The May 7th local elections seem likely to produce a nationalist majority in both Wales and Scotland, though with no urgency for independence from either. England looks to be polarising away from the centre (Labour or Conservative) towards Greens or Reform. The key underlying question is a growing disillusionment with neo-liberalism since 2008 (except for the people it has benefitted in recent decades), and also with Brexit (which is now recognised as having solved nothing).
Yuval Noah Harari’s book “21 Lessons for the 21st Century” argues that the last century had three great “stories” which for a while gave many people hope, but which eventually all collapsed: Fascism (collapsed in 1946), Communism (early 1990s) and Liberalism (in 2008). Now, he says, we are left with Artificial Intelligence, which understands us better than we know ourselves, but gives little hope (and risks eliminating many “entry-level” jobs, at least in the short-term). Such a vacuum is a crisis for democracy, with leaders who can present thoroughly worked-out and realistic proposals unable to gain a hearing in the face of those who offer appealing and simplistic, but hollow, solutions for people’s hopes, fears and resentments.
The Church can suffer from the same problem, tempted to offer simplistic theological “answers” which provide a wide open and welcoming “front door”, but an equally wide “back door” where many leave, dissatisfied, after a short time. The same problem was evident in the time of Jesus, where the insistence of synagogue authorities on a rigid observance of sabbath “rules” clashed with the attitude of Jesus, that sabbath was for the benefit of people, not the other way round (Matthew chapter 12).
But “religion” always attempts to simplify the complexities of human life by reducing them to clear and straightforward regulations. The inevitable consequence is that religion finds it all too easy to identify the failings and “sins” of others, arguing that humanity is fundamentally “flawed”. Artificial Intelligence agrees with that judgement, telling us of our imperfections, emotional struggles and moral contradictions, largely the result of an evolutionary patchwork with no “perfect” blue-print, a view derived from millions of opinions and postings on the world-wide web.
But is humanity essentially “flawed”? Genesis 1, verse 31 asserts “God saw everything that God had made, and indeed it was very good”, including human beings. Of course it is a conviction from long before anyone knew about evolution, but perhaps not to be automatically discarded for that reason. Clearly things have gone seriously wrong in human history, but our judgement about the essential nature of human beings alters our view of the possibility of doing something about it (and our willingness to undertake that task).
Weblinks
21 Lessons for the 21st Century: Yuval Noah Harari (2018)- Penguin Vintage books: 21 lessons for the 21st century by Harari, Yuval Noah: Very Good (2019) 1778400392., 5/10/2026 8:06:32 AM | MusicMagpie
Archbishop: Michele Guinness (2025)- Hodder & Stoughton: Archbishop: A novel by Guinness, Michele: Good (2015) | WeBuyBooks
Propaganda and Subversion in the Old Testament: Rex Mason (1997)- SPCK – Propaganda & Subversion in the Old Testament by Mason, Rex: Good (1997) | Phatpocket Limited
Biblical references: Sabbath in the Hebrew Scriptures: Sabbath Day rest: Exodus 20:8 to 11 and Deuteronomy 5:12 to 15; Sabbath Year forgiveness of debt and debt service: Deuteronomy 15:1 to 18; Jubilee (fiftieth) Year restoration of land: Leviticus 25:8 to 28