The post you are reporting:
"And no-one has ever simply become a Christian of their own free will, as you suggest"
I did not suggest that at all Alexander. How can the dead raise themselves to life? They cannot. If it were not for the Faith granting Grace of God, no one would ever seek Him, no one would be Christian, the Bible is absolutely clear in this respect - take a long read of the book of Romans, not just a read, but a study of that book using comparative texts from the original Greek would really help with your understanding in this respect. Or for a more complete understanding of the faith that you espouse, Gruden's Systematic Theology is a great book when read in conjunction with the Biblical text.
Everyone who is a Christian has converted to become a Christian. It is true to say that for some that the process of conviction leading to conversion is a slow and gradual one over many years, sometimes from childhood, but for many many others, conviction and conversion are a sudden event brought on by hearing the Gospel, often for the first time, spoken with the power of the Spirit behind it. Indeed, the New Testament norm and model is of sudden immediate conversion and the experience of millions of Christians throughout the ages and today is more often than not one of a definite point in time when before it one was not a Christian and after it one was a Christian.
India and China are both states where the teaching of Biblical Christianity is actively discouraged and never happens in school, yet in these two countries Christianity is growing strongly. An athiest State therefore is no impediment to church growth. It is individuals and the hardness or otherwise of their hearts towards God that determines whether Churches will flourish and grow or wither and die.
The Bible teaches that in this age in the last days there will be a great apostasy and falling away, we are witnessing the start of that and whilst I pray that it were otherwise and that people would have their hearts opened to repentence and salvation, I know that all of this is in the hands of God who works all things for the good of those who love and trust Him and are called according to His purposes.
I agree with Keith on the subject of why church buildings are being demolished or converted for other uses in this country and our libertarian State is not the reason. In that respect Keith is actually correct, so I naturally agree with a true statement. I do not agree with Keith that Christianity should be supplanted (although I don't remember him saying that it should), indeed I am engaged daily in the promulgation of the Gospel in the hope that some of those who hear will open their hearts and join the Kingdom, although I'll not ram it down the throats of those who chose to reject it.
"Our Union Flag guaranteed us this right" - erm no, only faithful preaching of the Gospel will perpetuate the Christian faith and even then, only a remnant will remain at the end of days.
I thought that perhaps you might have noted what I said about our State "Our State, in fact, is more religiously aware and observant than the vast majority of its citizens" . As our unwritten and somewhat fluid constitution is the foundation of the State, what I said definitely cannot be construed as me "denying" "the Christian British Constitution" as you put it. Sometimes, I swear you either do not read what is written or lack the cognitive ability to discern the connection between words and meanings. From what I know of our unwritten constitution there is little to none of the Gospel message contained within it and one would not expect there to be any either. Whilst our constitution has, in its foundations, a great deal of Judeao-Christian principles, the Classical Greco-Roman influence is also extremely prevalent, yet the State still, to this day, adheres far more to Christian principles than do the populace.
Christianity is never uprooted or destroyed in places where the Gospel is faithfully preached. Where faithful expository preaching of the Word gives way to ritual, tradition, human logic, false teaching and homily, the Church dies, its buildings become deserted and something else moves in.
The teaching of Christianity in State and private schools does not, and never has, led the majority of people to become Christians. Faithful preaching and teaching within a Church and the way in which the outward working of that teaching shows through in the way that the individuals who are members of that church interact with their neighbours, friends and wider community is how Christianity is established and maintained.