The Prime Minister’s Easter message has been criticised for missing the heart of Christianity.
Writing for The Spectator, Isabel Hardman said that David Cameron had tried to keep his explanation of Easter as “sanitised” as possible.
Last year, Mr Cameron’s Easter message called on people to think of Christians suffering abroad.
Christian message
In his Easter message, written for Premier Christianity magazine, Mr Cameron shared his idea of what he thinks is “the heart of the Christian message”.
He said: “Easter is all about remembering the importance of change, responsibility, and doing the right thing for the good of our children.”
“And today”, he continued, “that message matters more than ever”.
Patronising
Isabel Hardman challenged his definition, writing: “generally the heart of the Christian message is considered to be a man called the son of God dying in agony on a cross and then rising from the dead, saying he was taking a punishment that men deserved”.
She argued that: “The whole ‘doing the right thing for the good of our children’ isn’t the heart of the Christian message and to say so is rather patronising to people who aren’t Christian”.
Hardman wondered if Cameron, fearing mocking from the non-churchgoing population, decided to keep his explanation of the Easter message as “sanitised as possible”.
Reluctance
She concluded, “there does seem to be a reluctance to talk about what is, at least officially, the heart of the Christian message, in case it offends people”.
In his Easter message last year, published on YouTube, Mr Cameron said: “Religious freedom is an absolute, fundamental human right.”
He added that: “Britain is committed to protecting and promoting that right, by standing up for Christians and other minorities, at home and abroad.”