People are always asking what’s wrong with the Church. Why do so many young people leave? Why is it that (in the West), so few people seem to be interested in it any more? Why does the rest of the world see it as irrelevant, if not wrong? Although it isn't the whole story, I feel that part of the problem is that we who try to proclaim Jesus' message fail so utterly to follow in his footsteps ourselves. To me, congregations and worship services seem to be more hype than substance, and so leave people feeling empty. People are told they are going to have an exciting life following the revolutionary Jesus, but all that ends up meaning in practice is raising a few pounds for some people you never get to see or, if you're lucky, giving out food on a breadline once a month. Surely the gospel Jesus died for must mean more than this? It seems so lukewarm in the face of the grinding poverty, the relentless wars being waged all around us. Even worse, some churches deny that people should follow Jesus in practise at all - insisting that God is only interested in what goes on in the pulpit (public 'worship', and preaching), and in the bedroom (sex and prayer life) - the two places where those outside of the congregation are least likely to visit! All this, when the scriptures clearly state that the most important kind of worship is standing up for and with oppressed people, and caring for them. A life of loving God, man and creation should surely seem more fulfilling, more alive than the standard 'Christian life' currently does. At the end of the day, living as a Christian seems to often end up meaning living like everyone else when it comes to public life - where you work, where you live, and what you do politically. The 'church' promises spiritual riches, but really at the end of the day feels spiritually poor (to me, and probably a lot of the people who leave it).
What Revelation says about spiritual poverty is this: 'To the angel of the Church of Laodicea write: "These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the source of God's creation: I know what you are doing; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were either cold or hot! Because you are neither one nor the other, but just lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'How rich I am! What a fortune I have made! I have everything I want.' In fact, though you do not realise it you are a pitiful wretch, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy gold refined in the fire to make you truly rich, and white robes to put on to hide the shame of your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so that you may see..."
Too many times I have heard during prayers 'Thankyou Lord for blessing us with wealth, with plenty to eat and drink, and with a government that does not persecute us'. Just like the church in Laodicea. In reality, our wealth and abundance comes from the exploitation of the poor by big companies, by The Market, and by our government. Just as Laodicea's wealth came from the Roman Empire who exploited the poor in much the same way. The way to end spiritual poverty is surely not the way the world tries to make itself happy - with bigger buildings, more awe-inspiring lights and media equipment, and hip advertising slogans. No, Jesus told us that spiritual wealth - 'treasures in heaven' - are found by rejecting all that: 'Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide for yourselves purses that do not wear out and never-failing treasure in heaven, where no thief can get near it, no moth destroy it. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also' (Luke 12). Is it any wonder that, when our money is in banks and buildings, that our spirits are dull as bank-vaults, and our hearts as cold as stone buildings?
Our buildings have vaulted ceilings and impressive modern music. Yet, if people like vaulted ceilings, there are better ones in the houses of parliament. If they like modern music and hype, there is better music (sorry, it's true!) in the clubs and stadiums. If ‘christians’ want to invite people into the kingdom of God, then they need to show an alternative to this. At the moment, we just seem to be offering an imitation, and a bad imitation, of the world when thousands are yearning for something different. Jesus turned over the tables of the money changers, but the 'church' these days has sat down and joined them, by investing their money in banks and shares. (The Church of England has decided that it is actually illegal for them to have an ethical investment policy!). Jesus refused to bear the sword, and disarmed Peter, yet the 'church' today stands silent as it's children march off to war. Or even worse, blesses the weapons that kill the poor and helpless! Jesus must surely regret saying 'Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me'. In the last two thousand years, 'christians' have cut, burned, pillaged, raped, bombed and shot Jesus, have crucified him a thousand timed as he cries 'My Church, My Church, why have you forsaken me?'.
This reminds me of a story about St Thomas Aquinas:
'The story is told of an occasion where St. Thomas Aquinas was walking with a prelate through one of the grand cathedrals of his day. Referring to a coffer filled with precious coins, the prelate remarked, "Behold, Master Thomas, the church can no longer say, as St. Peter, 'Silver and gold have I none!'" St. Thomas was apparently quick with his retort, "Alas, neither can we say what follows, 'In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk.’
If Christians want to see people coming to know God through them, they must first repent (turn their lives around), and believe the gospel of Jesus, rather than the gospel of Caesar (this is probably on of the things the opening lines of the book of Mark refer to - ‘gospel’ was an announcement made on behalf of the emperor - Caesar in Jesus’ time). They must come out of the empire and culture that has co-opted them. Here’s a few of my suggestions:
- Living Jesus' call to love enemies, by not joining the army (and finding alternative careers for those who usually would), and opposing taxes that go to war and nuclear weapons
- Participating in and supporting non-violent resistance to oppression, and active peacemaking
- Committing to live simply, and to feed the poor at personal sacrifice. That means selling off our over-sized buildings with their astronomical heating bills. (And if church leaders aren't seen knee-deep in skips looking for building materials and food, it shouldn't be called living simply!) :-)
- Confessing the role of the ‘church’ in spreading hate and violence, and making amends (i.e. giving some of the funds from selling our buildings to the local mosque, and to people who've suffered abuse)
- Instead of creating hierarchies that mirror the hierarchies of this world, creating structures whereby church groups are organised and learn from the bottom up
- Listening to the voices of those on the margins (who may not be Christian) who are trying to do these things already - think liberation theology in South America, the Catholic worker movement, anarchists in Bristol, the Zapatistas in Mexico, etc
- Asking difficult questions about how our spirituality mirrors the spirituality of consumerism, and re-discovering beautiful traditions that christians have lived by now and in the past (monastic contemplation/meditation/prayer, celtic spirituality/mission)
- Creating ways of life contrary to the environmental destruction, globalised economy and individualism in our world today, for instance in the form of intentional community, urban farming, social centers/squats, and cooperative industries (i.e. workers owning the means of production).
- Visibly and clearly denouncing the powers-that-be, including militarism, state-control, capitalism, racism, homophobia, sexism, the arms trade, national borders, and obedience to unjust laws. (and also possibly 'civilisation'/'progress' - still need to do some thinking on that)
- Supporting and showing solidarity with those fighting these struggles (i.e. visiting prisoners), whether or not we agree completely with everything they do.
- Teaching non-violent means of resisting oppression inspired by Jesus, to those who want to learn.
There does need to be a warning attached to these suggestions: there is a tendency in 'christian' circles to call a stone a mountain - for instance, changing a lightbulb is 'ending global warming', and going on one protest march makes you 'an experienced activist'. It is really important to affirm people's small steps (each of which is a grand spiritual battle), but doing it this way is actually disempowering, and doesn't help to make strong committed followers of Jesus. (He didn't seem to be into making things seem easier than they were - 'whoever puts his hand to the plough and looks back is not fit to be my disciple')
I’m sorry if anyone reading this feels judged or hurt by what I feel about the western church. I’m not trying to say I’m better than anyone else, I’m just trying to be sincere about how I think things really are. I’m worried that by writing this down, people will read it and feel disempowered: if they see ideals they want to live up to, but can’t. Changing the way you live comes from the grace of God, and the help of a loving community, not just personal striving - so don’t be disheartened if you feel you can’t do this alone. None of us can. Equally, I offer my apologies to anyone for whom this critique is not radical enough. It is woefully incomplete. The church and the world are very messed up, and I’m only just beginning to learn by how much.
Needless to say, what’s written here is just an attempt to gather my thoughts and feelings, with the hope of starting discussion - I’m not certain of any of it. Comments and criticism will be gladly received!
Much love,
Tim
P.S - I’d like to draw your attention to a few articles about property and the Church - very much worth reading, and they’ve personally inspired me a lot:
http://www.jesusradicals.com/early-christian-ecclesiology-and-the-property-question-part-1/
http://www.jesusradicals.com/early-christian-ecclesiology-and-%E2%80%9Cthe-property-question%E2%80%9D-part-2/
http://www.jesusradicals.com/early-christian-ecclesiology-and-the-property-question-part-3/
Thursday, January 27, 2011
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