Righteous Baptist pastors in UK wrote this letter to the editor at The Telegraph. As you know already, many Christians are being attacked during this crisis for exercising their freedom of religion and assembly, but, as a Christian myself, I believe it’s important for us all to fight the numerous restrictions imposed by our government and the PTB.
Baptist call to resist
SIR – In the absence of any serious resistance to the regulations imposed upon the Church, we feel compelled to voice dismay at the ongoing incursion of the state into congregational life.
We urge Christian communities to push back, as appropriate, not only in the precincts of church gatherings but also in the routines of everyday life.
The ostensible reason for lockdown, namely to “save the NHS,” has long since passed. Notwithstanding the latest modelling predictions and apparent increase in infections, death rates from Covid-19 are very low.
Therefore, unless there is a view that the Government can actually eradicate the virus, not to mention mortality, we should resist being instructed in the way that we are. We should take all commonsense precautions, and then urge congregations and fellow citizens to get on with their business.
If we do not act now, then masking our faces, shaming our neighbours, and a national culture of fear will indeed become the “new normal”.
Our children’s education will be irrevocably damaged. The economy, which is the basis of the NHS’s future, will cease to provide. Ironically, the physical and mental health of our country will deteriorate further.
And our churches, which ought to be under our own jurisdiction, will become a shadow of the light they could be in our land – nothing more than a leisure activity.
As Baptists we have a long history of dissent. As Nonconformists we are not bound by the constraints of the establishment. What we urge now, however, is not simply for the freedom of our own Christian communities, but of the country that we love
Rev Dr Ian Stackhouse
Rev Dr Alasdair Black
Bishop Francis Sarpong
Rev Philip Fellows
Peter Jeffery
Guildford, Surrey