April 8, 2013
Contact: Jeff Walton 202-682-4131, 202-413-5639 cell
“Thatcher’s faith and leadership helped revive a nation, peacefully win the Cold War, and promote global human rights ultimately based on biblical principles of human dignity and responsibility.”
-IRD President Mark Tooley
Washington, DC—Raised a devout Methodist who later joined the Church of England, Margaret Thatcher vigorously applied her Christian faith to her public
life as one of the most important and successful leaders of the Cold War era.
Thatcher outlined her public theology in her 1988 speech to the Church of Scotland, where she explained the Bible offers a “view of the universe, a proper attitude to work, and principles to shape economic and social life.” She said: “We are told we must work and use our talents to create wealth. ‘If a man will not work he shall not eat’ wrote St. Paul to the Thessalonians. Indeed, abundance rather than poverty has a legitimacy which derives from the very nature of Creation.”
In her speech, Thatcher said Christianity doesn’t offer political and economic specifics. But “any set of social and economic arrangements which is not founded on the acceptance of individual responsibility will do nothing but harm.”
And Thatcher insisted: “We must not profess the Christian faith and go to Church simply because we want social reforms and benefits or a better standard of behavior; but because we accept the sanctity of life, the responsibility that comes with freedom and the supreme sacrifice of Christ.
IRD President Mark Tooley commented:
“Thatcher’s faith and leadership helped revive a nation, peacefully win the Cold War, and promote global human rights ultimately based on biblical principles of human dignity and responsibility. God bless her memory.
“Let’s pray that churches of today are spiritually nurturing future such leaders as did British Methodism in Thatcher’s early years.”
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Comment by skotiad on April 8, 2013 at 4:09 pm
A few of my favorite Thatcher quotes:
“You cannot build a great nation or a brotherhood of man by spreading envy or hatred. Our policy is not built on envy or hatred but on liberty for the individual man or woman. It is not our policy to suppress success. ”
“The Left has never been slow to exploit the problems it creates.”
“To treat those who make an effort in the same way as those who do not is unjust.”
“Although I have always resisted the argument that a Christian has to be a conservative, I have never lost my conviction that there is a deep and providential harmony between this kind of political economy I favor and the insights of Christianity.”
“Soviet politics worked on the basis of slogans.”
[Insert “liberal” in place of “Soviet.”]
“I owe nothing to women’s lib.”
“Feminists are so keenly sensitive to being patronized by men but without any such sensitivity to the patronage of the state.”
Here was a true class act. “Lady Thatcher” sounds so right. Can you can “Lady Clinton” or “Lady Pelosi” without snickering?
Comment by Marco & Monica on April 8, 2013 at 4:18 pm
She (Margaret Thatcher) said: “We are told we must work and use our talents to create wealth.
There ya go, “create Wealth” a Reagenomics buzzword. Who’d a thought as a Christian, that WEALTH was anything but sinful?
On Mon, Apr 8, 2013 at 4:11 PM, Juicy Ecumenism – The Institute on Religi
Comment by gregpaley on April 9, 2013 at 12:49 pm
LOL, like a Pavlovian reflex: blame Reagan. Reagan did it! Reagan did it!
No thought, just repeating cliches, mynah birds with a superiority complex. Too funny
Comment by frederick johnsen on April 8, 2013 at 6:46 pm
A fine and fitting reminder and a tasteful remembrance of Thatcher, unlike the vile hate-filled insults spewing from the left’s foul-mouthed sewers. Rest in Peace Mrs. Thatcher.