A recent poll by NOP published in the Sunday Express declared that 85% of us still think that Britain is a class-based society. 69% believed that the top jobs are only available to the privileged few.
Equal opportunities and the pursuit of the classless society seem to be well-accepted dogma these days, for all major political parties. 'We might not have got there yet, but we're working on it,' they say.
Of course the church ought to be just such a classless society. I was reminded of this as I read through the epistle to James recently using J.B. Phillips's translation. He renders the first verse of chapter 2 with crushing directness. 'Don't ever attempt, my brothers, to combine snobbery with faith in our Lord Jesus Christ!'
The re-emergence of heavy shepherds
What would you think if you received a letter from your church leaders that read like this? ‘Are church members …