"Don't let the world around you squeeze you into
its own mould, but let God remould your minds from within,
so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God
for you is good, meets all His demands and moves towards
the goal of true maturity."
"Don't allow yourself to be overpowered with
evil. Take the offensive - overpower evil with good."
Romans 12:2 and 21. (JBP)
The onward march of secularism and the "retreat"
from Christianity elicits the question - what if the faith
is lost to the Western world, and that which has inspired
millions to face life responsibility and death fearlessly
is gone? The response must be to think of what such a loss
would mean to people whose civilisation has been built on
Christian principles with their high valuation on the human
personality and community, motivated by ideals which persuade
them to strive to reach standards of behaviour that make us
good citizens valuing ourselves and respecting one another.
It would be to lose the motives, restraints and incentives
the faith supplies and which saves society from degenerating
into a state of lawlessness, violence, inhumanity and indecency.
The faith provides solidity and decency where Christians
affect the thinking and doing of people whose aspiration is
to make a good, fair, just and humane society. We are well
acquainted with the vices of a debased humanity - selfishness,
avarice, irresponsible wealth and the neglected poor who suffer
disadvantages from childhood to old age.
The absence of church people from the positions of power
and influence they had in education and the social services
has affected the country positively and negatively. Positively
in that the state's much greater involvement in both has provided
better facilities in buildings, facilities, and equipment.
Negatively in that the formerly close contact of church to
children and all age adults has been weakened, even minimised.
There is, once strong youth organisations with their influence
on the lives of many people but secularism and materialism
are the main causes of the weaknesses of the churches.
The situation means that the church has to strive much harder
to change trends antagonistic or indifferent to it. It must
do that for the apparent acceptance by many Christians of
the present position is defeatist and disabling of the presence
and purpose of the church. It is the attitude that dissuades
people from turning to Christ and is a denial of its commission
which is to make Christians.
The unchanging single emphasis of the Christian faith is
the worth and work of Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour
of people. Some will criticise, depreciate, withstand Him
but they must not ignore Him for He is always here. He never
goes away. He continues to change the lives of people to make
them, and even the castaways of society, into exemplary citizens
and good people. A personal, positive, commitment to Christ
is the most important and beneficial deliberate decision a
person can make in life.
We live in a society which takes religious ideas and robs
them of their religious content, but the ideas are only workable
properly in their Christian context. It is the task of the
church to ensure that the Christian voice is heard in everything
that matters to people.
The message is Jesus Christ, the messengers Christians, the
task to ensure that the benefits of the faith are known to
everyone. To persuade others to turn to Christ for in Him
is the answer to the needs of people everywhere.
They do that by Christ taught character and conduct in the
assurance that He is with them in what they say and do for
Him.
Rev. Canon Dr. S.E. Long
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