Sorry, J. John...

I write this with a heavy heart. I hate disagreements, and when people criticise me, so I am loathe to do it here. Nevertheless…

J. John is a superb evangelist, and a very funny man. However he has just written a blog on the Premier Christianity website. He’s taking issue with the matter of political correctness; responding to the BBC’s declared support for diversity, criticising for example the white middle class male, erstwhile counter-cultural heroes, like Monty Python.

J. John correctly points out the origins of political correctness in the Christian Gospel, which advocates justice for the oppressed. Yet he thinks it has gone too far. And, although he doesn’t mention it, some of the targets may be evangelical Christians, whose beliefs on sexuality and sexual ethics are out of sync with the current liberal consensus.

However, I think he has gone too far in identifying with right-wing positions, which may later detract from his calling as an evangelist. In particular, I will respond to three of his numbered points:

1. J. John, rightly, maintains that genuine attitudinal change, for example on racism, can only come from within, not through external imposition of laws. However, in a fallen world, government, and institutions, such as the BBC, have a duty to limit sinful actions, and protect the weak. In addition while laws on prejudice or discrimination can’t remove inner beliefs, they can educate a public on what is acceptable behaviour, and gradually reduce it, as in smoking bans.

3. He says there is a danger in creating a victim mentality, where people blame others for their situation, rather than working hard to better themselves by their w efforts. This is true. But there are also historical structural injustices, which prevent some classes of people from operating on a level playing field.

5. He writes that he’d prefer a competent person to do work, for example as a surgeon, rather than one chosen on the basis of irrelevant characteristics such as ethnicity or gender. He’s again correct. But it’s exactly the unwritten prejudices of our society which prevents this from happening, and frequently excludes certain groups of people from attaining such positions of responsibility.

J. John is raising some important matters. But he is not an expert, and misses important nuances. Nor is he a politician. So he risks undermining support for his ministry by aligning himself with right-wing politics.

This has also affected other evangelists. I was recently approached by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, to support the London campaign of Franklin Graham. I had to decline, because of the support for the far-right by Franklin Graham. This weakens the necessary wide-based support for evangelistic initiatives, and the more general credibility of evangelical Christianity itself. I can’t associate myself with such a narrow political base.

His father, Billy Graham, while undoubtedly personally conservative, was non-partisan, working with Presidents and politicians of every stripe. A real elder statesman of the faith, we would do well to emulate him, to further the proclamation of the gospel.