So from time to time we come across a speech or book that gives us a profound glimpse into our nation & ourselves. As we listen or read it feels like we are staring into a mirror. I was listening to a sermon series by Pastor Andrew Owen from Destiny Church Glasgow. The series is called Astronomical Grace and it is such an excellent series. Pastor Andrew is attempting to help remove the crippling effects of condemnation & legalism from the lives of believers & empowering people to walk in the fulness of God’s grace and holiness. In Part Nine of the Series Pastor Andrew quotes from a book, “The Scot’s a Crisis in Confidence” that has received much attention from political & other leaders in the UK. In it the author Carol Craig (an atheist) shares some of her observations and research on why Scotland as a nation is in the current condition it is in. As a Scot I have to say what she writes resonates with me.
Is Scotland under a curse?
The statistics are severe, (it doesn’t matter which you look at)
- Health status of Scotland is worse than Eastern European countries
- Worst new business start rate almost on the planet
- 1-5 families do not have a bread winner/no one works
- 1-3 families in Glasgow live in a home with no income. (Living off the state).
The Scots a Crisis of Confidence – Carol Craig
Conclusion of the book – “The terrible situations that are occurring in Scotland are largely due to the influence of the church and the message it has preached through a doctrine usually referred to as Calvinism”
Snapshot of the Nations Soul;
1. We tend to see the world and the people in it as worthless and damned
• 2nd Question Andrew Owen was asked when he came to Glasgow, “Are you an Arminian or Calvinist?”
• <1% attend church 99% give church a wide birth
2. We tend to see a persons mistakes as deliberate choices, bad faith & willfulness rather than simple error – “you are responsible for screwing up your life”
• we are so afraid of this accusation as a nation we are afraid of failure
• so we don’t try
• don’t start new businesses or ministries
• the church has preached a gospel of works – you need to work your way out of sin
3. An over riding tendency to believe criticism and blame is really very helpful and leads to improvement – so we squeeze out encouragements and motivations
• we don’t encourage & motivate, we usually say, “couldn’t you do better”, “couldn’t you try harder “– ahh it’s not too bad, its a reasonable job
• the church has taught that the Holy Spirit is part of the process – that when he comes into your life He is the master accuser and correcter
• The Devil is actually the Accuser, The Holy Spirit is really the Comforter
4. We have a prevailing belief that it is wrong to think highly of oneself
• like American’s we see ourselves as equal to others
• The difference however, in America everyone is a potential winner
• In Scotland everyone is a potential loser
• And if you look like a winner we will use our humor and cutting comments to put you back into your place – we will take you down a peg or two
5. There is a strong injunction to “know your place”
• while motivated to be egalitarian (equal) the outcome reinforces class or gender inequality
• the city(Glasgow) is filled with people who live in a box named class
• people will not cross from one part of the city to the next
• If one aspire’s to improve in life they are accused with guilt loaded statements like “you’ve changed” or “you’ve left us”
• the price for moving up – is persecution from those around them
• voices speaking out – ‘who do you think you are?’
• the church has built its own hierarchical system of bishops and priests
6. There is a deep desire to build a New Jerusalem
• a perfect society – where we all have what we need
• money doesn’t matter – “because we are not paying for it”
• the Scottish government will pay for it
• We don’t think fiscally or in terms of profit or blessing
• we don’t even want to talk about money
• This attitude conflicts directly with Scripture – “God promises the works of your hand will prosper”
• but, we are sitting back and watching others work
7. We are living in a country where we are pressed to prove our worth (achieve)
• but because we are always reminded about our failures we really feel bad about ourselves
8. Because of all of the previous points our communities end up with mistrust & bigotry/class & segregation
9. Scottish Culture is overly masculine
• tender, soft & emotional issues are left to Robbie Burns (our national poet)
10. We live in a nation where our kids hate school
• due to the way they are measured and tested
• and negatively reinforced
Deuteronomy 27
• probably not so coincidently the curses listed correspond to the status of the nation
I wanted to share my notes, the reach of Calvinism is much wider than Scotland.
Here is a link to Destiny Church Glasgow website:
http://www.destiny-church.com/
Check Out the Astronomical Grace Podcast, especially part 9 if this blog interested you.