How The Church Has Blessed Its World

Weeks ago I reviewed a number of historic episodes in which Christianity and its primary institution, the church, has been a blight on society. In this column I will be looking at the far more pervasive story in which the institutions of the Christian faith have been a blessing. I believe the dark episodes are but a minor part of how Christianity has affected society. Throughout most of history—and still today— the presence of the church has been a blessing to its culture.

There were occasions when the church made a profound positive difference, as it became involved in the struggle involving critical cultural issues. While in each case there were other actors, it was the church that largely paid for and supplied the persons at the center of the abolition movement, and later the struggle for civil rights In the United States it was the church led by The Rev.ML King, Jr. In South Africa it was the Anglican ArchBishop Desmond Tutu who joined hands with Nelson Mandela in the struggle to end apartheid. In the United States the labor movement, the women’s movement and the anti-war movement were staffed by committed Christians. Centuries earlier it was the church that established schools, universities, hospitals and safe houses for refugees and travelers.

While the church was continually engaged in these larger struggles, consider the more numerous occasions in which the church and its members worked silently infiltrating cultures as yeast, continually offering simple acts of compassion, justice and equity. Having witnessed the consistent theme of Jesus’ ministry—and thus the marching orders he directed to the church—the focus has been, “good news to the poor, release to the, captives, sight to the blind and liberty to the oppressed.”

Christians have always known that the earth belongs to its creator and we are only caretakers and stewards. While nature is here for us to use, it is not here for us to use up.

Not only have Christians fed the hungry, but they have asked why they are hungry as they addressed unjust societies, and worked within them for economic justice. People of faith have stood between warring parties and built bridges of reconciliation. People of faith have welcomed refugees, provided sanctuaries for the hunted, sheltered the sick and the dying, offered a welcome to the outsiders, and said to the nobodies “you are somebody.” Although the church has neither brought in the reign of God nor can it be identified with it, from time time, here and there, among this culture and that one, it has given evidence that God’s just reign is not only a future hope but is also taking shape in the here and now. The church has often been a beachhead, a demonnstration project reaching into the future and saying by what it has brought back, ”here is a hint of the world God longs to see actualized on earth as it is in heaven.”

This winter there will be two more columns addressing the role of the church in this postmodern world. In a few weeks I will look at a typical mainline protestant congregation as it addresses its community and its world. Finally, I will ponder the question, why has sometimes the church sometimes been a blessing and sometimes a curse?