Losing My Religion

Over the past week, there's been a flurry of newspaper print dedicated to reports that the numbers of Kiwis identifying themselves as having no religion is on the increase. The Dominion Post's cover story in last weekend's 'Your Weekend' magazine was entitled "For God's Sake", examining what a selection of Kiwis really believe. Following Anzac Day, the same newspaper contained a letter strongly complaining that the Dawn Service in Wellington was "tainted significantly by the declaration that 'our Lord and Saviour' is Jesus Christ." Then today, I discover Stuff.co.nz has a piece on the actual reasons for the decline in religion (increased life expectancy meaning people think that matters of eternity can wait till nearer the grave, apparently).

Since moving to NZ, and becoming a self-proclaimed Yorkshire Kiwi, I have generally found there to be a polite respect of religion and all things spiritual. However, in this, it's seemed that for many this is a hotchpotch of religions and beliefs, if you like, a spiritual pick and mix. Take for instance Bob Parker, Mayor of Christchurch, and a man who has remained remarkably steady in the face of tremendous adversity in that city. In the Dom Post cover story he says "I replace the word God with "good". I think there's good in everyone. That's how I think about it."

Mayor Parker's thoughts are not unique. Wellington's Mayor, Celia Wade-Brown expresses similar sentiments. "I realised that I didn't have a belief in a major supreme being but I believed in some of the tenets of major religions...they're excellent guiding principles of life." Both Mayors demonstrate that far from 'losing our religion', many New Zealanders today are 'choosing our religion'. Picking and choosing the bits we want to believe, making the truths we want for ourselves and discarding those we don't want.

As a Christian, I believe in truth. I believe in its importance and relevance to everyone. As the familiar expression says, truth does (sometimes) hurt. However, truth can also be very liberating.

I believe there is a God and that He has made Himself known. No matter how highly I think of myself, I am not and must not be the arbiter of who or what is God. If something is true, then it is true whether I believe it or not. You cannot choose who God really is or what God is like. At best (or worst), you can choose what will be god of your life and god of you, but this is simply filling your life with a false substitute for 'the real thing'.

Two of the most important questions of truth that must be considered are "Is there are a God?" and "What sort of God is there?"

In Jesus Christ, we have the answers to those questions - in John's account of Jesus' life, he writes "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1)

Later, we are told "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John1:14)

The classic Kiwi pragmatism that makes our country such a likeable and positive place means we have a "Do It Myself" attitude to heaven. To be told you can't make it yourself goes against the grain. And yet, this is exactly what Jesus says when He claims "I am the Way...noone comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6) 

Put simply, there is no other way to God except through Jesus.

And Jesus' claim to be "the Life" sits uneasily for many. For many here in NZ, we have the good life. Life here for many is great - we have the beautiful scenery, good people, whanau and friends, and yet, Jesus says "I am...the Life." (John 14:6)

In light of His life, His teachings and claims, and His death and resurrection, I am convinced that New Zealanders today need to seriously consider "Who is Jesus?" and "How do I respond to Him?" Far from being irrelevant to NZ society, or a character who (according to Jason Manford in his Dom Post letter) "has no place, or right to be revered, at any state event", He is absolutely relevant, completely interested and vitally important in New Zealand and New Zealanders' lives today.

The Dark Side

Two news stories have caught my eye this week. Both reminded me that all of us have things about us that no-one else knows.

The first story came from the latest events surrounding the murder of Scott Guy in Feilding. After there being almost 9 months of no obvious suspects, the police arrested and charged the brother-in-law of Mr Guy with his murder. It must be stressed at this time, the case is before the courts, and with that in mind, a suspect is innocent until proven guilty. However, some of the comments from family members regarding Ewen MacDonald stood out for me.

One can only imagine the agony of Anna MacDonald, wife of Ewen and sister of Scott, as she wrestles with whether it was her husband took her brother's life. Talking of this agony, she said "I just can't imagine it. But I could be so wrong and I might not know the person that I thought I did. He might have a secret side to him that I didn't know about. But I don't know how you would hide it for this long. We've known each other for 15 years. We will have been married 10 years this year. I thought I knew him really well." (The original article reporting this can be found here)

Whether Mr MacDonald is guilty or not, the fact is that we all have a secret side that no-one else knows about. There are things we think, places we go, sometimes things we say, attitudes we have that no-one else knows. Who we are when no-one else is looking is the real us. And, if we're going to be honest with ourselves and to others, we all have a dark side that we'd rather no-one else knew about. For most of us, that dark side remains a secret between us and God, but sometimes, those secrets become known.

Jesus hinted at this when He said “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” (Mark 7:20-23) It's those secrets we hold within us that reveal the real us.

A bit later in the week, I saw a news clip which rather amusingly showed someone being found out for who they really were. The President of the Czech Republic was sharing a Press Conference with the President of Chile, when he was caught stealing a pen from the stage. Unfortunately for him, the whole Press Conference was being filmed, and the footage has since gone viral. It all takes me back to wise words from the Bible that my mum used to often say to me as a child "Be sure your sin will find you out." (Numbers 32:23)

Both stories were a good reminder that no matter how good people can sometimes be (& I have no doubting the potential goodness in us all), that we all have the dark side, the things we'd rather keep hidden. In front of God, however, all secrets are open.