Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Jan/81

Contributor - Will Kroon

Title - Change and Unrest

Topic - Church In The World

As we look ahead we may wonder what is in store for us during the coming year. What clouds are rising on the horizon at this time? As I interpret what I see, I get a feeling that we are faced with change and unrest and that there is a need for the Church to remain steady in all of this. My question is how will the Reformed Church in Canada guide its people through the many changes in religious thinking and what stand will it take about our present political turmoil?

Religious Changes in One Decade

When my wife and I came to Stoney Creek in 1969, 1 was surprised to see that so many preachers and evangelists preached week after week on the subject of the return of Christ. At that time it was "in" to preach about the imminent return of the Lord. When travelling one would see bumper stickers on the cars which read "Jesus is coming soon".

When Jimmy Carter ran for President of the United States in 1976, the Church had already under gone a change. At that time there was no longer that extra stress on the imminent return of the Lord (although that theme always deserves a place in the preaching of the Church), but the emphasis was now on "being born again". I still feel that few people really understood the real meaning of this biblical expression and yet it was being used all the time. Even politicians tried to get the church vote by claiming that they too were born again. Former criminals claimed that experience, religious publishers encouraged popular people to write on that subject and Charles Colson became a celebrity by speaking on the matter all over the country.

When Governor Reagan ran for President of the United States this year, the "Born Again" Movement no longer played a major role. I had a feeling that an influential section in the American Church was now more interested in which of the candidates shared their hard-line, black and white, fundamentalistic attitude. These people were soon attracted to Reagan, for he was the man who spoke their language, shared their mentality and adhered to the many unspoken values that were dear to them. Whether or not their candidate shared their biblical faith or morals had become secondary. It seemed that those religious leaders who always fought to keep politics out of the pulpit were now pushing hard to get their man into the White House.

Eleven years ago, the charismatic movement went out of its way to stress the return of our Lord; in 1976 the charismatics and the evangelical arm of the Church stressed the need to be born again. Now in 1980 the conservative and fundamentalistic section of the Church stresses a religious mentality that seems to have more roots in politics and culture than in the Bible. This present movement frightens me for it is too much based on fear, anger and discontent.

The Changing Climate in Our Decade

It has been pointed out before that a new movement in the Church cannot succeed unless it is being carried and supported by the cultural feelings of that time. In other words, the Reformation succeeded because there was an overall dissatisfaction against Rome in the 16th century.

With this in mind, it is well for us to see what is happening all around us. Some of these events may have far reaching effects on all of us and they may influence our preaching, our planning and our outreach. We are in the midst of a movement that is hardening the mentality of people; a movement that has the potential of leading us headlong into chaos, destruction and war. This fundamentalistic spirit, which is part of this movement, has brought the Ayatollah Khomeini back into power, it has given much support to Governor Reagan and it is stirring the hearts of many in Canada, especially in Western Canada. It is a movement with a great deal of religious overtones and it is not surprising that many religious personalities stir the flames of discontent and anger that are behind it all.

Why is this movement gaining momentum and what led to it in. the first place? First of all, there is a feeling of discontent and anger about what has been happening in the past. The people in Iran are angry for what they experienced under the late Shah. The Americans are still hurting at what happened in Vietnam. Furthermore, they are angry at being pushed around by the old Ayatollah. The people in Western Canada share some of this feeling too. Many feel that they have been taken for granted and that "them guys in the East" make all sorts of decisions without their input. Whether this is actually true or not is of little importance at this moment. They have made up their minds and it is hard to convince them otherwise. Secondly, we see that persons with a fair bit of charisma, with access to the media, begin to stir up various feelings of discontent that are always present in uncertain times. To make it short, this movement is gaining momentum and it is hard to control and even more difficult to stop.

Why should the Church be concerned about this movement?

1. This hardening movement creates room for a dictator or it gives too much freedom for a strong leader to manipulate people for his own good.

2. It leads to a:

a) hardening attitude, not only toward criminals, but also toward Jews, blacks, immigrants and the weak in society;

b) re-institution of the death penalty;

c) growing influence of the K.K.K. and similar groups; and

d) greater one-sidedness of the press. Editors will be afraid to print "the other side" of the story for fear of reprisals or loss of advertising revenue.

What the Church Might Do

Prior to World War II, it was some Reformed and Lutheran Church leaders who gave the Church some courageous, intelligent and Scriptural input when Hitler was systematically killing off millions of people. They refused to go along with Hitler and his men and they did not jump on the popular bandwagon as so many other Christians did. In a time like this, we need to pray for men like John Calvin, who not only had the ability to analyse the dangerous, but clever, policies of Cardinal Sadoleto (who had been sowing doubts into the hearts of many Protestants), but who also had the gift to point out from the Scriptures why the Cardinal's policies were unbiblical. The experience-centered theologians of our day are not equipped to analyse the concerns of our time. The evangelical Church needs people who can give steady and consistent leadership like that of the leaders of the Reformation.

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