For many months now I have pondered the significance of the cross in modern society. From what I have gathered, it currently presents a universally recognized symbol indicative of a social, political or fashion statement. No longer does the sign elicit images of the supernal; rather, heathens and Christians alike have mucked up the message of Christ, each pontificating on the assumption that their noble task serves the betterment of humanity. Heathens have declared that God is dead. Emergent groups avoid religiosity to the point that they resemble a glorified twelve step program. Traditional churches are closing their doors, unable to generate the crowds they once boasted. Faith has become an artistic line from a lyric and piety is now a forgotten term of the dead languages. Pessimistic in verbiage, truth is sometimes hard to swallow.
Arguing out of fear of failure, pious masses would eagerly contend with my “spiritual blindness” and “unconscious obstructions;” however, their refusal to recognize their own responsibility in the circumstances of this world is the very obstacle preventing them from regaining their strength. Attempting to relate to “modern” society, the Church has created a subculture, or parallel culture, desperately yet unsuccessfully endeavoring to fit in among twenty-first-century progressiveness. Consequently, the product of this inefficacious undertaking amounts to nothing less than a witless gathering of unsubstantiated rhetoricians. Whether one wraps the Gospel in a pin-stripped suit or ripped jeans and a v-neck, intelligent people have come to realize that their personal well-being rests not within the divisiveness of the Church, but rather their own capable hands.
Regardless of fairness, regardless of what is right and wrong, the Church no longer enjoys home court advantage. If its advocates ever wish to see revival they must first embrace the honest certitudes of ailing faithful communities. Fearful of their willful, prideful ignorance, I doubt that such a phenomenon will occur in my lifetime. Needless to say, I am a lover of the Ecclesial Community, and I should like to see it succeed. Change is necessary, though, and I anticipate the day when I can once again think fondly of that which Providence has consecrated upon this earth.
