How do we face life in a culture which is increasingly moving from indifference to the Christian faith to outright opposition? A world where orthodox Christians have less and less trust in the institutional mainstream Church? The question we must face is how do we live faithfully as a small minority in an environment which is sometimes antagonistic, sometimes friendly, but always alien?
In ‘The Benedict Option’, Rod Dreher, as an Orthodox Christian, found his pattern in the lives of the saints, those Christians who lived the faith under fierce communist oppression. As someone steeped in Reformed theology I, like most of my readers, find my pattern in the Bible. In the inspired recording of the lives of those who faced a similar question: how to survive in an alien culture and maintain the faith.
Co-operate without compromise
The exiles taken to Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar first took Jerusalem (605 BC) asked, ‘How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?’ (Ps 137:4). They had to rethink their theology, and how to practise their faith. All the promises they had clung to had seemingly come to naught, their dreams shattered. Where was God in all this, and what did he require of them as they lived amongst unbelievers?
Knowing Jeremiah’s record of resisting any watering-down of the faith, we can accept that whilst encouraging participation he would reject any hint of integration.
Not too long after they were taken into captivity, the prophet Jeremiah wrote them a letter (Jer 29:4ff) which rejected the idea of isolationism; the exiles were not to hold themselves aloof but were to participate fully as good citizens in Babylonian society. Knowing Jeremiah’s record of resisting any watering-down of the faith, we can accept that whilst encouraging participation he would reject any hint of integration.
During their extended stay, the exiles were actively to seek the good of Babylon, co-operating with its institutions and participating within its cultural environment, whilst not losing sight of their core identity and loyalty as God’s unique people. But how to co-operate without compromise? There are several aspects of their response which it will be useful for us to reflect on as we face our future in an alien world.
Form a cell
The book of Daniel follows the story of Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. As the book begins, Daniel was a young teenager, and it is likely his close companions were of similar age. It is clear that the four formed close and enduring bonds, both whilst studying at Nebuchadnezzar’s college for administrators and later whilst working in Babylon’s civil service. In today’s terminology, they formed a cell. We are familiar with cells in a political context but here we have one in a spiritual context. A cell is simply a small group of closely connected people living within one thought system but holding to another.
When faced with the problem of having to interpret the king’s dream, Daniel’s immediate response was to turn to his friends and ask them to pray
The support of close friends in the faith is always valuable, even in ordinary times. These friends lived in difficult and sometimes dangerous times when they walked a hazardous path; in such circumstances we can find ourselves depending on the support and encouragement of like-minded friends. When faced with the problem of having to interpret the king’s dream, Daniel’s immediate response was to turn to his friends and ask them to pray (Dan 2:17,18).
There are heroes of the faith like Richard Wurmbrand who endured the most horrific torture and privations during fourteen years in a Romanian communist prison, three of them in solitary confinement. Most of us will never face such challenges, but we could face difficult times and making and developing strong relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ is best done before we need to be dependent on them.
Value everyday believers
The four friends were what we would term lay people. This term is insulting, as though non-ordained people were amateur believers as opposed to the professional clergy. Let us simply term them everyday believers. Although there would have been priests and prophets amongst the exiles in Babylon, there is no mention of a priest or prophet instructing or advising these teenage believers.
In situations of difficulty, we cannot always rely on recognised church leaders or church structures.
The faith becomes true for us only when it becomes something we have appropriated within our own experience. Accepting on an intellectual level the words spoken by others is not really faith: it is only when we encounter Christ ourselves that faith becomes a living thing, and no one else, minister or priest, can experience that encounter for us.
The continuity of the faith, especially during times of persecution, rests on the reality of the life and witness of everyday believers. This counts for much more than the survival of official clergy and institutions. In situations of difficulty, we cannot always rely on recognised church leaders or church structures. This is not to discount the importance of the ordained but to recognise that in extremes they are not always available.
Pursue spiritual devotion
This demands us taking personal responsibility for our own spiritual development. It is apparent from Daniel 1-3 that this small cell of believers practised joint worship, where they were able to reflect on the law as they had been taught back in Judea, share their understanding and questions, and pray together. It is also clear that there were times when they had to make very important and risky personal decisions on their own.
We must take care that Bible reading, prayer, meditation and fellowship do not become an end in themselves.
We get the impression that as Daniel lived and worked within this alien environment, his personal devotion grew as he committed himself to following the law of God. As he turned to it, studied and meditated on it, either alone or with his friends, and devoted himself to following it, the depth and intensity of his relationship with God grew.
This requires developing disciplined habits of devotion. We must take care that Bible reading, prayer, meditation and fellowship do not become an end in themselves. Richard Foster tells us, ‘By themselves, the spiritual disciplines can do nothing. But they can get us to a place where something can be done.’
The spiritual disciplines are a means to an end, spending quality time with God so that we might live with him whatever the circumstances.
The Rev. Dr Campbell Campbell-Jack is a retired Church of Scotland minister; now a member of the Free Church of Scotland. Check out his many incisive articles on his blog, A Grain of Sand.
