Sobering News from Ulster

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/8/northern-ireland-unrest-four-key-questions-answered

Everyone who has followed the news surrounding Northern Ireland and Brexit has dreaded this moment. Hopefully, things will calm down but there's another element to the story the Al Jazeera article fails to pursue.

There are still elements both within Unionist/Loyalist circles and the wider orbit of the IRA and its permutations that want to see a return to The Troubles. These parties were not happy with the 1998 settlement and viewed the parties that came to the consensus as traitors. They've been waiting for over twenty years and Brexit may provide the needed grass roots matrix they've been looking for.

The only solution to the problem of a 'Hard' border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland was to create something akin to a hard border between British Ulster and the isle of Britain itself. Northern Ireland is still in the UK but practically speaking it has become something of a special zone and in terms of customs and commerce it is more closely linked with Dublin than London. This is what has the Unionists up in arms. If there's to be a hard border they want it between Northern Ireland and the Republic – the very thing most people don't want to see, the very thing that could lead to a rekindling of Fenian nationalism and a black market, conditions which could mark a return to the Troubles.

There's no easy solution here but what I fear is that Loyalists will once again utilise Protestant Christianity as a rallying point. These Unionist Christians must feel isolated though – as most of the larger Protestant and Evangelical worlds have cozied up to Rome and have adopted Schaefferian co-belligerence as a key strategy if not a formal doctrine. There are a few parts in the world where the old Catholic-Protestant tensions are still running red hot – and Northern Ireland is one of them. Ironically, all the years of religiously-motivated and connected violence have hurt both the Catholics and Protestants in both Irelands. But nationalism is still powerful and it's not hard to overlay it with a religious veneer. And there are certainly a plethora of false teachers (in the vein of the late Ian Paisley) that are eager to do just that. And Sinn Fein politicians attending IRA-member funerals only adds fuel to the fire. The Loyalists can use such visuals as a means to recruit and fire up their base.

Let us pray the situation is calmed and a workable solution is found. Frankly the British stole Northern Ireland just as they did all of Ireland at one point. And the tensions in the north are due to deliberate policies pursued by the English in the 17^th century – one that plays a part in many American ancestries as well. And while I have little sympathy for the claims of the British Empire regarding its oldest colony – the fact of the matter is the Protestants or Ulster-Scots of the North have been there for over four hundred years now. You can't simply write them off or expect them to leave. That said, the reality is that at some point they may have to acquiesce to living under Dublin's rule – or they can depart and I'm sure the British government will welcome them with open arms.

Christian nationalism (whether Protestant or Catholic) is a rejection of the pilgrim and stranger ethic of the New Testament. The Unionist Churches in the North have forgotten that. As far as Rome's conduct, what do you expect? I don't expect anything from them but I do when it comes to those who profess to uphold the Scriptures as their doctrinal authority. But in many cases it's clear this is an empty and hollow claim. They are bound by their tradition and they may very well fall with it.