The Global War On Truth

A comparison of current cultural issues in New Zealand and the UK

Just over a year ago, I left the beautiful country of New Zealand and moved to my heritage - and heart - country of England.

Since moving here and starting working with a Christian ministry tackling the biggest political, social, legal, and cultural issues facing Christians here in the UK, I have been given the chance to witness the increasingly tense ideology wars between the Church and the culture.

What has struck me the most is that, compared to New Zealand, here in the UK we have so much more time and so many more tactics available in our fight against anti-biblical ideology.

In many ways, New Zealand is far more ‘progressive’ than the UK - and I don’t mean that in a good way.

So in what ways is the UK following in the footsteps of New Zealand?

Can we stem the tide of unbiblical ideology and prevent its sweeping rampage through our nation before it’s too late?

Dismantling the sanctity of life

In New Zealand, abortion is essentially legal up until birth for any reason, as long as deemed ‘medically appropriate’, and sex-selective abortions are also deemed legal.

However, in the UK there is still a cut-off at 24 weeks, unless the pre-born baby is disabled, in which case abortion is accessible until full-term. Sex-selective abortion is still currently banned as well.

Euthanasia and assisted suicide both became legal in New Zealand in 2021, claiming the lives of 344 people as of March 2024.

Following closely behind, a new bill introduced to the UK political scene is attempting to legalise assisted suicide for the terminally ill. This softer approach - with a focus on legalising assisted suicide instead of euthanasia - highlights the prevalence of more conservative values still present in the UK general public.

Placing pills in someone else’s hand to enable them to end their suffering seems more palatable and compassionate than enabling doctors to give the lethal injection and become killers themselves.

And so, with the intentionally ambiguous title of ‘Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill’, this legislation is seeking to normalise and legalise assisted suicide in the UK.

Although the MP proposing the bill, Kim Leadbeater, has promised stringent safeguards to protect the vulnerable against coercion and the ‘duty to die’, overseas examples prove these ‘safeguards’ are simply ineffective in the long run.

The Netherlands, Belgium, Oregon, and Canada all provide stark warnings of the reality that, once assisted suicide is legalised, safeguards are eventually seen as ‘discriminatory’ and dismantled and liberalised.

However, we don’t need to look that far. In New Zealand, a mere two years since the legalisation of euthanasia, there are already campaigns in place to further loosen restrictions and liberalise eligibility for assisted suicide.

New Zealand may be further down the track in terms of its acceptance of destructive ‘progressive’ ideology, but the UK seems intent on ‘closing the gap’ as speedily as legislation processes will permit.

Criminalising biblical truth

Moving from life issues to issues of freedom, New Zealand once again led the way by banning ‘conversion therapy practices’ in 2022.

Contrary to the idea that this law bans torture and inhumane attempts at coercive conversion, the reality is that this law bans the expression of anything that doesn’t celebrate and affirm radical gender ideology.

According to the law, parents are prohibited from questioning their children’s claims to be transgender or homosexual.

Pastors risk fines or imprisonment for calling out homosexuality or transgenderism as sin and encouraging people to repent and be transformed by the gospel.

Perhaps most startling is that the law explicitly bans individuals from praying for same-sex attracted or gender-confused individuals to walk in accordance with God’s revealed design for sexuality and gender, even when that prayer is requested by the individual themself.

Now, the UK’s Labour government is promising to follow suit with a trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy practices that will severely restrict individuals’ rights to question gender ideology and prevent gender-confused people from getting the truth and support they need.

Young people will be pushed down a one-way route of affirmation and acceptance, only to be left stranded with no access to genuine support when they realise that transgenderism and homosexuality are not the wonderful solutions they were seeking.

Christians will be ostracised and criminalised for speaking truthfully about sex and gender, and scientific realities will be silenced and deemed offensive and incompatible with a postmodern society.

Another arena of freedom of speech that has been attacked in both New Zealand and the UK is that of abortion ‘buffer zones’.

In New Zealand, “safe areas” were introduced in 2022, which prohibit pro-life expressions or demonstrations within a certain parameter of abortion clinics or hospitals where abortion procedures are performed.

Just last month, in October 2024, abortion ‘safe access zones’ came into force across the UK.

These ‘safe access zones’ prohibit even silent prayer and are a serious infringement on Christians’ rights to freedom of speech.

However, the even greater and more tragic infringement is that imposed on the vulnerable women arriving at an abortion clinic.

By silencing pro-life expression, these ‘zones’ are depriving desperate, hurting women of their right to hear the truth about abortion and be offered the support and alternative life-saving options that pro-lifers are willing to provide.

When a nation silences truth and criminalises freedom of speech, that nation is intentionally plunging headfirst into an ideological dictatorship, one where cultural acceptability becomes the standard of morality and dissent is treason to the new world order of ideological conformity.

Is it too late?

In human terms, both New Zealand and the UK are pretty far gone.

Our politics are in many ways in shambles, fiercely anti-biblical ideology is rampaging through our institutions, freedom is facing increasing restrictions, and religion is slowly but surely facing two choices: criminalisation or conformation.

However, with God as our Father, we know nothing - and no one - is a lost cause.

We have the hope our society so desperately needs. The church must be responsible for faithfully addressing the current cultural crisis and applying the truth of scripture to every area of life and society.

We have the answer to every problem our nation faces, and as redeemed children of the risen King, we are duty-bound to share that hope of redemption with every member of society: the lost, the hopeless, the arrogant, the wicked, and the powerful.

As this comparison between New Zealand and the UK reveals, unbiblical ideologies erode a nation’s biblical heritage over long seasons of apathy, lulling Christians into a false sense of security.

However, although our eternal fate is secure, our earthly one is far from it.

Yes, Christ is sovereign and nothing happens that He has not ordained to be part of His will for mankind.

But, He also calls us to be ambassadors for Him, to stand for truth in a dark world, and to work to bring our nations into submission to Scripture.

As Christians, we must refocus on Scripture and on the power of the gospel.

When the gospel takes root in the heart of a nation, and the church first and foremost recognises the sufficiency of Scripture for every area of life, the outward workings of that renewal must of necessity result in the eventual restoration of a biblical society.

We may see victories or the world may seem to darken each passing day, but Christ is sovereign in everything.

Our responsibility is not to change the world, but to be faithful servants of Christ and to follow Him wherever He leads us.

Our duty is to stand for truth and let God take care of the consequences.