Paisleyism and Secularism.

Paisleyism and Secularism

Paisleyism was once synonymous with Separatist evangelical Protestantism in Ulster and farther a field; as a protestant church, it maintained a consistent stand on the side of the Reformed Faith against the errors of Roman Catholicism, liberalism, modernism and an ever increasing collection of cults; on the political spectrum it championed the cause of uncompromising Unionism and vigorously opposed a united Ireland under republicanism.

There was a noticeable change in Paisleyism towards the late 1980s and early 1990s; separatist stands against various things were showing signs of compromise; the opening of shops and leisure facilities for example. However, it was about the time of the political agreement at St Andrews that Paisleyism changed to such an extent that it become no longer recognisable to evangelical Protestants.

The leader and founder of The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster and also leader of the DUP, Rev Ian Paisley, entered into negotiations with Ulster political leaders at a meeting hosted by the British and Irish governments at St Andrews. The talks were predicated upon the secular foundation of the Belfast agreement; after some ‘political spin’ or secular air brushing, there was a framework for terrorist inclusive government agreed. What is remarkable, is that, how did Rev Ian Paisley not recognise that the whole talks process was built upon secularism; how did he miss the absence of God’s Word being foundational to any political settlement.

At the referendum, the Republican voters voted the secular Sinn Fein party into power; while the unsuspecting Unionist voters voted the DUP into power; what the unionist electorate had not been told was that the power sharing arrangement was secular and not scripturally based. Rev Ian Paisley took the First Minster position in the terrorist inclusive executive; he stood down from his position as moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster so that he could pursue his new secular position.

For decades Paisleyism upbraided protestant denominations by calling them apostate as they slid backwards to the errors of Roman Catholicism; what will they call their own leader that led Ulster protestants into a Godless secular based power sharing executive with unrepentant criminals? While it is sad to witness protestant denominations backsliding into Papal error; it is devastating to watch evangelical Protestantism apostatize into secularism which is the spawning ground of Humanism and Atheism.

So long as the Free Presbyterian Church supports its ministers and members who support such a secularly based political power sharing executive, they are seen to be supporting secularism; how can any Christian denomination support apostasy in any form?

Rev Mervyn Cotton (Heb13:6)