The line separating good and evil

Alexander Solzhenitsyn

In July 2024 on BBC Question Time political commentator Andew Marr hailed the election of the new Labour government led by Sir Keir Stamer with these words, "For the first time in many of our lives, actually Britain looks like a little haven of peace and stability". With near constant speculation in the media over how much longer Starmer will occupy 10 Downing Street, Marr’s quote hasn’t aged well.

On being elected the Prime Minister pledged to clean up public life. Then In February 2025 he proceeded to appoint Peter Mandelson as UK Ambassador to the United States of America. Starmer was forced to sack him from that role some seven months later, once Mandelson's links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstine were revealed. The scandal blew up again earlier this year when the publication of the Epstein files laid bare the full extent of the former ambassador’s relationship with the disgraced financier. Mandelson has since been questioned by the police, although he denies any criminal wrongdoing. Starmer is now under pressure again, as the process by which Mandelson was vetted for his ambassador role has come under intense scrutiny. 

My point isn’t a party political one. Politicians of all stripes have been involved scandals over the years. So have high up business people, figures from the church and members of the royal family. As the Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn reflected,  “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart". 

Believing that your political cause is more virtuous than the other lot is no bulwark against moral compromise. It only serves to make the hypocrisy worse when self-regarding politicians are caught out doing themselves what they decried in their opponents. As Tim Shipman, political editor at the Spectator points out, "Sanctimony in politics usually comes back to bite the sanctimonious. When those concerned hold themselves in as high esteem as Starmer does, the fall is even further. Believing you are good does not insulate you from behaving badly." (The Spectator's Evening Blend email, 17 April 2027)

Recent events are a stark reminder of our fallen humanity. No matter how high we may rise, there is something within us that brings us back to earth with a bump. The Bible calls that something ‘sin’. Our political leaders have no answer to this problem, for they like us are part of the problem. But God has an answer, and his answer is Jesus. The Son of God came into the world to save us by dying on the cross for our sins. By faith in him we may be forgiven and be put right with God. That's good news not only for public figures engulfed by scandal, but you and me. 

* For various local parish magazines 

A Christian Country?

Some local councils (not ours, thankfully) have changed their Christmas Festivals into Winter Festivals. On seeing that people often roll their eyes and mutter, ‘Isn’t Britain meant to be a Christian country?’ It depends on what you mean by that.

Has the Christian faith had a massive effect on our country’s history and culture? Yes. Does Christianity have an official role in the political constitution of our land? Again, yes. The King is also supreme governor of the Church of England. Anglican Bishops have seats in the House of Lords. The Monarch is crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury. 

Does that mean that each individual citizen of the United Kingdom is therefore a follower of Jesus? Clearly not. According to the latest census, people identifying as Christian are now in a minority. We live in a society where people of many faiths and no religious faith manage to rub along together. A good thing too. 

As a Baptist I believe in the separation of Church and State. I don’t think that the monarch should be supreme governor of a branch of the church or that Anglican bishops should be appointed to the House of Lords ex officio. Yes, Christians may be involved in politics at a local or national level. It’s also right for individual believers to exercise influence on society, but of course people of other faiths or none are free to do the same. 

We can’t link Christianity and national citizenship because the church is composed of people ‘every nation, and tribe and tongue’. A Christian is a person who believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for our sins and rose again from the dead. A Christian acknowledges that Jesus is Lord of their lives. A church is a local gathering of believers who seek to bear witness to Jesus and serve him in their daily lives. No one can think themselves a Christian because of where they were born. What counts is whether they have been born again. 

* For local parish magazines