Recovering the past

Clive James, a graduate of Pembroke College, wrote a collection of essays called Cultural Amnesia: Necessary Memories from History and Arts. A key theme, among several, was an argument for liberal humanism arising out of the lives, ideas and experiences of people who faced the threat of totalitarianism in the 20th century. However, a more profound “cultural amnesia” afflicts contemporary Western culture than that feared by James. The cultured despisers of Christianity contend that Christianity is the enemy of reason, tolerance, liberty and progress. How should we respond? Theologian David Bentley Hart maintains that “Christians ought not to surrender the past but should instead deepen their own collective memory of what the gospel has been in human history.” In Atheist Delusions (Yale, 2009), he tackles the historical revisionism which turns Christianity into a whipping boy for the ills of the world. The heart of his argument is that we owe an immense, and unrecognized, debt to the influence of Christianity. Over its first five centuries, so profound was the impact of Christianity on Western thought and culture that Bentley Hart has no hesitation in speaking of the “Christian Revolution”. And the debt we owe? Consider this by way of example:
The ethical presuppositions intrinsic to modernity … [are] haunting echoes of Christian moral theology. Even the most ardent secularists among us generally cling to notions of human rights, economic and social justice, providence for the indigent, legal equality, or basic human dignity that pre-Christian Western culture would have found not so much foolish as unintelligible. It is simply the case that we distant children of the pagans would not be able to believe in any of these things – they would never have occurred to us – had our ancestors not believed that God is love, that charity is the foundation of all virtues, that to fail to feed the hungry or care for the suffering is to sin against Christ, and that Christ laid down his life for the least of his brethren

Christian Heritage has, throughout 2008/9, continued to highlight profound benefits which have flowed from the gospel and from people, believers or otherwise, influenced by the worldview, priorities and ethics rooted in the gospel. This reverberates with the call to “remember” what God has done in the past (Deuteronomy 5:15; Psalm 105:5; Luke 22:19) and the injunction to make “the teaching about our God and Saviour attractive” (Titus 2:10) by making its wholesome impact on people’s lives apparent. The Round Church in Cambridge offers unique opportunities to engage in such a ministry. All year round, visitors make their way to the Round Church, and through our displays, our bookstall, our welcome and our guided walks, people see and hear a testimony to the impact of Christ over the centuries. Scientific enquiry, religious liberty, cultural and artistic expression, and social and political reform, are all part of this rich and varied story. We are thrilled, of course, when all this leads on to an opportunity to “give the reason for the hope that [we] have” (1 Peter 3:15).

Challenging the present

While we can fruitfully draw on the past, we embrace the fact that we live in the present. If Christian Heritage is to promote the gospel of Christ it must do so in the only window of opportunity available: today! It is a commonplace that many today have little, if any, background knowledge of the Bible, are instinctively sceptical about its claims, and readily dismiss Christianity as a failed and discredited religion. Our outreach events have offered a fresh perspective on one or more aspects of the gospel and its implications. Our aim has been to enable people to grasp the positive and transforming impact of the gospel and to encounter the reality of human experience and God's grace. In January, for example, we hosted Heaven in a Nightclub: The Spiritual Roots of Jazz at Emmanuel College. We had 150 seats and could have filled them twice over. The programme blended jazz, performed to the highest standard, with historical and theological insight. Dr Bill Edgar, Professor of Apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary, USA was our pianist and speaker. Between songs, he revealed the impact of the gospel on the lives of African-American slaves and how the musical and cultural expression of their faith was a major influence on jazz in the 20th century. He performed with Adaryll Jordan, a gifted saxophonist, and Ruth Naomi Floyd, a superlative vocalist. Song after song – soulful, harrowing, joyful, delightful and passionate – bore witness to the pain of slavery and deliverance, at the deepest level, through God’s rescue from sin and bondage. A standing ovation, a time of discussion, and many words of appreciation rounded off the evening. It was intended to be, and proved to be, an event to which people who might not darken the doors of a church could readily come (including one lady who had not been to church for 17 years but afterwards decided to go again the following Sunday).

Shaping the future Our flagship events each summer are the Cambridge Summer School of Theology, led this year by Dr Jerram Barrs, and our training courses in apologetics. We were particularly pleased this year to attract more students from the UK and more delegates from Eastern Europe; thanks to the generosity of our donors we had been able to offer subsidised prices for students and more bursaries than in previous years. As one of our brochures says: “We aim to equip and train Christians, to help them develop a well-grounded confidence in Christian truth and to enable them in a sceptical and complex world to give reasons for their hope in Christ.” Time – and eternity – will tell how much our courses have contributed to that goal, but the feedback from delegates (see over) is certainly promising. For Christian Heritage, ‘shaping the future’ is taking on a new emphasis. Ranald Macaulay, now 73 years old, has begun to scale back the amount of time he can commit to our ministry and will focus on writing, speaking and dialogue with visitors. Meanwhile, Martin Lown has assumed greater responsibility for day-to-day management and is filling the role of director. We are embarking on a time of transition, as we move from being – humanly speaking – an initiative pioneered by Ranald to pursue a new phase of development. In time, a successor for Ranald will need to be recruited and we would value your prayers – and continued support – as we plan for the future.

  Christopher Townsend Board Member         (Author: Christopher Townsend)

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