Religion has changed, but message shouldn't

I 've been writing this column for 15 years, and during that time much about religion has changed. I'm simply amazed.

For instance, 15 years ago, we still had lots of growing, healthy mainline churches. Now Zen Buddhist meditation centers are flourishing.

There was a time when mainline churches had enough money to build hospitals, summer camps and social service agencies. Now many church hospitals are being sold to private companies. Some summer camps, dilapidated from lack of maintenance, are being closed. And while social service agencies such as Catholic Charities are certainly up and running, they are taxed beyond belief by the needs of our society.

And there are fewer volunteers because women work and everyone is so bone tired they couldn't lift a quilting needle when they get home from work. As a result, social service agencies have to whittle down their priorities and focus on fewer ministries.

I can remember when the most noble thing a congregation could do was to put together an active youth ministry. Congregations built gymnasiums so families and youth could have a place for recreation. Some churches advertised that they were focused on youth.

Now there are so many activities and so much entertainment available for adolescents that youth ministry is the most difficult endeavor in any congregation. Try inviting youths to a Bible study when there are a half-dozen places they could go with their friends to have a hilarious time.

And we are thinking differently about religion today. There are still plenty of Christians, Jews and Muslims who believe one of the important tenets of their faith is to reach out to needy human beings. Charity is one of the five pillars of the Muslim faith, and it is central to Judaism and Christianity.

But the new religions surfacing in our day say very little about service. If the people serve at all, it is to support their own religion and make money for their guru. Some religions have become isolated environmental bubbles, such as the Heaven's Gate compound in California. You can't do much reaching out if all the doors are locked from the inside.

Another thing that has changed is the importance of a strong moral code. Honesty, integrity, loyalty, kindness and gentleness were all central to a religion's dogma. There are still many Christians, Muslims, Jews and Buddhists who adhere to a strong moral code.

But new religions are now asking their people to make those decisions themselves. I remember asking a woman who had started a modified commune in Oklahoma what she required of her members in regard to morality. Ethics, she said, were better left to each individual, rather than asking everyone to conform to one moral code.

Those of us who adhere to the Ten Commandments and other moral codes may wonder how an absence of rules can work in a diverse population with strong human appetites.

Finally, we have changed in the way we talk about theology. At my ordination many years ago, a pastor I slightly knew stopped at the door of the church and said to me, "I just have one thing to say: 'Remember the blood.' "

In other words, remember that Jesus died for our sins. And the only way we can get to heaven is to be washed in the blood of the lamb of God. I remember another pastor telling me there is only one thing that people want to know from their pastor: Will they get to heaven?

But I don't hear as many preachers talking about heaven as I once did. Today pulpiteers are talking about parenting and how to have a happy marriage and how to find peace of mind. The pulpit talk today is about humankind rather than the Almighty.

The questions once were "Who is God?" and "What is the Almighty going to do with me when I die?" But today the questions are more often "Who am I?" and "What can I do to get more comfort and pleasure out of life?"

Clark D. Morphew

May 3, 1997