God has permitted me to be related both to the Church, and to Higher Education in general society for all of my professional life, and into semi-retirement at 65 years – to a variety of extended projects both religious and secular. In semi-retirement, I was part of business with my sons, and also with a Christian friend. Because my experience, even as a lad, has been closely related to ministry, education and business, I feel comfortable in speaking about professional life, its successes and failures, its foibles and follies, its mysteries and uses. It seems to me, I could not have been better located to invest my life than experienced. My observation of life in some other countries made me feel I would be comfortable in those countries – as in Canada, England, Australia or the Scandinavian nations. Some countries were beautiful and nostalgic, like Switzerland and New Zealand and others – too small to be compared in the same ways to the large and homogenized societies carrying large international responsibilities. Life in small countries differs from large. Small countries regard pleasantries of equality living more than the larger ones – or seem to do so.
Of all the countries I have visited I felt that the United States likely was most interested in and was most influenced by biblical religion. Other countries, as in South America, had missions and monuments, but the people were occupied in economies taken by near poverty levels. There were the very rich, but many more of the very poor. Even so, the poor seemed to be more taken by faith than the upper classes. The church, especially the Catholic Church, has tended to relate to all, with concern for the poor. Catholic and Protestant entities in those countries have dropped or reduced their former enmities. Even with the loss of membership in the more liberal church groups, the growth of evangelicalism has been partly successful.
Some current literature related to the church is confusing. Many titles address the decline of the church in modern life, often referring it to scientific differences, and changing theologies. On the other side, the agnostics and atheists are reporting that they must do something to stem the advancement of the church. Never have atheists been so active in advertising against the concept of God and his involvement in nature and human life as is the case at this writing. One wonders: Which is it? Is faith gaining or losing? In some countries it is clearly declining. In other countries it is sufficiently active that even governments are searching for ways to moderate the tide. One is not sure why government is so concerned. Everywhere we go we find that religious people are more interested in the solidarity of their countries than just about any group except the ruling or power classes. The mind of the loyal individual, with its life, tends to God.
Biblical Christians ask that citizens be afforded the freedom to make up their own minds about their faith. They are to be respectful of their vested leaders. Freedom to believe, without threat, is large percentage of what freedom is. All persons everywhere should yearn for, work for, and pray for, that human right. The freedom of the mind and soul is so great that God moderates his own free use of his omnipotence to that ingredient of rights in a person made in the image of God. That freedom and right are a part of the image. God is free, and the author of rights. It seems almost unbelievable that he took the risk of permitting persons to participate in their own ultimate destiny – with or without God. That is the message of the Church, and nothing could possibly be more important to any individual than his or her ultimate destiny. Christ argues for that destiny. He died for it. God can’t deny himself, can’t just pass matters off, can’t create and leave his creation to the forces of nature, and whatever causes uncertainty. He is interested, present, working, and redemptive. No one offers a greater destiny for any and all persons than does Jesus Christ. To make that practical, he gave the Church to us. The church (institutional) has throughout history made many mistakes, and Christians are warned, especially in The Revelation of John, of errors, but the meaning of the Church (spiritual) remains. It is for the Christian, who in the meaning of the Church is the Church, to expect from its leadership as close fulfillment of biblical principles as may be assisted in application by the church (institutional). The Christian should seek out in local community that body of believers who most fulfill Scripture teachings, so avoiding that which dilutes them. Christians need to recognize paradoxes between the spiritual Church and the institutional church. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020