428 - The Church In the World

The Church In the World
By E. G. Homrighausen

THE FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY

THE United States government is making a massive attack upon poverty which involves 37 million people. Never in history has a nation apportioned such vast sums and formulated such ambitious programs to tackle the problem of the poor. The expenditures for the first year and a half have reached 2 1/4 billion dollars, and the total cost to achieve the objectives of the Office of Economic Opportunity is such as to cause some to wonder whether the economy can bear it. The project was conceived by the late President John F. Kennedy and implemented by Congress through the vigorous leadership of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The objective is "to prevent the present children of poverty from becoming in the future, the fathers of poverty."

There have always been poor people who were so for many causes, often not their own. Societies in history have had theories of poverty and they have treated their poor accordingly. Sometimes poverty has been regarded as a fateful inevitability. Again, it has been regarded as a providential arrangement in a feudal society, or as a station-in-life divinely ordained. There was a time when poverty was regarded as a judgment against the sin of indolence; therefore, the poor were not to be relieved by charity but forced to reform by imprisonment and work programs. With the advent of the modern economic man and era, the poor were a necessary labor market to produce prosperity. Whatever "medicine of poverty" was given was in the form of charity or public welfare.

Today, the industrial situation has created a new kind of rather permanent poverty. The older concepts of poverty must be seriously modified. And -while we grant that all poverty is not a blight, that many are victims of their own indolence, that work is a character-building experience, that charity and welfare are disintegrating to the recipient and disastrous to society that gives it, we must admit

429 - The Church In the World

that there are many who cannot work and perhaps will never be able to find a job. There are ghettos of poverty that imprison people, especially children and youth, in conditions that dehumanize life and prevent it from claiming its basic rights. All poor are not indolent; poverty is not a virtue; poverty is not inevitable in our affluent society; the poor who cannot work should not be deprived of a share in the national economy of abundance; the poor should not be helped only if they deserve it; private charity and public welfare are not the means to engender self-reliance, self-support, and self-respect in the poor. Careful observers affirm that "the nation is committing economic and moral suicide by continuing a public policy which makes the indigent happy at the expense of the industrious, thus encouraging sloth, immorality, and irresponsibility and discouraging initiative, thrift, diligence, and foresight." Public welfare ruins the morals of rich and poor alike. And charity is sporadic, often begrudgingly given, and it tends to create pride in the affluent giver.

If this hard core of poverty is to be tackled with a view to its eradication, and its victims are to be rehabilitated and made to feel they belong to the national culture and economy, then large and expensive measures will have to be employed.

The "invisible" poor are hidden for the most part in ghettos or pockets where living conditions are creating a core of explosive discontent. They constitute a sub-culture of misery. They feel that there is little chance of ever being needed by society. Social alienation, financial dependency, crowded housing conditions, racial discrimination, and many other conditions have bred frustration, hostility, delinquency, and illiteracy. All of which is aggravated by the growing wealth of the nation. These pent-up feelings have erupted in many cities, the most dramatic of which was Watts, California, which will be written into the history of the nation and of the world. A new kind of response to poverty is required. To allow poverty to continue in an affluent society, with the resources to end it, is "ethically intolerable." At last, the conscience of the nation is aroused through a feeling of guilt on the one hand, and through fear on the other hand.

New attitudes towards wealth and the neighbor-poor are required. Wealth will have to be seen in its relation to the common good; help to the poor will have to be administered with justice and humanity;

430 - The Church In the World

the poor will have to be given to feet that they are an accepted part of the whole community. The ultimate objective is to break the cycle of poverty so that it will not be self-perpetuating.

Besides the specific programs of OEO, there are 260 separate federal programs in operation that contribute to the fight against poverty. There are scores of private, church, and voluntary agencies which are in some way dealing with the poor. However, the major agencies and groups without which these large-scale programs cannot succeed are: (1) the poor and their leaders; (2) the Congress; (3) the local politicians; and (4) the administrators. And while much has already been done to give OEO an auspicious start, it has been said that the war on poverty may be last through the differences of opinion and the use of power located in these groups. The poor have the feeling that something is being done to them, that they are being forced to assume middle-class standards, that the major issue, namely, participation in the community power structure is not afforded them by jealous local political groups. Politicians are loath to enfranchise the poor for fear of creating new voters for another party. Idealists who would solve the problem of poverty through razing the slums, guaranteeing an annual wage, doubling minimum wage rates, rebuilding the cities, think that even the best programs of the OEO will be ineffective,, and even worse than nothing. And a number of administrators, at first enthusiastic, have become discouraged at the enormity of the problem and the ineffectiveness of the piecemeal solutions offered.

Failure of the program would be disastrous, since such high hopes have been generated among the poor. And if it is a failure, it would be some time before Congress would. propose another program. It would be a terrible blot on the image of a rich nation that has both the financial and human resources to solve this problem. What is required is a realistic attack upon poverty, listening to the poor, middle class leadership, large scale social plans and government action without endangering private decisions and marketing freedom, a sustained national conscience, patience in face of eruptions of violence, and above all a realization that poverty is a radical disease that can be fought only by some rather radical means.

Though the churches do not control federal agencies or funds, they have a crucial contribution to make to the fight against poverty. In addition to its personnel and agencies, it has a Gospel for the

431 - The Church In the World

poor. It has a theology of stewardship regarding the use of wealth and personal influence. It has a mandate to practice Christian dia konia or selfless service to the neighbor in need. It has a doctrine of vocation through which its members are to witness to their new manhood in their daily tasks. It has a pastoral concern for the world, the state, and the national community which involves interest in legislation, political programs, and administrative procedures dealing with human life. Through its biblical doctrine of the covenant of man with God in creation and redemption, it makes its members aware of the fact that they are their brothers' keepers and that their lives are bound up in the bundle of human life in an indissoluble unity.

But, the church is not an arm of the government's program in the fight against poverty! It has a unique function to perform in providing personal service, a message that gives eternal meaning to life, a personal relationship that is not manipulative or convertseeking, a breakthrough in human relationships in a face-to-face personal concern, and assistance that is in itself redemptive and restorative. Perhaps, the church's greatest contribution to the poor is what Peter and John gave the impotent beggar mentioned in Acts 3: a sincere look of recognition, a lifting and supporting hand, and a possibility to share in the new manhood made available in Jesus Christ.

THE CHURCH IN A PLURALISTIC WORLD

The Reformation, by encouraging dissension and diversity in existing Christendom, was the source of an ever-developing pluralism in so-called western Christian society. Yet, this diversity of Christian groups was still within the context of the Christian faith. Since that time many political, cultural, and economic factors have effected greater diversity within the western household. The French Revolution dealt a devastating blow to the dominant church, and France became a secular state. The American experiment started off with the guarantee of freedom for all religious groups, and with a separation of church from state that forbade an established religion. The Russian Revolution made "holy Russia" into a religionless state.

Many influences have been at work bringing about the gradual fragmentation of Christendom. Even the church contributed

432 - The Church In the World

through its many denominational groups. The rise of religious freedom has forced national churches to grant either freedom or tolerance to smaller sects and groups. A gradual emancipation of people from the churches has not only weakened these churches but resulted in groups who term themselves humanists or atheists who wish no relation with the churches. Minority groups, such as the Jews and Roman Catholics in the United States, heretofore somewhat subdued, inarticulate or intmidated, have now risen to claim their rights. In the United States, Protestantism, once regarded as the unofficial "established" religion of the nation, now takes its place with other faiths, including importations from abroad: Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. The divisions in the church make it impossible for any one denomination to claim to be the whole and only church. And even in countries like Sweden, Italy, and Spain where one church claims the vast majority of the population as its adherents, the rights of minorities to religious freedom and autonomy makes for a pluralistic situation.

The heyday of one Christian church as the only favored and protected religious group is past, for the most part. And with the rising power of government often taking over many services once controlled by the church, leaving ever smaller areas for church services, the whole situation has been radically altered.

In face of this pluralistic situation, Christians respond in many ways. There may be some who regard it as most opportune since this means the end of a "religious Christianity," the emergence of a Christianity for the man "come of age" who does not need a church organization and is now able to practice his "holy worldliness" to his heart's content. On the other hand, there are Christians who are not only puzzled but frightened at: the prospect of a world in which Christianity has become the faith of a minority of people, fragmented by weakening divisions, hopelessly confused theologically, confronting a world that is becoming more un-Christian.

The churches are for the most part not aware of the crucial nature of the situation. Some of them have been fighting the inevitable processes of history, only to discover that they are engaged in a losing struggle and that they are spending most of their time futilely trying to recover a past that is irretrievable. As a result, they have little understanding of the situation, and worse, little understanding

433 - The Church In the World

of the theological responsibility of Christians to meet the situation in a positive way.

Some Christians would like to restore the past. But they do not realize that this would be quite impossible, since the churches are filled with members who do not know what the Christian faith is, who do not know that there are too few Christians to bring about a rehabilitation of the past, and who fail to see it would take political and military force to do it. Further, in light of recent theology regarding the church, would any church be willing to promote and lead such a crusade for the restoration of Christendom?

Among the other responses to the situation are the proposals to develop a unified cultural religion of humanity, or for the nations. How could the prophetic aspect of Christianity be incorporated into such a world religion? Further, such a religion would be a mosaic which lacked organic unity. And it would, if formulated, have to be politically imposed for the sake of saving humanity!

And there are some Christians who feel that the present situation proves that we are in the "last days" and that all the church can do is to rescue and cultivate the remnant who will be saved out of the world catastrophe. Without condemning such a solution, it must be said that this escape avoids the prophetic vision and human dimension of the Gospel, and makes of the Christian faith the "opiate" the Communists say it is.

There are others who think the situation calls for the coexistence of all religions in a truce of tolerance and even mutual enrichment. It may be that each religion has something of the truth and that therefore they ought to live together by surrendering their distinctive aspects and simply coexist. But can the Christian faith deny the Great Commission of the Lord of this world? It would be the merit of wisdom for the churches to accept the pluralistic Situation, to stop the useless nostalgia for the irretrievable past, to waste no time looking for a "new" church that is free from the faults of the existing churches, and to take a critical look at some of the proposals for the renewal and effective witness of the church in our time. Surely, this is no time for unity for the sake of creating a new Christendom, or saving the old! This is no time for world-denying withdrawal, nor is it a time for naively identifying the Christian faith with revolutionary movements, or for throwing Christianity

434 - The Church In the World

into the furnace to bring out a golden calf-"the religion of Man"-or for surrendering to a peace-at-any-price coexistence by sacrificing the unique aspects of the Christian faith.

This is a time when the church may truly be the church, free from the compromising supports of state or culture with an opportunity to witness to the Gospel in an open public market. It will listen to other faiths and fight for their freedom to be and to witness. It will present its faith for its own sake alone and on its own merits. A free church in a free state is best for both church and state. And such a church will be rid of the temptation to develop cultic grandeur or seek to dominate culture. Without compromising its unique faith, it will cooperate with other religious groups to preserve and promote those values which are for all men.

But such a church and ministry will need theological integrity! A church that is no longer supported by a state or a culture, or even a philosophical apologetic, will. need to recover an existence that cannot be had except through renewal in the Word of God and the witness of the prophets and the apostles. A church that is cut loose from any form of Christendom will have to come of age and be able to stand on its own feet in a very revolutionary age by the sheer power of the Word and Spirit.