The new Lord’s day?
‘Diversity’ is now enforced in the workplace by law 1 How does that impact on the day-to-day lifeof a Christian?
A Christian friend was recently instructed to attend a compulsory Diversity Course at his place of work. It seems that ‘Diversity’ is becoming the modern equivalent of ancient Rome’s ‘Lord’s Day’, when every citizen under Roman authority was required to acknowledge that Caesarwas ‘Lord’.
“I was required to attend a ‘Diversity’ course which had all the trappings of Cultural Marxism. For the first time I began to get an insight into how threatening and insidious this is. What is important to note, however, is that some of the content and goals are ones with which most Christians would agree. In this respect it reminds me of deception within the church – a blend of truth, half-truth and error. Diversity, like any other deception, is a mixture. Before looking at the more sinister and contradictory aspects, it is fair to highlight aspects that should (at least in principle) not be contentious.
“There was a strong message about the ease with which people can feel excluded by labelling. A model of how bullying can start was presented; we were shown a video made in the 1960s of a primary school experiment with a group of children, defining a set of rules that favoured those with blue eyes over those with brown (and vice versa). Within minutes this exposed the worst of human nature! The experiment was repeated with adults in London about a decade ago and produced similar results. The message was that staff should be vigilant about comments they hear being made which could lead to bullying. Incidents could be reported to HR (Human Resources) and they want staff to feel empowered to act.”
My friend went on to speak of the good work his company was doing in bridging the gender pay gap. Yet a number of standardised messages were presented that included clear influence from ‘Cultural Marxism’: “The company actively supports the LGBT movement and sponsors Pride. “ Various statistics were given (although not in written form) which conveyed the impression that gay people are victims, including a high suicide statistic and the number of countries in which homosexuality is illegal. No mention of Islam was made in this connection.
Gender issues
“Gender was defined as an individual’s personal identification. This was only covered briefly, although the company has previously placed leaflets promoting transgender in shared areas such as kitchens. Ironically, when focusing on the ‘gender pay gap’, the company uses the biological sex definition, i.e. men versus women’s pay, rather than breaking this down into whatever gender definitions are currently trendy!
Listing the five pillars of Islam
“Small group discussion included questions such as the number of people in Britain practicing each religion. It was stated there are 33.5 million Christians in Britain, suggesting that Christians dominate. This was hinted at by encouraging people to think how they might regard someone who was not Christian, yet “practiced their religion weekly”. Attendees were asked to list the
five pillars of Islam although no other religion was favoured by asking about its beliefs. This was followed by a question on how Islam compares with Christianity. The ‘official answer’ was that Islam and Christianity both believe in the same God! Course material included a definition of Islamophobia, although this was not discussed. The definition effectively said that anyone who disliked Islam, therefore hated Muslims. No other religion was allocated a ‘phobia’.
Loyalty above truth
“The course material stated we should regard all cultures as equal, and the head of HR even commented that in some cultures loyalty is considered the highest virtue. Therefore, if your friend, having run over someone whilst driving over the speed limit asked you to lie in Court for them, this could be a ‘morally superior action’. Ironically, despite the Diversity Course teaching, the company itself does not consider all cultures equal. It wants to promote women’s rightsin Saudi Arabia, implying that it regards Western values as superior.
Thought crime
“There were a number of worrying aspects about the approach of HR to the training which were reminiscent of totalitarian states. The suggestion of reporting to HR cases of potentially offensive comments is not in itself wrong, but could easily be abused, given the rapidly growing culture of ‘thought crime’ and the criminalisation of discourse that might ‘give offense’. Delegates were told from the outset to “keep an open mind” and be “non-judgemental”, suggesting that we were to avoid criticism of the messages being given. In addition, members of staff are expected to ‘celebrate’ diversity and act as ‘agents for change’.
Personal and prayerful consideration
“I spent much time in prayerful consideration about how to respond, including talking to a senior member of staff I am quite close to. He stated he didn’t agree with everything on the Course, saying that in his personal belief, there are only two genders! I mentioned the differences between Islamicand Christianteaching, especially with regard to the practices of their respective founders. He gave me a direct warning never to be critical of Islam in front of the two most senior members of staff within my department (both white men), as they would immediately respond with hostility. I have developed a very good working relationship with my line manager, who is excellent and supportive. He also happens to be homosexual. I have always been very open with him and value this freedom, having discussed my Christian beliefs in areas such as Biblical prophecy and experiences of God’s healing miracles. I was required to discuss my personal diversity action plan with him and to get his counter-signature.
Integrity versus job
“My concern was to balance the need to be a good employee against maintaining my integrity as a Christian. In particular, I was concerned that if I allowed myself to be intimidated by ‘Diversity’, I would submit to what is all too often an ‘anti-Christ’agenda with potentially dire consequences for my spiritual future. Nor did I want to hide beliefs I might one day be forced to admit under intense scrutiny (like Tim Farron MP, previous Leader of the Liberal Democrats). A special concern of mine was not to damage my Christian witness to my manager, having been praying for him over a period of time. Of course, I also did not want to lose my job!”
My friend received a helpful and supportive response from his line manager, and his Diversity Training Form was signed off with no repercussions. Prayers were undoubtedly answered!
The demand to submit
I believe that the account of Lot in Genesis 19teaches us rather more than just the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Genesis 19:4 we have the incident of Lot’s house being surrounded by those with an agenda. Today, Christian beliefs and morals are effectively being surrounded with the demand that we submit.We know that things can only get rougher now for Christians – but never lose sight of ‘the end of the story’ (19:24-25). The future analogy seems to be the fate of ‘Babylon’in Revelation 18:9-10. The leaders of the“kings of earth”mourn over their losses and total destruction, but crucially they do not repent. That is the ultimate cost of pride. It is perhaps ironic that the place where ‘Diversity’is most effectively demonstrated and celebrated is within the Body of Christ, where those hitherto in opposition, are brought together for all eternity through being adopted as children of God through faith in Jesus the Messiah! Halleluliah for that truth!
1 The Equality Act 2010
The issues opened up in this article are more fully explored in Steve Maltz’s recent book “Into the Lion’s Den” which looks at the development of Cultural Marxism and the Christian response to it.
Why might this subject be of interest to Christians in particular? And what is the specifically Biblical insight into this matter?
Proverbs provides some valuable insights: Proverbs 15:15 “All the days of the oppressed are wretched. But the cheerful heart has a continual feast”. There is little doubt that there is an increasing oppression invading the workspace – and it is not just Christians that are impacted. Yet our Lord provides a future – we can yet be cheerful!
Proverbs 15:17-17 “Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil. Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fatted calf with hatred”. Perhaps Christians now, more than ever, are going to have to make a hard choice between going the world’s way (with its attendant material benefits) or accepting a lower standard of living, yet with the assurance of God’s love overflowing us.
Proverbs 15:18 “A hot tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel” The politically correct are undoubtedly of hot temper. We need to be patient in our responses.
Proverbs 15:19 “The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway”. Perhaps lazy managers find it easier to hit spurious diversity targets than to “mind their own business”. The long-term result will be business “frustration” – and perhaps being overtaken by rivals.