Dear Friends,
With the help of Bob Costis and NBC, the Olympics confirmed the probability that China will be, if not already, the superpower of the 21st century. Not only did they have more Gold medals than everyone else, they are out producing, out growing, out educating and apparently out polluting everyone else too. Most people guess this means the west and the east will at least have to become more cooperative, while some think it spells disaster. They fear a communist, Maoist, Buddhist, Confucianist, Taoist nation of a billion and a half people will subdue all that is good about the west.
I’m less apocalyptic but I still feel the anxiety. However, it could be that something good could come from it. Like it or not, the Eastern mind set can teach us a thing or two about the collective good, while we can teach them about the genius of American individualism. I suspect we need both (yin and yang) in order to evolve to a new place globally. Surprisingly, China can also teach us something else. A large number of their people can teach us about the power of Christianity in the face of hardship. Without necessarily wanting to, China serves as a witness to the strength of Christianity in the face of political and cultural oppression. This was the environment in which the early church thrived. One of the great historical phenomena of the twentieth century is that the oppressive Communist states of Russia and China could not eradicate the Christian church in their land. The more they tried, the stronger it grew. Huston Smith tells of visiting China twenty years ago, before the present day liberalization, and being taken to a “secret church” in order to worship. When he arrived he found the church so packed, people gathered outside by the hundreds; Christians wanting to worship occupied several blocks. He was amazed at the passion and determination of those persecuted Christians and found this to be true all over China.
It begs the question. Do we in our country, in order to become more committed, need a similar experience? Well, guess what, we already have it. While not as obvious, our present westernized Hollywood culture of, sports idolatry, scientism, and individual spirituality without any commitment or community or common story, makes going to church on Sunday one of the most radical and counter-cultural acts we can commit. Get the family in the car and drive to church and watch your neighbor’s response; tell your child’s soccer coach that “she does not practice or play on Sunday morning and preferably not Sunday at all” and see what kind of reaction you’ll get. Since Rally Day was on a recent Sunday, why not do something radical? Commit to being a consistent part of Riverside Church in worship, education and mission. It’s the best thing we can do for ourselves and our families, especially these days when being a Christian takes some work in a culture that doesn’t seem to know its head from a dragon’s tail.
Peace,
Steve
We don’t have to go as far as China for an example of how Christianity survives in a communist country. Cuba is the case in point. The Revolution in 1959 prompted an exodus of Cubans for the U.S. and other countries, as well as the exit of Presbyterian missionaries. Discrimination against Christians forbade them from becoming Party members – which meant they were often not able to procure housing, jobs, education or other new benefits being given to Cubans. The few Christians who remained in Cuba continued to meet and worship, and the Church stayed alive.
When Fidel Castro finally began to open up opportunities for Christians in the 1990s, former members began to return and the Presbyterian Church – among others – began to grow.
The Presbyterian Church is still alive and well: worshipping, helping neighbors and serving as a moral leader for the country.
A professor of the Ecumenical Seminary in Matanzas says
“People ask ‘how you can be a Christian in a Communist country?’ I answer ‘How can you be a Christian in a Capitalist country?’”
By: Mary on November 4, 2008
at 9:51 pm
This is nothing new. Even in his own time Jesus addressed this by saying that a rich man has a better chance of going through the eye of a needle than getting to heaven. Oppression and poverty have always deepened the Christian soul where wealth and power tend either to terrorize with force or to cheapen with their embrace. I think Dr. Goyer is on point to say that there is something really radical given the reality our culture in the simple action of just taking church seriously. Our business and our busyness tend to veil the real value of our religious opportunity and to allow us to take it for granted. The irony is that the very freedom to worship is what undercuts our willingness to so and waters down our capacity to understand the real benefits.
By: Charles on December 10, 2008
at 12:21 pm