Our inexhaustable comfort

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who has given us his love and,

through his grace, such inexhaustible comfort and such sure hope, comfort you

and strengthen you in everything good that you do or say.

2 Thessalonians 2:16f

One of the latest idiocies is the publication of an article written for the local newspaper placed online before being printed, so that when the article is printed there are Facebook comments from the hoi polloi printed alongside it.  We had an example last year when our iPad program was lambasted as elitist and exclusive. Recently, a local college principal was taken to task by Facebookers on the demise of Leavers’ dinners for Year 10s. And last week, Archbishop Porteous wrote a byline for a Tasmanian newspaper on the contribution of Christianity to western civilization. The rancour expressed on the newspaper websites and Facebook was uncompromising. It is not so much the level of dissatisfaction or disenchantment they have with the church, but a clear statement of their total alienation from the church and all it stands for.

In the 2011 census 61% of Australians professed an affiliation with Christianity, while 22% reported they had no religious affiliation at all. It is not unreasonable to accept that the percentage of Christians will continue to plummet in the years to come. It has been happening slowly but surely for over 100 years in Australia.

It raises questions: ‘What is a Christian?’ ‘Who is a Christian?’ ‘What does a Christian believe and do?’ The catechism of the Catholic Church, launched by John Paul II in 1997, is based on the Apostles Creed and explores and defines the church’s teachings about the Christian faith and life. It is worthwhile recalling the words of the creed:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen

When we confess these words, it is an acknowledgement of what is at the very core of who we are and its strength lies in the extraordinary hope that its authors, our ancestors in faith, sought to ensure we understood.

My fear for those who have abandoned their faith or whose disillusionment with Christianity is a result of bitter experience, is that hope itself may be lost; that all that remains is just the present, the preservation of the earth for future generations; a total dying of self where I become just another biological being that is born, lives and dies in a cycle of life that has no consequence. It is not about ego, it is about purpose, about meaning – and this is what faith does.

What will our society of 2113 look like? Will be a society of rationalists, humanists? If this is what we want, we just need to keep doing what we’re doing already. If we want a Christian future, we need to make a difference right now.