Religion in the News

THE church systems of Christendom claim they have God’s backing. Yet, observing the condition of the churches today, many thinking persons ask: If the all-wise and all-powerful God is backing the churches, then why are they in such turmoil and crisis?

Surely, if God is backing the churches, news reports about them should reflect God’s qualities, his order and truthfulness. They should show the churches upholding God’s laws and teachings, making these clear to honest-hearted persons. But notice now just a few of the many items the press contains about the churches these days.

ANGLICANS TO ACCEPT POLYGAMISTS

From Port Moresby, Papua, comes the following report published by the New York “Times”: “The Anglican Church gained points recently when the Synod of Bishops here threw out a rule that prevented men with plural wives from being baptized.”

This may come as a surprise to persons who recognize Bible teachings as allowing only one wife to Christian husbands, thus equating polygamy with adultery.​—Matt. 19:4-6; 1 Cor. 7:2.

So, the question raised in the minds of many thinking persons will be: With whom did the Anglican Church ‘gain points’? Very possibly with the natives​—but what about God whose law the polygamists violate?

WHERE IS THEIR “GOOD NEWS”?

Jesus Christ had a dynamic message for mankind, a message that God commissioned him to preach. It was really good news, the best news. As part of a sign of these “last days” Jesus foretold that “this good news of the kingdom” would be preached throughout the earth before the end came.​—2 Tim. 3:1-5; Matt. 24:14.

Is this dynamic good news being preached in the churches of Christendom? Dr. John Bennett, former president of New York’s Union Theological Seminary, admitted that “today’s sermons are often dull, unimaginative, ill-prepared and boring,” reports the Seattle “Post-Intelligencer.”

Then, the moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, Murdo Nicolson, stated: “We have got the greatest message in the world, but you would never know it from going inside a church.” This clergyman, the Windsor “Star” noted, “blames disenchantment with the church on the way the Bible’s message is being transmitted.”

Is it just a matter of the way the preaching is presented, or is it also a question of knowing what to preach and being filled with the zeal to preach? The Washington “Post” published this news report: “The 95 bishops of the United Methodist Church said today their denomination is caught up in a crisis of faith, with legions of clergy as well as laymen unable honestly to profess traditional Christian beliefs.”

Hans Küng, a leading Roman Catholic theologian who teaches in Germany, says of his church: “The church’s credibility is so low that we cannot imagine how this happened.” And, according to the St. Louis “Globe-Democrat,” East St. Louis priest Stanley Roth declared that the “diocesan priesthood is dead,” and added: “It cannot be reformed from within or without. It is an inoperable institution.” Catholic layman William Durbin answered that the priesthood and laity were “not dead, but in a pathological stupor, alive but leading a vegetable existence.”

Does all of that sound as if God is leading and backing these institutions where the “good news” is so sadly lacking?

CHURCHES IN POLITICS

The “Spectator” of Hamilton, Ontario, relates that many people no longer attend church because they are disgusted with the political activity of clergymen. They feel that “the church is ‘too activist,’ or ‘too involved’ or is taking on interests at variance with the gospel.”

Is political involvement by churches indeed “at variance with the gospel”? Well, Jesus said of his true followers: “They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.” (John 17:16) He refused to become involved in politics.

Yet, Jesuit priest John J. McLaughlin, a speech writer for President Nixon, stated according to the Boston “Globe”: “Politics is a vocation of the highest order.” The priest had run for a U.S. Senate seat for Rhode Island in 1970. He also said: “Vatican II urged all citizens to become involved in political action, and I did not see ‘except priests’ in parentheses.”

And in Canada, the Toronto “Star” carried this headline: “Cleric asks churchmen to enter city politics.” The clergyman was Noble Hatton of the Metropolitan United Church.

As a by-product of their political involvement, more and more clergymen and churches are coming into conflict with political leaders. In the United States many claim that the government is applying pressure to try to stop them from taking their stand on political issues, and even “spying” on church personnel. The Bangor, Maine, “Daily News” said: “The latest protest came last week in a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, contending that military surveillance has included church leaders.”

WHO WILL TEACH THE YOUNG?

One thing is certain​—if the churches do not have God’s backing, then all their adherents will suffer. And not only adults, but children too will pay a price.

In this connection note what R. L. Hodapp, the Bishop of Belize, British Honduras, stated in a pastoral letter issued for the entire country: “As time goes on it seems quite evident that there will be proportionately fewer priests, sisters and brothers. Hence, full responsibility for passing on the faith to their children will rest more and more upon the parents. From studies and even casual observation, we are forced to conclude that many of our Catholic schools are not turning out real Christians. . . . Quite often the reason for this is that parents themselves have been negligent in teaching and setting the example for their children.”

But who is responsible for the lack of spirituality among the parents? Why are they not equipped to teach the “good news” to their children? Must not the religious leaders share a large part of the blame? Can they expect parents to be able to teach their children when they, the clergy, are themselves not sure as to what to believe and teach? Commenting on the book “Priests in the United States,” written by priest Andrew Greely, Washington “Post” book reviewer Richard Neuhaus notes that the majority of priests “are increasingly unsure about what either [the church or the priesthood] are supposed to be and increasingly cynical about the leaders who are supposed to have the answers.”

WHAT DOES IT SHOW?

Ask yourself: Does all of the foregoing show any dynamic good news from God working through the churches? Or does it show just the opposite: that the churches are in a state of decay, confusion and crisis? The facts show that the ranks of clergymen, seminary students and laity are dwindling and they are not even certain of what the truth is.

And why not? Of religious leaders in ancient Israel, the prophet wrote: “They have rejected the very word of Jehovah, and what wisdom do they have?” (Jer. 8:9) God’s Son said of religious leaders of his generation: “It is in vain that they keep worshiping [God], because they teach commands of men as doctrines.” So if we find the same conditions today, we may be sure that the result will be just as it was in Jesus’ day: “Blind guides is what they are. If, then, a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”​—Matt. 15:6, 9, 14.

However, for a certainty there is a dynamic message, really “good news,” being preached throughout all the earth today. If not by the churches of Christendom, by whom then? Well, who is it that comes to your door telling you the same things that Jesus Christ taught? Who is sounding the warning of the near end of this ungodly system of things and of the coming in of God’s new order? Who upholds God’s standards of morality? Who refuses to become involved in worldly politics? Who regularly teaches adults the Bible and equips them to teach their children? Who gives evidence by their growth and spiritual prosperity that they have God’s backing? We trust that your reading the rest of this magazine will help to supply you with the logical answers.