What’s Happening in the Churches?

HAVE you noticed the rapid changes that have been taking place in the churches? No doubt you have. The winds of change are blowing everywhere.

Many persons have been affected directly, and are concerned. Perhaps you are one of these. But even if you are not, the changes nevertheless do affect you and your family. And in the very near future you, and every other person on earth, will be affected to an even greater extent. This is true whether you attend church or not.

How could this possibly be so? you may wonder. To help us understand this, let us first see what is happening in the churches. In what ways are they changing?

For one thing it is apparent to most people that the churches and their leaders are becoming more and more ‘worldly.’ Ministers often march in civil rights demonstrations. Some now approve the use of violence and of revolution; others say that homosexuality, fornication and even adultery are all right. Many clergymen also say that evolution is true and that the Bible is myth.

Another big change in the churches is the spirit of rebellion that is growing among both the clergy and the laity. They publicly criticize church teaching, and openly challenge the heads of their religious organizations.

The Catholic Church especially has been swept by the winds of change. The music, language and ceremonials of their Mass have been changed, use of idols has been minimized, and changes have occurred in connection with the worship of saints and the eating of meat on Friday.

However, the Catholic journal America notes two opposing views of changes: “For some Catholics, the changes are going too far and too fast, and look as if they will go farther and faster. For others, the changes are too little and too late, and there is no hope of stepping up the tempo.”

Persons who see the changes as “going too far and too fast” often are devout Catholics who have accepted without question the church’s teachings and way of doing things. Thus they are disturbed by the changes taking place.

On the other hand, Catholics who view the changes as “too little and too late” want more things changed. For instance, they have openly denounced the pope’s ruling banning artificial birth control. Also, thousands of priests and parishioners have spoken out against the church rule that forbids the clergy to marry.

The result of such happenings is that the foundations of the churches are being shaken. Many fear what the changes imply. The Christian Century of April 2, 1969, (p. 445) observed: “The present year finds the Christian churches in a state of ferment. . . . It is less clear whether the ferment is a new spring or a last spurt before rigor mortis [which follows death].”

What do you think? Is what is happening in the churches evidence of a “new spring”? Or could it be “a last spurt” before death? Really, just what is the condition of the churches?