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Advent is a season of waiting – but also of watching. No man knoweth the time, we are told, and so we watch for them. Of wars, and rumours of war, of the distress of nations and their breaking, there is no end; in this fallen and broken world it is bound to be so. Do we ask why? Have we no shame? Have we no insight into our interior lives? Can we not see from that why the world is as it is? Our small sins which do small damage in our small lives would, given the chance, be large ones and do greater damage; we have no spiritual health in us. Yet God reconciled us to Him even whilst we were his enemies, and once we have received him, in our hearts, by faith, with thanksgiving, we are saved by his sacrifice. But this world remains what it is, and it is in permanent enmity with the Lord and his followers; how could it not be so – the dark hates the light.
What other explanation than the Fall can there be for the refusal of so many in our society to accept the sacrifice the Lord made on their behalf? One of them has to be the witness so many of us offer to the hope that is in us. How often, when talking to folk, have I heard them say that such and such a thing done by ‘the church’ has ‘put them off’. Very often it is not, when you pursue the conversation, the big things. Yes, folk cite things like ‘the Inquisition’ and the burnings at the stake, but when you get into it, it isn’t these long ago happenings, which I think only come to mind because they are out there is the culture and are an easy answer. It is almost a kindness, because if you can draw folk out, it gets a bit more personal: it is the censoriousness, it is the kill-joy quality people see in many Christians; and it is the divisiveness.
We hold information sessions for those who are enquiring into the faith – no point doing our Saturday street preaching if there’s no follow-up for those interested – and one of the things which is always said is ‘what’s the difference between you and the church off the high street?’ That church is the Church of England parish church. The vicar does that, and six other churches locally; when I was a lad the vicar did just that church and the other six had their own vicars, and folk got some religious education at school. All of that is now gone. It may be a self-selecting sample, but not one of those who come to us has any idea what the C of E is, or, for that matter, what a Baptist is (though they somehow know we only baptise adults), and as for Catholics, they know they ‘follow the Pope’ – but beyond these simple generalities, they know nothing. Not one of them ever talks about the love and generosity they have seen any Christians they know evince.
We deliberately avoid any sectarianism in our classes. Rudimentary knowledge is so wanting that we do what I suspect the first Christians did – we talk about our experience of the forgiveness of the Lord Jesus. That almost always hits home, as folk want to talk about what is on their consciences. I’ve lost count of the number who, once they’ve ben able to open up, come to Christ through that process. Which Church they go to is up to them – many choose to remain with us, but that, I think, is simply because they feel at home where they first came. It is not indifferentism, it is a recognition that God calls us and we come. Those who think otherwise, fine, but my question is a simple one – how many people have come to the Lord through the Spirit by your own favoured method and through your help?
All Along the Watchtower 
In many ways your post reminds me a bit of the first bit of a 3 part article going on at the Remnant by Susan Claire Potts. She speaks of the difference between faith (what we believe in our minds and hold in our heart) and religion (that which binds us to the faith and to one another by living according to our faith). The disconnect between the two has caused many great consternation: for they hear the faith and may even be able to accept the arguments of faith but they are want to see religion or what we might call a practicing Catholic, Baptist or what have you. If we truly believe, wouldn’t we live as if the world was passing away and of no lasting value?
Matthew 16:26
“For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?”
It would seem to me that by eliminating the chasm between acts of faith and the faith itself would be the best chatechism one could provide those who are without faith. A life lived in accord to one’s mind and heart is powerful but one lived according to the world is only teaching doubt or outright denial.
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Very good points my friend – if we all lived according to what we say we believe, there would be more called to Christ.
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Warning the clown:
Sniper kitten is watching you!
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Your efforts to reach out and then explain Christianity are to be commended. I remember two men who attended our Inquiry class. The first was so excited that he could not bear the wait of an RCIA class that would delay his entrance into the Church. The other stated that Church membership would certainly enhance his career. He had never or very seldom read the Bible, had not been exposed to any faith or religion, knew nothing. The first, I’m sure found a home where he could join quickly, the other, never came back. If we don’t get at least the basic education while young, it’s certainly a daunting task later. It can only be helped by the Holy Spirit.
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“….as for Catholics, they know they ‘follow the Pope’ – but beyond these simple generalities, they know nothing. Not one of them ever talks about the love and generosity they have seen any Christians they know evince.”
I normally do not comment, but I had to on this. Your post is good, but I think that is a bit of an unfair generalization. In fact, as I was reading your post, you posed a question that caught my interest:
“We hold information sessions for those who are enquiring into the faith – no point doing our Saturday street preaching if there’s no follow-up for those interested – and one of the things which is always said is ‘what’s the difference between you and the church off the high street?’ ”
Almost right away the thought began to come to me, something like this: “well, as Catholics, we OUGHT to be able to say that the difference between us and the other Churches is the love that we bear one another….but sadly, the Church has lost so much zeal that it often cannot say this anymore to the degree that it should be able.”
As I continued to read, I came to your quote that I mentioned first (about Catholics), and I could not help but think how its presence was quite ironic, given my thought just moments before.
Furthermore, I had to wonder what Catholics you have spoken to, for despite all their faults, I know many who know much more than simple generalities and “follow the Pope,” although I do also know those that you refer to as well.
I suppose it is very easy to forget the parable of the crops growing amidst the weeds. But should we throw out the crops for the sake of the weeds? Denounce the harvest for the sake of some temporary problems within?
One of the greatest lights in my life has been the saints. If I find any Church that has so many souls over so many generations filled with such noble love, then I might be impressed. Yet it is only in the Catholic Church, with all of its “weeds,” that I also dig out the precious crops, and find the treasured yield. If it was not for those souls who spoke so ardently and passionately about the love of God, and lived it in their lives, then I would perhaps agree with you.
But here I have to take a little bit more than a moment to comment, and say that never have I found a Church with so many known souls that have lived lives so generous, loving, brave, and strong. One could spend ones life with a never ending resource of “poetry, love in action,” just by getting to know the hearts of the Catholic saints. Weeds? Yes. But I am not sure if you have been digging enough. If I may suggest, dig a little deeper…the weeds love to blind, it is their job – but there are many crops as well.
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You make very good points, and I ought to have emphasised that the folk I was referring to were those who belonged to no church and knew almost nothing about Christianity – or indeed any other religion.
The only person I have ever met whom I thought a saint was a Catholic, and he it was who ‘cured’ me of my early indictrination against the RCc – no man who was so patently holy could belong to a bad church, so I can confirm from him your own thoughts. In fact, I’ve met some excellent folk from all parts of the Christian spectrum, and that’s why, as I get into my late seventies, I can’t hold a sectarian view any more.
TRhank you for your thoughtful – and helpful – comments – God bless.
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I am glad to hear that you have met some good people. That definitely sounds better than none.
God does work in all hearts, striving to lead them Home. I think that some religions just have a better grasp on understanding what one should avoid and what one should do in order to better allow God to work, and to learn more how to love. In other words, they understand the “science of love” better, as St. Therese put it, and so they have much more developed ways.
In a way, I could almost compare it to education, and the difference in teachers. I have had some teachers I learned barely little from, and some I learned a great deal from, in regards to what I should do and not do in a certain field. Some teachers have been lax, while others have been very involved and really pushed me. I have always preferred the later, because I know I learn more. Sometimes the other students were complaining about all that work, but I was happy. I knew it meant I would get more out of it.
That is why I cannot take the opposite view. There is a science to love, or an art if you will. God knows that science through and through, but we can sometimes mistake something that is against it for something that is for it. As a result, we need the best, most involved, thorough “teachers” that we can find. I do not find that in any other Church, for many of them have grown lax and allowed error to slip in, thereby degrading the science of love.
Well, I am on a ramble, but your post gave me a lot to think about. God bless you!
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Not at all, most interesting, not least to a retired school-master. One of the fatal temptations for a young school-master is to want to be liked and to be popular. I’ve seen people go down that route and they usually ended up being despised for their laxness and their desire to court favour. There’s a clear parallel there with churches and preachers. Tell folk what they want to hear and – for a while – they’ll lap it up. But when they find it does not help what ails them, they’ll go off you and on to the next quack teacher on the same ego trip. Mind you, that may be my way of justifying a lifetime of making students work hard! 🙂
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LOL @ “Mind you, that may be my way of justifying a lifetime of making students work hard!” 🙂
Your comment is very insightful, especially in regards to how many people will listen to what pleases them for a time, but when it no longer helps, off they go to the next who will never really help them either.
In a sense it suggests the need for something that they do not realize they are searching for – someone who will love them, but be strong as well. Now there is a hard balance to walk for anyone in the position of helping people. It seems to me that most leaders these days go to either extreme – either they seem very kind and compassionate, but lack in strong guidance, or they turn out rigid and cold, as if they were incapable of tenderness and love.
I suppose that is why many prefer the first, but never are satisfied. They probably fear the second, but never get the right balance in between. That is probably a big reason why Christianity is in the shape it is in today.
Ok, I will stop. 🙂 You give me a lot to think about. God bless you!
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You did the same for me, so it’s only fair. In my long (60 year) experience as a school-master, pupils came, on the whole, to realise that those of us who worked them hard did so because we thought it was good for them; it wasn’t about being liked, but about doing our duty, and, when they responded, they’d find we’d work with them and be sympathetic.
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Wow, 60 years is definitely a long time (humanly speaking of course). God bless you for it, and for taking the time to really teach the students!
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Thank you – sorry for the delay in responding, but I have been away for a few days.
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No worries, I understand. 🙂 Thanks for replying when you could.
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Geoffrey – the answer to your question ‘how many people have come to the Lord through the Spirit by your own favoured method and through your help?’ is (a) I have no idea and (b) probably not many.
But it seems to me that rejection of Christianity is a moral issue rather than an intellectual issue. Therefore I’m not sure about the ‘information sessions’ based on the premise that people simply don’t know. The opposition to the teachings of Christ comes from people who want to engage in a depraved lifestyle and get bothered when Christians say ‘no’. They’re the people who insist on ruining children’s education by insisting that our children are subjected to classes where basically they have pornography rammed down their throats and are taught how to be promiscuous and get away with it.
This is where resistance to Christianity is coming from. People are not ignorant; they do understand Christian morality and they are viscerally opposed to it.
Furthermore, the questions people have are not intellectual questions. The Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8v34) was not saying ‘I don’t understand what on earth Isaiah was on about’. He understood it. He was asking ‘who is this man?’
The tradition that served me very well was that of James Philip at Holyrood Abbey church in Edinburgh.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/james-philip-1-1031284
The ‘information’ he gave was simply that people would be very welcome at Holyrood Abbey; members of his congregation went around the parish door to door, inviting people to church. He took the view that anybody coming to church didn’t need additional ‘information classes’ to get started, since the issue was a moral issue (and not an intellectual issue).
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Interesting points, but I am really referring to people who are not hostile, not in favour, not, in fact anything, because they really do know nothing at all. So, they will ask, when taking a tract, what a church is, who Jesus is, and we have to overcome that very basic level of ignorance before we can get to the stage you are talking about. I am not sure that those who do not do the sort of thing we do – street preaching – can really appreciate the low level of actual knowledge.
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