St Alban is remembered on 22nd June. That is the date of his death as recorded by Bede. Where did he die? In the city that bears his name: St Albans, north of London, formerly known as Verulamium.
But what year? It was probably around 303AD which saw the beginning of the great persecution of Christians under the reign of Diocletian, who issued a series of four edicts. Each was more unreasonable and draconian than the last, stripping Christians of their rights and property, and forcing them to make pagan sacrifices.
None of the Edicts outlawed the profession a Christian faith. Christians were not required to renounce Christ. You could preach Jesus as Lord. Or at least a lord or god. It’s the same today. No-one’s going to tell you that Jesus is evil and that you should renounce him. It’s only a problem when you obey him.
The Romans probably prided themselves on their tolerance. That’s what their army aggressively enforced: tolerance. The adaptability of Roman-ness had been their great strength for centuries. As long as you paid your taxes, accepted you were a second-class citizen compared to the Roman master race and sacrificed a pinch of incense to the emperor, you wouldn’t have any trouble. What’s not to like? Apart from the apartheid, obviously. But look at the aqueduct! Check out those arches! And the clean water!
It wasn’t what Christians did that was the problem. It was what they refused to do. It was the shibboleths they would not sanction, the words they would not say, the sacrifices they would not make.
Christians are not to take up arms against their rulers, even if they are tyrants. After all, Jesus said to render to Caesar that which bears the image of Caesar (Matt 22:21). The apostle Paul told the Roman Christians to “be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.” (Romans 13:1). He really wrote that. Submit to the authorities: the persecuting, Emperor-worshipping, killing-Christians-in-the-Colosseum authorities. The apostle Peter wrote, “Honour everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the emperor.” (1 Peter 2:17)
Ordinary Time
Normally, there is no conflict between the state’s laws or requirements and our Christian obligations. We may find the tax rates injurious or unjust. We may find the regulations petty or discriminatory. Maybe the nation’s foreign policy is wrong-headed or even immoral. What do we do? We don’t get to break the law. And if you do break the law, you must accept the legal consesequnces.
We are not even to dishonour those who rule us. You may be a Christian and a staunch anti-monarchist, but I think it would be wrong for you to insist on greeting the king as ‘Charlie Windsor’.
The Pinch Point
But on the occasions when we are required to break the law of God, we must resist that law. Peter told us to “Honour the emperor.” He also joined with the apostles in saying “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 4:29) The insistence by the Sanhedrin that the apostles not preach the gospel had to be resisted. Equally, they accepted the punishment due for disobeying the Sanhedrin’s requirements and did not resist arrest.
And so to St Alban
Let us draw strength, then, from the story of St Alban, the first recorded British martyr for the faith. He was a pagan who came to Christ whilst sheltering a Christian priest fleeing the authorities. When Roman soldiers came searching for the errant cleric, Alban disguised himself in the priest’s clothes, allowing the priest to escape. Alban himself was arrested and tortured, refusing to renounce his new faith and perform the required pagan sacrifices.
The judge ordered Alban to be executed. Alban then performed a miracle, causing a river that obstructed their path to dry up, allowing him and his captors to proceed to the site of his execution, where another miracle took place. Alban prayed and a spring of water appeared, providing a drink for him. His executioner was so moved by Alban’s faith and the miracles that he converted to Christianity and refused to carry out the execution. Another executioner was found, and Alban was beheaded. It is said that a well sprang up on the spot where Alban’s head fell. This is where they built St Alban’s Cathedral.
Make of the story what you will. But note the resistance of a priest caused his host, Alban, to come to faith who in turn converted his executioner. We do not know what the results of faithful obedience will be.
Resist. You will be put under immense pressure to conform – not least by other Christians who are convicted by your stand. Why won’t you use the pronouns? Why won’t you wear the pin? Why won’t you just do what everyone else is doing?
The question is often, “What makes you so special?”
The answer is “God does. He makes us special. We are made in his image. Let us not deface that image with disobedience. We render to Caesar what bears his image. We render ourselves to God, for we are made in his image.”
This St Alban’s day, just say ‘no’. You never know. They might build a cathedral on the spot where they killed you for it.
Politics downstream from Culture?
Where does this leave the business of politics? On the Cooper and Cary podcast, I had an interesting conversation with Dr Graham Shearer, who set me straight on a few things, not least the notion that politics is downstream from culture. He said it isn’t, and convincingly explained why. We also briefly talked about how and why Parliament voted down the Church of England’s prayer book in 1928.
When Kramer refuses to wear the ribbon
But the final word on this goes to Kramer in the pleasingly prescient episode of Seinfeld: