CANON GRAEME WINTERTON
THE ENCHANTED WORLD VIEW HOLY TRINITY KEW ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S DAY - 24TH. AUGUST 2014
The current edition of the Melbourne Anglican carries extensive reporting of the 2014 Adelaide General Synod . Of particular concern were the findings of the Church’s Viability & Structures Task Force. It reports that the Anglican Church is at a crossroad for nearly all of the 23 dioceses are experiencing significant challenges about their future. The Western Church has a problem! Most people wonder why we Christians bother. ‘After all,’ they say, ‘ everything you believe and practise comes from another time and is of no relevance in today’s secular pluralist world.’ If our parishes are serious about being authentic places of vibrant spiritual life and effective witness which make a difference in the lives of the people of their communities then it is of critical importance for us to understand why people wonder why we bother, why people consider church life is unimportant and why faith and its practise is considered by most as being irrelevant. THE CONTEXT OF BELIEF We need to commence by asking this question: ‘Why was it that in our Western society, it was virtually impossible not to believe in God in, say, the 1500’s when our prayer book was introduced, while in 2014 many find it not only easy, but even unthinkable to do any thing else but not to believe?’ Many Christians wonder why the world is so very different now and why people find it easier not to believe. Charles Taylor in his book “A Secular Age” explains why this is so. He argues that over the span of five hundred years we have passed from a view of the world that was "enchanted" to one that is "disenchanted". NATURAL SPHERE What Charles Taylor means is that the enchanted world of our predecessors combined the natural world with God’s divine purpose and action or they combined the natural world with intervention of dark spiritual forces. They mixed and fused it to the extent that natural and personal disasters as well as prosperity and progress were viewed as acts of God or acts of the devil. For example: an earthquake, a tsunami, the plague and the like were seen as God’s judgement for sin and wickedness. On the other hand such events could be understood as an act of the devil seeking to destroy God’s purposes and taking it out on good people who were in the way of satanic purpose. The world view of that time most often interpreted progress in areas that we would call scientific research and development, (say in the fields of agriculture and medicine ) as the work of witchcraft or demons or were attributed to the hand of God. The distinctions between sin and sickness and health and holiness were often blurred. In other words, that which makes one person holy was often the same force that made one physically or mentally ill. People who were involved in actions which were well outside explanation and understanding were most often persecuted or canonised as saints in the times of enchantment. (Many of the Saints fall within this category.) SOCIAL SPHERE But that is not all. In the enchanted world the fusion also extended to the social sphere where the authority structure of government, law, and ethical moral standards were understood to have been established by God and were therefore divinely sanctioned. (It was foolish and dangerous to question or act against authority.) Page 1
Everyone in Europe living 500 years ago found the meaning of life was understood as being present in objects and/or agents which are independent of us. That is, outside us and beyond our control. The individual was vulnerable to such outside forces and factors because it was believed that they possessed power within them which caused things to happen. For instance: God, the Saints, indulgences, relics, shrines, the stars, satan, demons, magic, crystals, charms, amulets and talismans were all thought to possess power which were inescapable and affected everyone. Pilgrims made their way to the shrines of Europe where holy objects were said to provide deliverance for particular sins or ailments. For example: the Shrine of the Three Kings still behind the high altar of Cologne Cathedral is a reliquary said to contain the bones of the Three Wise Men. ( Very interesting because they are considered by scholars to be unknown) No one lived outside this world view. Philosophers kings and popes down to the beggar in the street thought that way. This was why it was virtually impossible not to believe in God! THE WORLD OF TODAY By contrast, today we make distinctions that were unthinkable in those years. Most people today do not view natural events as direct acts of God. The structures of modern Western society are democratic. Many human rights and laws of accountability have emerged out of past human struggles with the traditional enchanted world view. Your world view and mine stems from our minds, upbringing, education and past experiences. Events and objects awaken a variety of responses in us which are based upon those factors. The religious belief of nearly every one of us today ( and even the belief known as atheism ) emerges from a range of options that are constantly bumping up against one another. This is particularly true in Multi-cultural Australia which has a become a melting pot of differing cultures, religions, and philosophies. As a result, doubt, argumentation for or against faith, are part of the ideology and life of faith in our country and other Western societies. Today's alternatives were unthinkable in 1500! It is just as unthinkable that the secular mind set of our Western culture might return to the pre renaissance enchanted world view of the 1500’s. THE CONTEXT OF PRACTISE Why am I telling you all this? How does it relate to St. Bartholomew’s Day? Well, If we accept the connection between what we believe and what we do, it relates in every possible way! Bartholomew is was one of twelve Apostles who spread the Gospel in India. Other traditions record him as founding the church in Ethiopia, Mesopotamia, Parthia, and Lycaonia. Bartholomew was a person who broke through the traditions and culture of his day with such authenticity that he became a powerful relevant communicator of the Gospel of Christ. I commenced by saying we have a problem and that we needed to find reasons why people are leaving God out of their lives. Our thinking to this point today has outlined the background of the problem. However the background serves to introduce something we are hard pressed to face because, if it is true, we will find it unpalatable, threatening and it will challenge us to examine the depth of our faith and will open us yo examine how we practise our faith and worship. This will happen for each person who has the will and the courage to examine their own personal experience of God. It will also happen collectively as we explore fresh and exciting ways of ministry and life. Page 2
You see, the Western Church finds itself in a time warp. — Most of the churches continue the practices of the enchanted world, yet at the same time, we - its members - quite illogically think and act out of the world view of the secular society which has formed us and in many ways controls and squeezes us into its mould. Unfortunately a considerable proportion of Christians really do live in the enchanted world and are thought by our secular world as irrelevant, deluded and out of touch with reality - “so heavenly minded they are of no earthly use”. People outside our churches see worship, prayer, bible study and traditions such as the observance of Saint’s Days as archaic relics of a time long past. To attend midnight Eucharist at Christmas is like a trip to the theatre where one’s senses and emotions may be touched and stimulated. It is in many ways beautiful, nostalgic and mysterious - but never considered to be real and part of every day life. All of this is a major reason why people outside practising faith communities do not consider joining them. ( and take particular note, what is true of Christians is also true of people who practise another faith in another religion, which, almost without exception, still live in the enchanted world. ) THE WAY AHEAD So where does this leave us? In a number of places which only adds to confusion for faith adherents and reinforces the scepticism of those outside the faith communities. Broadly speaking some people in our congregations are living in the pre- renaissance world of enchantment and are longing for a return to the day when faith is renewed, people fear God, love their neighbours and our churches are filled again. Optimistically some pray and work for renewal whilst other members pessimistically pull up the draw bridge , maintain the status quo and wait for the return of the Lord. Others continue in unrealistic co-existence. Many parishioners have unthinkingly rationalised faith. Life is lived out within the framework of the secular post-modernist mindset and although they join in the activities and rites of the historic faith they do not expect that it has any application to what they do and how they behave. You are probably thinking “ where do we go from here ?” We need to enter the place of spiritual reality where it is possible to experience the dynamic of the Spirit. The scriptures , and the Gospels in particular show us what it means to live in the present moment in constant connection with God. God longs to connect with each one of us at a deep and personal level. Such connection is the norm. It is expected of us. True faith is not a second hand or learned thing. It is a first order personal experience which we must grasp individually. If one thing is true of Western culture today it is that spiritual fervour has not diminished. If anything, many baby-boomers and their children are pursuing personal spiritual instincts. A tremendous upsurge in the investigation of alternative life styles, meditation practise, exploration of Eastern religions and writings is taking place. Sadly the answers and experiences people seek are powerfully present in Christian spirituality but most seek meaning elsewhere. Given the post modern search for meaning today we must ask what can realistically be done to renew Christian life and practise in our churches? We need to invest what we do with meaning and life. It is imperative to build bridges with people and groups beyond the four walls of our buildings. At the parish level we must introduce people whom we get to know to the love and fellowship of our people.
Page 3
Bridge building demands developing ways to make friends instead of organising programmes. When parishioners make time, (and it will often be very inconvenient and costly in terms of time and commitment.) the way for dialogue about meaning will open. When we open our hearts and life style to others in personal friendship the opportunity to unify experience and theology, scripture and tradition with the knowledge gained by the advances of science and scholarship of the modern world will take us directly into the life of true spirituality and vital fresh living which attracts others to our Lord. Is it realistic to expect the fellowship of our churches to be filled with vibrant spiritual life and to become known as places of community within the context of the world of today in a way which enables twenty-first century people to perceive the way of Christ as being of immense value ? The answer is most definitely Yes! New and fresh challenges exist for this parish. The appointment of a New Vicar and the vision of the parish Council provides an exciting opportunity to renew and enlarge your vision and service. However Holy Trinity’s ministry can only be of significance and value when everyone moves beyond the concern of performance and planned events to fresh expressions of the heart which are obvious and authentic expressions of personal life and faith. Anything less is to live in the ‘Enchanted World and continue tradition for tradition’s sake ! Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. It is in him that we have life and in him that we have life to share in the world of today.
Page 4