Posted on 03/07/2005 8:32:45 PM PST by quidnunc
London – With Christian moral values and legal protections under assault on all sides, it is commonly said that the reason pews are emptying is that traditional religion is not relevant. A new survey of thousands of churchgoers in the UK says the opposite however, and indicates that the emptying of the churches has been caused mainly by preaching and pastoral care that has been emptied of moral or doctrinal Christian content. The survey addressed questions about why church attendance was falling so dramatically in the UK but growing elsewhere, even though two-thirds of the British population believes in God.
The results of the year-long survey of 14,000 UK residents by the interdenominational Ecumenical Research Committee has been called ‘surprising’ by mainstream secular and Christian media. The overwhelming response is to call on churches “to robustly defend moral values with conviction and courage and cease being ‘silent’ and ‘lukewarm’ in the face of moral and social collapse.”
In an introduction, Lord Bromley Betchworth said “Those who spoke, did so with one voice … an alarming indication that there are multitudes of people across Britain and Ireland who feel that their views are not being heard or represented.” The vast majority of the people in Britain and Ireland, he says, are still morally conservative. “They are appalled that moral values and treasured beliefs are being stood on their head and want churches to play a leading role in standing up for these things.”
The survey itself asked four simple questions and avoided ‘tick-box’ responses in favour of written letters. The huge response was a surprise in itself and reflected a growing frustration and anger felt by many ordinary people about the direction of churches and society in general.
Responses displayed a widespread sense of frustration and anger at what was happening to the churches in Britain and Ireland. Many gave variations on the response, “Why hasn’t a survey like this been done before, so we can speak?” “At last, someone is listening, thank you so much.” “Thank you for the chance to express our beliefs without fear.”
Several ‘traditionalist’ Anglican clerics said that they had “to keep their own views to themselves in case their bishop, who held opposing beliefs, would remove them from their diocese.” Many Catholics in North America have written that a similar situation exists there in which the churches are controlled exclusively by bishops and lay administrators who brook no Christian opposition to their officially sanctioned left-liberal dissent from the faith.
91% of responses followed a uniform theme that the decline in traditional Christian moral and doctrinal teaching has caused the outflux of congregations. They listed the lack of apologetics, the reasoned defence and explanation of Christian doctrine, as one of the main reasons for the collapse. “It’s a myth today that the people of this country have rejected Christianity; they simply haven’t been told enough about it to either accept or reject it,” wrote one respondent.
Thousands of letters also cited the lack of emphasis on the holiness of God and the need for personal moral conversion. The desire for teaching on holiness, was prevalent and has been influenced, said the authors, by Mel Gibson’s film, the Passion of the Christ. Many responded that the churches now teach easy forgiveness; an attitude that ‘God loves me anyway,’ and that there is no need to attend church or live a morally demanding Christian life.
The overwhelming majority of respondents were vehemently opposed to ordaining homosexuals and blamed the churches for the rise in pedophilia scandals because of the prevalence of homosexuals in the clergy.
Some celibate homosexuals wrote saying that the prevalence of support for homosexuality in the churches is undermining their efforts to live chastely. One young man wrote, “For sections of the Church to suddenly say that my struggle (to remain chaste)…was for nothing and that it would have been OK to have given in, would be to deny my personal cross for Christ and mock the faithfulness I have shown Him.”
2000 letters asked for a return to traditional liturgy and pointed out that attempts to attract younger people with jazzed-up offerings had failed and had alienated older parishioners. Over 450 said they drove vast distances to attend a traditional liturgical celebration. 1500 letters complained that the modern liturgies ‘bordered on entertainment rather than worship.”
The survey has supported what Christians themselves have been saying for decades, that there is little point in attending a church whose message is no different from that of the materialistic secular world.
I would tend to agree with this statement, Ronzo. I remember several years back an Easter morning when I watched the Roman Catholic Mass on television, and then attended Easter Service at a local Congregational church. The sermon at Mass was given by the late Cardinal Medieros of Boston, and its subject matter was the injustice of the war against the insurgents in Nicaragua. The sermon at the Congregational service was about the nastiness of materialism/consumerism, with a special complaint about people desiring to own fancy cars....
Sigh. It was most discouraging fare for the holiest day of the year, in which we Christians celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Christ. Pastors should be about the business of saving souls, not about dispensing "moral uplift" consistent with PC fashion.... JMHO FWIW
If the Brits disestablished the C of E things would begin to change.
local news young chap
I how you view this analysis?
British people have a view of Christianity that closely resembles what Americans would call "civic churchianity". Little of the true gospel is preached, and all you get is a more like a smoagsboard of traditions, national (British) culture, and intellectual fads. They won't know this is NOT genuine Christianity because their government schools and public schools have "religious studies" that teach something similar. I think the Queen is probably a true Christian, but Diana was definitely living in sin.
Poeple that go to non-conformist churches, house church groups, or independent/baptist churches (which are outside the Baptist Union of Great Britain) have a better understanding of truth. But they are only about 2% of British populations.
Much of what we know as biblical Christian way is perceived as "American fundamentalist Christian beliefs" in Britain in general. I heard that on some very popular Christian websites like Rapture Ready, Crosswalk, etc, there are so few Christians from Britain visiting these sites that there are more people from Australia accessing them than those of Britain, despite Australia has 20 million people versus Britain's 55 million.
I usually heard something very similar among Christians in East Asia, except that they are still Bible-believing and preach the gospel on other occasions. I personally think such stands (biblical Christian and politically leftist) is misguided but there are plenty that think political conservatism can only come out of religious liberalism.
"I remember several years back an Easter morning when I watched the Roman Catholic Mass on television, and then attended Easter Service at a local Congregational church. The sermon at Mass was given by the late Cardinal Medieros of Boston, and its subject matter was the injustice of the war against the insurgents in Nicaragua. The sermon at the Congregational service was about the nastiness of materialism/consumerism, with a special complaint about people desiring to own fancy cars...."
Too true betty. On one hand you have preachers who sound like they are charter members of MoveOn.org, on the other hand you have the guys who teach such a theologically sound message (i.e. "safe"), it could cure the worst insomniac. As wise old King Solomon once said:
In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these:
a righteous man perishing in his righteousness,
and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
Do not be overrighteous,
neither be overwise—
why destroy yourself?
Do not be overwicked,
and do not be a fool—
why die before your time?
It is good to grasp the one
and not let go of the other.
The man who fears God will avoid all extremes. (Ecc 7:15-18 NIV)(Kind of reminds one of the old bromide: "Everything in moderation…")
Some humble observations I have about church in general:
1. The churches I've seen prosper in my little corner of Illinois are those churches that are very much centered on the Word of God, are socially and politically conservative, and do there best to avoid all the petty little garbage that makes Christians such a laughing stock, like endless arguments over various Bible translations, systematic theology, and other such non-essentials. Rather, they try to preach the Bible as best as they can along with the core doctrines of Christian theology. And depending on their philosophy, they even make very effective use of the most modern English Bible translations and paraphrases. Not surprisingly, all these churches are also non-denominational, and reject any sort of overly centralized control.
2. But even the Catholics in my area are far more interested in their faith than I've seen anywhere else. We have one especially good Catholic church just a few minutes north of here with a pastor who is one of the most effective men of God I've ever known. Everyone in his church just loves him, and for good reason. He has this uncanny ability to be gentle and loving, yet can preach the TRUTH of a matter with complete effectiveness, never shying from hard reality. He also goes out of his way to let everyone in that church know that he's there for them, no matter what. I haven't been to one of his masses in over three years, yet the last mass I went to was so powerful, I can remember most of it like it was just yesterday. I only can wish this was so my own little non-denominational protestant pastors, who's "sermons" can hardly be remembered 15 minutes after walking out the door…
3. Yet, despite the powerful demand for solid, Jesus believing churches that teach core issues, there is still a very noticeable "Oprahfication" (how's that for coining a term?) of even Bible believing, evangelical churches. Far too much love, hugs, and gooey sentimentality, with a deliberate unwillingness to be a true counter-cultural force in this world. Yes, even the best churches seem to be taking their cues from Oprah rather than Jesus.
Does this sound like gooey sentimentality to you: "But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born." Nope, doesn't sound like it to me either… (Mk 14:21)
But the other extreme, the old "fire & brimstone" route, is not the way to go either. But a right balance between the two seems difficult, if not impossible to achieve.
4. I've also noticed that there is a type of person that even the best churches don't do right by, and that is the one who has some serious issues walking out their sanctification, usually because they have suffered various negative ordeals in this life, and can't quite make right decisions due to their woundedness. I can't tell you how many of these types I've come across, and how very disappointed they are with the help they receive from church leadership. Most often, these pour souls are the recipients of every pat answer and cliché in the book, but little, if anything is done to help them get to the roots of their issues. One guy I know was so disgusted with the lack of concern his Bible-believing church showed him while he was dealing with some rather painful issues, that he went off into the New Age movement, for at least he found some New Agers who could empathize with him!
One good thing I will say about my congregation is that they are waking up to this need, and are trying to take some steps to help meet people's deeper emotional and spiritual issues.
5. But that which I find most perplexing, even from the best churches in my area, is the incredible level of superficiality that is allowed to exist. There are some churches who consciously choose to keep their teachings and instruction at a basic level, because they feel it is their mission it to redeem the lost, not sanctify the faithful. I have nothing against those types of churches, for they understand their weaknesses, and don't try to be something they're not. But for those other churches, like my own, who want to be a "full-service" institution, I don't see much difference between them and the entry-level congregations. As a matter of fact, some need to improve just to make it to the entry-level category. This is a most serious evil.
6. If I can sum up all the angst I've heard in the past years, from those who have found church lacking, it would be that they don’t feel as if church leadership cares about them as individuals. Often times these souls find solace in parachurch organizations, professional counseling, or even from other members of the congregation, so it's not as if there's no recourse at all. However, it is odd that those who are suffering often have to go outside their own church (or any church) to find the comfort and healing they seek.
7. One thing I'm realizing the longer I'm in the faith is the tremendous cost involved in taking Jesus seriously. He will wreck your life, and He certainly has wrecked mine…all for the better. Even here in the United States, where the cost of being a Christian appears to be rather miniscule (as opposed to Saudi Arabia where it would mean a literal death sentence) there is a far greater cost than we realize. Very little in our culture, even in the conservative culture, is kosher with serious Christianity. In order to enter into the experience of transformation through sanctification, it will cost you. Perhaps that's why it seems to me that there are so many churches, even conservative ones, that are so superficial. Perhaps subconsciously they realize the true cost of the cross of Christ, and just don't want to pay it.
So just what is this cost we must pay? Nothing less than total and complete death to self.
What matters to me is the Christ is preached and Him crucified. The politics fall in place as we love God absolutely and our neighbor unconditionally.
This appears to refer mainly to the Anglican church. I wonder about other denominations (such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Baptists, Mormons and fundamentalists) which take a more moral approach.
Actually I think you asked and answered your own concerns - for those very people who are suffering so deeply and not being fed by the church or congregation are the ones being sanctified by God.
And the answer is this: the church cannot fill them, the congregation cannot heal them, only God can. The more they look to others - the more they concentrate on their own suffering instead of the Healer, the longer it will take them to be sanctified.
As you said, "One thing I'm realizing the longer I'm in the faith is the tremendous cost involved in taking Jesus seriously. He will wreck your life, and He certainly has wrecked mine…all for the better."
When a person has surrendered himself to Christ, this is what happens. Every part of his life will be undone, he will be utterly emptied of all earthy concerns until he turns to Christ wholly and fully. That is sanctification. It is not for the faint hearted.
For anyone on that path, I strongly recommend Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest as a daily devotion. It is posted here daily, available in bookstores, and can be read on the link.
And if achieved, would probably spare lots of folks and their families costly visits to psychiatrists, psychologists, family counsellors, etc., etc.
What a beautiful essay, Ronzo! So perceptive and wise.
You wrote this, and so probably a lot of folks think you're nutz: "So just what is this cost we must pay? Nothing less than total and complete death to self."
Notwithstanding the putative social benefits arising from spiritually sensitive ministry by Christian clergy and community, this is what to be truly born-again effectuates: the turning of one's life around altogether, by turning to Christ, and away from the passing vanities of this world.
Christ is the Logos, Who was God, and Who was with God in the Beginning; He is Alpha and Omega, which are the Names of eternal Truth -- on Whom everything in the created universe depends for every second of every day.
And He came again, incarnated as fully and really human, to fulfill the Law, and to redeem sinners -- to restore the prodigals to their Father.
The rest is up to us, hopefully with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Well, that would be my witness anyway.
Thank you so much for your outstanding essay, Ronzo. May God ever bless you and all of yours.
bump
Thank you so very much for your beautiful testimony and witness!!!
Secular Humanism has taken over our churches too.
For different reasons,I think each of you will find this thread very interesting and in one case,disturbing.
Outstanding. Simply outstanding.
1 Cor 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
Any death to self the Christian experiences is a result of the death to Self our dear Lord Jesus endured on our behalf. "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me."
May it be an everlasting source of comfort that our righteousness before God depends not upon our own efforts, but upon the mercy of God in Christ Jesus who is our substitute and advocate before the Father, to whom we may plead as children, and to whom we look for every good thing in this life and in the life to come.
Yes.
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