Not ashamed
Dear Friends,
I‘m what they call a ‘late adopter’. That is, I wait to see which way a new technology is going before I adopt it – in fact, it‘s usually on the way out by the time I get around to it! Some people would just call me slow. Being a late adopter does stop me wasting money, but it also means I miss out on some really good things.
One really good thing I almost missed out on – I hope I‘m not too late – is the ‘Not Ashamed’ campaign launched by Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, at the start of December. In an excellent leaflet he explains: ―I don‘t know about you but I am immensely proud of our country. I‘m proud of our Parliamentary democracy under our Monarchy. I‘m proud of the sense of fairness and fair play that runs throughout our nation. I am proud of our tradition of tolerance and our historic commitment to welcoming the stranger.
“Yet what many people don‘t realise is that it is the Christian Faith that underpins these great strengths and that has enriched our nation in so many other ways. Our laws, our democracy and our health, welfare and education provision all find their origin in Christian principles whilst the influence of Christianity on our language, literature and culture has been enormous, not least through giants such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, William Wilberforce, John Newton, TS Elliot, William Temple and CS Lewis.”
He invites Christians to show that they are not ashamed of that Christian faith and heritage. It‘s a timely call, and I wish I had more space to commend it. It‘s probably best, though, to have a look at the website: www.notashamed.org.uk. You‘ll find his leaflet, plus lots of other things we can buy and use to show that we, too, are not ashamed. I might even get a wristband myself…
Yours in Christ,
Chris Hobbs