A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original article appears below. W. Stanford Reid is Emeritus Professor of History, University of Guelph, and the author of numerous historical books.
Today, as we look at western society we cannot help but have a feeling that something is wrong. There seems to be a problem which is affecting it in many different ways, for one cannot but recognize that there are breakdowns in many different areas of life, whether national, regional, social or personal. Yet as one looks at the various areas of trouble one begins to see that the basic problem is one of lack of moral standards. Western society seems to have lost any real standards of action. It is “every man for himself and the Devil take the hindmost.”
One example of this present state of affairs may be seen in the lack of moral standards in society. As one watches the governments of various western countries, one sees repeatedly cases of politicans using their positions for their own profit and economic advancement. In other cases one sees the failure of justice in the courts of a country, in the economic manipulation of the stock markets of a country and in the failure of a government to live up to its promises of guaranteeing equity in taxation, poverty relief and other aspects of a national life. A good example of this is the recent judgment in a Canadian court in a suit against the government for not living up to its election promises. The judge said that such promises were not binding on those who made them.
This condition, however, goes deeper in society, for there is also the breakdown of moral standards at the personal level. One only has to read the newspaper to see that sexual moral standards have almost disappeared entirely from western civilization. What one might call relational morals have also broken down, one out of three marriages now ending in divorce, people suing each other for broken agreements, or for damages because of dishonesty. Or one may read of the extent of crime in society, even among teenagers or younger. And this all, in turn, has its influence in and impact on society as a whole to the highest levels of government. In a very real sense western civilization is facing a moral crisis, which could lead to the breakdown of our whole society.
What is the Christian answer to this situation?
One proposed solution is that Christians should take charge. We have seen this perhaps in Pat Robertson’s seeking the nomination by the Republican party for president of the United States, or Jesse Jackson’s running for the Democratic nomination. Then presumably Christians would be in charge and would seek to legislate according to what they believe are Christian standards. Furthermore, they would make sure that those who deviated from their legislation and ignored or rejected their standards would be punished. In this way the Christian standards of western civilization would be restored.
Yet there are basic problems involved in all of this. First of all how would those who seek to rule a country in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ attain the office which would give them the necessary power? And even if they did succeed in this would they be able to force society to conform to their program? It would really be a case of the church trying to rule the state by law, but if the population as a whole objected to the laws, how could they be enforced? There are examples enough in history to show that a people convinced against their will are of the same opinion still. Ecclesiocracy, as it is called, does not work.
Some theologians today believe that the answer is to establish a form of government and social organization similar to that of Israel in the Old Testament. This they call theonomy: society governed according to God’s law. But there is no evidence that Christ or his followers ever thought of doing such a thing. That was fine for the age of the law in Israel, but not for the New Testament dispensation which recognizes no nation or people as the special people of God (Gal. 3:26ff). Furthermore, many Christians and certainly all nonChristians would never accept such an imposition of Old Testament law and government.
What then is the answer and how can this moral morass be overcome?
Perhaps history has some lessons for us. As we look at the state of moral standards in the late Middle Ages, before the Reformation, we cannot but be impressed with the similarity to our situation. Bribery and corruption was rampant in society, not exactly in the form that we experience, but it was there. Added to that, personal morals were at a low level, the clergy, including popes, being at the bottom. Sexual morals, the purchase of ecclesiastical offices and promotions and many other types of corruption were common.
There were, of course, attempts at reform. Councils were held, new laws were promulgated, efforts were made to reform the monastic orders and other action was taken, but they seemed to have had little effect. The legal means simply did not work, because so many either disregarded them dr rejected them. Even efforts such as those of John Wycliff in England or Jan Hus in Bohemia seem to have had little effect on society in general. And Renaissance humanism stressed the independence and sovereignty of the individual, which made the idea of reforms by law, whether civil or ecclesiastical, unacceptable.
Neither the church’s nor the state’s legislation brought about these changes. They came as a result of spiritual renewal through the preaching of the Gospel.
Then came the Reformation of the sixteenth century. Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox and the other reformers concentrated on preaching the Gospel. The result was — in western Europe: France, Holland, Switzerland, Scandinavia and the British Isles — a radical change in society. Politically in countries such as Holland, England, Scotland and Switzerland democracy received a great stimulus while in France, the Protestant forces pushed, albeit not too successfully, for democratic reforms. Personal morals which affect society as a whole also changed. The stress upon honesty and diligence in business, sexual morality and universal education laid by the reformers had a powerful effect on the society of the day. Neither the church’s nor the state’s legislation brought about these changes. They came as a result of spiritual renewal through the preaching of the Gospel.
The eighteenth century saw a similar phenomenon. That period witnessed a general decline in Christian faith. Rationalism dominated the scene. There was a decline in moral standards once again, and no legal reforms could change the situation. In fact people were not interested in moral reform, and would not have obeyed reform laws which might have been enacted.
The Evangelical Revival, however, brought about a radical change. The preaching of John Wesley, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards and many others in Great Britain, Europe and America brought about a radical change in western society. As one reads of the spread of evangelical influence in these areas one cannot but feel that it was in a sense miraculous, considering all the problems and the opposition which it faced.
As in the Reformation, the impact on the private morals was powerful and widespread. Again there was the stress on high standards of sexual, economic and relational morality which had a wide influence. In the wider social sphere the same was true. William Wilberforce, in England, succeeded in having the slave trade banned. About the same time the Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury had parliament pass laws protecting workers in the factories. In America there was laid the foundation of the anti-slavery movement. In Holland, Abraham Kuyper owed much of his thinking in politics, economics and similar fields to the evangelical movement. The effects of the revival thus lasted well into the nineteenth and in some areas into the twentieth centuries.
Today we find western society very much in the moral morass which engulfed western society in the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. What is needed to bring about social, political and personal moral renewal is the spiritual renewal of the church, and this will take place only when the church gets back to the basics of its spiritual life. In so many areas in the church we a forsaking of the Christian teaching. In some cases we see a frank rejection of even central doctrines such as the deity of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of the Trinity, and even the call to spread the gospel across the world. At the same time churches are considering the introduction of practising homosexuals into their ministry and personal sexual morals are declared to be wide open for whatever one desires. The spiritual impact of the professing church is largely negligible.
All this calls for a spiritual revolution such as the church has seen in the past on a number of occasions. It means also that Christians must seek to live lives and bear testimony as Christians in the world. But what is more important is that Christians must constantly be in prayer that such a renewal will take place. Prayer lay at the basis of the Reformation and of the Evangelical Revival, and it must do so today. Then we shall see a real spiritual revolution brought about by the action of the Holy Spirit who gives life to the church, as it seeks for renewal for its life in the world (Eph. 6:18f).