Wednesday 10 April 2013

Media Obituaries Overlook Margaret Thatcher’s Christian Faith



U.S. President George H. W. Bush awards former U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991. Image courtesy of the George Bush Presidential Library.




Joel Kontinen

Former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died on Monday at the age of 87. Obituaries in the media have mostly overlooked her devout Christian faith that to a great extent shaped her approach to politics during her long tenure (1979-1990) as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Mrs. Thatcher named C. S. Lewis as a major source of inspiration for her thinking. The Iron Lady, as she was called, did not shy away from disclosing her Christian faith. Addressing the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1988, Mrs. Thatcher said:

"We must not profess the Christian faith and go to Church simply because we want social reforms and benefits or a better standard of behaviour, but because we accept the sanctity of life, the responsibility that comes with freedom and the supreme sacrifice of Christ."

But this does not seem to be of interest to the media.


Source:

Weber, Jeremy. 2013. Margaret Thatcher Obits Overlook Her 'Devout Christian Faith'. Christianity Today (8 April).