Light Work in Dark Times
D. Gander
There are many occasions for sadness in Christian conscience these days. Consider for example the fragility of marriages, or the quicksand of disregard for human life through unregulated abortion and increasing calls for euthanasia. And, while homosexuality is still regarded by most Christians as a disorder requiring prayer and professional help in some cases, the philosophy promoting it as merely another "choice" has spread even to some public schools (forcefully in B.C. classrooms) and many Canadian churches... not to mention the editorials of most Canadian media.
The respected Canadian thinker George Grant regarded abortion as no less than "the great immediate issue for the western world," with our culture of materialism "living in the blood of its infants." According to reviewer Chris Champion (Alberta Report) in examining a collection of Grant's letters, "By the 1970s he (Grant) had written off both the United and Anglican churches as irrevocably compromised with contemporary left-wing politics, including 'all the sweetest forms of liberal killing.'"
In spite of the recent Anglican synod decision not to ordain or endorse homosexuals, the secular press was quick to point out that their overwhelmingly majority vote is not binding. Individual dioceses may do as they wish, and at least one, in Toronto, has reversed it's previous restraint and now allows a self-proclaimed homosexual priest to serve communion.
Champion generalizes Grant's view about western Christendom as "not only compromised but doomed, because its theologians since the 11th century - Catholic and Protestant alike - have over-intellectualized about God" with "man-centred, triumphalist theologies". Orthodox writer Olivier Clement suggests Christians must not "lose their identity in the world by following its fashions". He says, "In a society that takes eroticism for granted and where utterly heedless cruelty holds sway in regard to the embryo and the new born child, Christians bear their witness to the chastity of conjugal love and they oppose abortion and the desertion of infants."
The Gospel characterizes the Christian contribution as being "the light of the world" and "the salt of the earth". Clement describes Christians, those who are steadfast in the message of the resurrection of Jesus, as a people "in society like a forest in the midst of cultivated lands - an unlimited reserve of silence, peace, and authentic life that makes possible all the good and lasting creations of history."
This is usually a difficult calling for Christians of integrity. Persecution has taken may forms through the centuries, and international agencies warn that Christians are the most persecuted religious group today, including slavery of Christians in Sudan for example. The resistance to Christian belief in the west is less obvious, but equally potent in other ways. But by holding fast to the truths of the Gospel and trust in God's kingdom coming, Christians may still experience and share newness of life in Christ, for today and for eternity.
There are many occasions for sadness in Christian conscience these days. Consider for example the fragility of marriages, or the quicksand of disregard for human life through unregulated abortion and increasing calls for euthanasia. And, while homosexuality is still regarded by most Christians as a disorder requiring prayer and professional help in some cases, the philosophy promoting it as merely another "choice" has spread even to some public schools (forcefully in B.C. classrooms) and many Canadian churches... not to mention the editorials of most Canadian media.
The respected Canadian thinker George Grant regarded abortion as no less than "the great immediate issue for the western world," with our culture of materialism "living in the blood of its infants." According to reviewer Chris Champion (Alberta Report) in examining a collection of Grant's letters, "By the 1970s he (Grant) had written off both the United and Anglican churches as irrevocably compromised with contemporary left-wing politics, including 'all the sweetest forms of liberal killing.'"
In spite of the recent Anglican synod decision not to ordain or endorse homosexuals, the secular press was quick to point out that their overwhelmingly majority vote is not binding. Individual dioceses may do as they wish, and at least one, in Toronto, has reversed it's previous restraint and now allows a self-proclaimed homosexual priest to serve communion.
Champion generalizes Grant's view about western Christendom as "not only compromised but doomed, because its theologians since the 11th century - Catholic and Protestant alike - have over-intellectualized about God" with "man-centred, triumphalist theologies". Orthodox writer Olivier Clement suggests Christians must not "lose their identity in the world by following its fashions". He says, "In a society that takes eroticism for granted and where utterly heedless cruelty holds sway in regard to the embryo and the new born child, Christians bear their witness to the chastity of conjugal love and they oppose abortion and the desertion of infants."
The Gospel characterizes the Christian contribution as being "the light of the world" and "the salt of the earth". Clement describes Christians, those who are steadfast in the message of the resurrection of Jesus, as a people "in society like a forest in the midst of cultivated lands - an unlimited reserve of silence, peace, and authentic life that makes possible all the good and lasting creations of history."
This is usually a difficult calling for Christians of integrity. Persecution has taken may forms through the centuries, and international agencies warn that Christians are the most persecuted religious group today, including slavery of Christians in Sudan for example. The resistance to Christian belief in the west is less obvious, but equally potent in other ways. But by holding fast to the truths of the Gospel and trust in God's kingdom coming, Christians may still experience and share newness of life in Christ, for today and for eternity.