Monday, 16 May 2016

Should I go or should I stay?

Last night, here at CBC, we looked at some of the issues around the EU Referendum. We tried to cut through some of the fear and the spin, and we also tried to think about how we come at this issue from a biblical perspective.

Thank you to Amanda who did a great job of presenting both sides of the debate.

Obviously there was a lot of information to take on board - most of which came from the BBC Reality Check. This is well worth a visit and you'll find lots of information about the many many issues involved.

Whilst the Bible says very little on whether or not the UK should leave the EU, it does say a lot about God and what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Often the questions being asked in this debate are the wrong questions. So part of addressing this issue from a biblical perspective requires us to ask the right questions, rather than to try and mine the Bible for answers to the wrong questions. 

Is, for example, "How will I be better off?" ever the right question for a Christian to ask when making any decision?

Another helpful resource which takes a look at the main issues in the Referendum debate is "Think, Pray, Vote: EU referendum resources for churches". This 27 page resource outlines the main issues and then asks a series of questions for us to reflect on and consider. These are often not the questions the national media is asking. 

A couple of weeks ago I went to a very interesting lunchtime meeting organised by the Jubilee Centre in Cambridge. Again the approach was not to try and persuade Christians which way to vote but to offer comment and reflection on how to evaluate the issues and policy options from a biblical perspective. You will find more resources on their website by clicking here.

If you would like another look at yesterday's presentation you will find it here - the BBC Reality Check is the source for all of the data given.

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