jewish institutions and property, [Reuters].
How serious is such action against God’s people? Very serious if we take God’s promise to Abraham seriously:
… the one (individual or nation) who curses you I will curse [Genesis 12:3]
Does a Godless Britain Matter?
Has God given Britain over to Destruction?
Probably, yes. Many observers see a massive decline in Britain:
Since 1997 something startling has happened in the venerable and ancient nation of Britain. The result, at the turn of the 20th century, is a British people that has lost contact with its roots and now faces complete divorce from its national heritage . . . Britain is at grave risk of losing all concept and memory of its rich and glorious God-given heritage [thetrimpet.com]
Historically, God has judged rebellious godless nations, and Israel is a prime example. The tribes of Israel were commanded to follow God’s ways for living (Deuteronomy 28:1-14) and were warned of the severe consequences if they didn’t (Deuteronomy 28:15-68).
Of course, this is Old Testament history, and Godless Britain is not Israel. But God’s instructions for life still stand, as does His reprimand when a nation ignores His word. God says to rebellious, godless Gentile nations:
The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.
Jeremiah 18:7,8
So there is still hope for Godless Britain – if the nation (the Government, the Church and the people) repent of their godless laws and ways.
The Effect of Corporate Prayer
1940: Britain on the Brink
Curiously, at this time Hitler ordered his army to halt, and for three days the German tanks and soldiers stood idle while the evacuation unfolded. Moreover, bad weather on the Tuesday grounded the Luftwaffe, allowing Allied soldiers to march unhindered to the beaches, whilst on Wednesday the sea was extraordinarily calm, making the evacuation less hazardous. By the time the German Army was finally ordered to renew its attack, over 338,000 troops had been snatched from the beaches.
Many saw this as the hand of God in response to Britain praying, and referred to it as ‘the miracle of Dunkirk’.
1873: Rocky Mountain Locusts
In 1873 swarms of locusts (grasshoppers) plagued Minnesota, destroying wheat, oat, corn and barley fields. In the absence of pesticides farmers had no effective solution. So the plague worsened in the years 1874 – 1876, with both farmers and town dwellers reduced to paupery and starvation. In 1877 they had but one option: to petition the state governor to call a state-wide Day of Prayer. This was granted.
On Thursday May 26 a hush fell over the state as the people fasted and asked God to prevent the impending scourge. Shops and bars were closed and the churches were packed. God answered through unusual weather. On the Day of Prayer the weather was unusually warm for a Spring day, encouraging the locust larvae to hatch. But late that night, snow and freezing temperatures swept down from Canada for several days and froze the larvae to death. The plague ended. Moreover, the harvests that year were the best in Minnesota’s history!
God still calls rebellious nations to Prayer
Initially given to rebellious Israel around 300 BC, the following scripture is often quoted for the healing of nations today. To those nations who once honoured His name and followed His word, God says:
If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14
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