From the April-June 2009 Issue
'A very vague religion'
Tony and Barbara Hynes
CarcassoneOur small Bible literature stand is set up each Saturday morning at the top of the steps which mount from the cathedral to the car park where the Saturday Rag Market is held. This is quite a strategic position on the direct path from the food market in the town centre to the general market on the boulevard. One week last October while I was at our stand I was suddenly joined by a colourfully dressed imam, accompanied by three young men carrying a large drawing of a mosque. They had come down from Commercy in the north of France to collect funds for their new mosque. A week later – same place, same occupation – two young men arrived to sell bilingual Islamic calendars to whoever would buy one. I was wondering how long it would take for Christians to do something more public. I had forgotten that the following Saturday was 1st November!
At 10:30 the cathedral bells started ringing. After ten minutes Mohammed, my neighbour, came to complain of his headache. In front of the cathedral doors two ladies set up a stall to sell storm-proof candles designed to continue burning when placed on a tomb in a windswept cemetery. Then the bishop appeared in long robes, wearing his tall mitre and carrying his large crook, preceded by several choirboys in white gowns. He joined the few who were in the cathedral to pray for the dead. Then the bells began ringing again to announce that ‘France is a Christian country’!
Religious confusion
For the average Frenchman the adjective évangélique has never been equivalent to evangelical, but refers to Pentecostalism associated with non-intellectual extremism. The religious confusion is increased by the media’s interest in the new Protestants – large congregations of Africans or French West Indians around Paris and the larger cities – characterised by lively services and healing crusades. The response of most mainline evangelicals has been to seek to have larger representation to impress the authorities. Three large groupings of evangelicals – the French Evangelical Federation, the Evangelical Alliance and the Assemblies of God – are moving, with other smaller associations, to form a National Council of Evangelicals. In order to obtain a consensus in such a mixed company it is obvious that a blind eye will have to be turned to several doctrinal differences and doubtful practices.
No concern for revival
The most disappointing aspect of this reaction, however, is the apparent lack of concern for a revival of God’s people. Some try to promote the Finney type of ‘awakening’ – a generation ago Finney’s ‘Religious Revivals’ was basic reading for many serious French Christians. Happily Finney’s influence has declined, but it has not been replaced by an interest in true revival as illustrated in the work of Whitefield, the Wesleys and later preachers. It is written somewhere of President Eisenhower that he was ‘a fervent believer in a very vague religion’. Sadly this seems to be the way that most evangelical churches in France are going.
The Apostle Paul’s concern was not to dilute doctrine in order to make it more acceptable, but to teach ‘the whole counsel of God’ (Acts 20:27). His letters to the different churches were not bare doctrinal outlines but deep theology, which was then applied to all areas of life. He pointed out that many of the problems in the church at Corinth were due to a moving away from the message of the Cross (1 Corinthians 1:17-31). At Carcassonne we are trying to follow the apostolic model.
Local witness
In the last two years we have had help from a team of eight francophone Brits who have joined us in open-air meetings and door-to-door visitation for a week in August. This year they were able to help in part of the Bible exhibition we organised over three weeks. The number of contacts and visitors was encouraging, but following them up is not so easy. One or two have declared their lack of interest, but others are most elusive and have yet to be met.
May we encourage you to pray that we shall the fruits of some new contacts. Pray too that we shall see conversions amongst the local people, French or Mediterranean. We would also urge you to pray for a younger man to lead the church here. Pray that God would guide us and him so that God’s kingdom might advance in this needy land.