A survivor of the terrible Henan famine of 1943, in which five million died in three months, including his two brothers, Os was a witness to the climax of the Chinese revolution in 1949 and the beginning of the reign of terror under Mao Tse Tung. He was expelled with many other foreigners in 1951 and returned to Europe where he was educated in England.
The Global Charter of Conscience was launched at the European Parliament in Brussels in June 2012. It was largely drafted by Christian writer Os Guinness but it is not a Christian project per se. It is aimed at the good of all and has had wide support. The early drafts were reviewed by more than fifty academic experts from perspectives such as law, religion, and politics. Their religious backgrounds were similarly diverse. At the launch, Dr. Heiner Bielefelt, the UN Rapporteur on Religious Freedom, gave a passionate speech in support.
As the West declines, says author Os Guinness, Christians will need to be a faithful counter-culture engaged with a world very different than what we’ve known.
