Kerfuffle at St Pauls.

The whole current fracas at St Pauls may seem to be about grass-root protests against the evils of unchecked faceless capitalism. It may even seem to be a revolt of the common people against the established structures of our country, in this case, the English Church.

But that's all a smokescreen really. There's a bigger issue at stake and most are not seeing it. What we are seeing here is nothing les than the beginning of the end of State Christianity that survived the Reformation and has held sway for far too long in this country. St Pauls Cathedral is the visible symbol of the Church in this country. It physically survived the Blitz but has spiritually lost the current battle. It is seen as an irrelevant joke. How soon will it be before this perception spreads to the parishes (though most would say that this has already begun a long time ago).

Its treatment of the current protests has been visibly and laughably pathetic. It has lost three of its staff, including its boss and, more importantly, has lost the heart of the nation. There has been ample opportunity for these salaried churchmen to do what their salaried vocations expected (i.e. preach the gospel), instead the only gospel heard by the myriad of TV and radio crews in front of the cathedral are those of anarchy, liberation and a multitude of fringe causes that always gravitate to film cameras.

"For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17)

Keep an eye on this. Let's see how this develops.