Anglican Mainstream

Problem? What Problem?
Part II: The Eerie Silence of the Canadian Church
By Lisa Severin Nolland

I have lately been exploring Canadian evangelicalism and culture, for it seems that where Canada goes the rest of the world tends to follow. Indeed, with current developments in the UK we are not far behind our ‘progressive’ western counterpart. There is much that is highly commendable about the Canadian Christian world, its ethos, commitment and concerns, but I am deeply concerned about one matter.

I speak of the silence on the part of various high profile evangelical leaders on sexual morality. Though there are happy exceptions, far too often Canadian churches appear not to ‘go there’ anymore.

Even self-identified, tick-all-the-right-boxes evangelical churches, groups and organizations have fallen silent, at least publicly. A Canadian friend of mine does research on Canadian cultural and religious norms and trends – thus can ‘call’ things from the inside, as it were – and recently told me she felt that the church essentially lost the gay issue thirty or more years ago when it lost its way on the then-pressing issues of cohabitation and divorce. The die was cast in the 70s; the church is paying for it now. Another friend with countless Canadian contacts told me that to her knowledge, even in very conservative evangelical circles, issues of personal sexual morality are rarely if ever mentioned now from the pulpit. A third, the pastor of a vibrant, growing evangelical church in BC, tells me he is exhausted with trying to stem the apparently never-ending gay tide. He says that many who share his concern seem to believe it is a lost cause and hardly worth the fight. Others have quietly abandoned it for an easier life and a less stressful, more apparently successful ministry. And the list could go on.

There are various reasons for this state of affairs, but here is a list of some that seem important to me.

1. There is a false assurance that, though a few of the flock may have ‘issues’, for the most part they are safe from the lure of affairs and porn and know how to deal with things like ‘Sex in the City’. Though others may wobble or fall, Christians, so the thinking goes, have their act together. They know their boundaries, have a biblically mature theology of human sexuality and enjoy strong, vibrant, pure relationships. Moreover, the church itself is still solid here. Though we occasionally hear odd sorts of comments or see rather unsuitable people appointed to key leadership roles, there is no need to worry or get alarmed. Really, alarmist talk is so unhelpful!

2. There is the tyranny of the urgent, the attending to essential needs and helping in situations where there is serious illness or death, loss of employment, financial problems or crises of other sorts. By the time the basics are somewhat covered, there is little enough time and less energy and will-power to target explosive issues like homosexuality.

3. There is a theological fuzziness which concentrates upon warmly inclusive, up-beat concepts of ‘love’ and ‘grace’ to the exclusion of almost all other theological doctrines and truths, even if those doctrines are still nominally upheld and affirmed. They won’t be for long, though!

4. There are certain aspects of the secular therapeutic movement which have made Christians ever less ‘judgmental’ but which mean that they tend now to keep quiet on controversial issues if those issues are not standard, mainstream and politically correct.

5. Related to this, there is an inability to know how to maintain biblical moral standards with compassion and gentleness in a context where fellow Christians, not to mention those outside the church, have profoundly different views and behaviours. Compassion and gentleness win out and biblical moral standards are not mentioned.

6. No one wants to be seen as The Bad Guy, the one who points it out when other people have crossed a line. It is fine to ‘help and support’ if one is asked, but anything else is inappropriate and thus wrong.

7. Also related to this, there is a discomfort with speaking up about difficult issues like abortion, divorce and adultery where it is likely that among those present are people who may regret their abortions – or whatever – and who may feel guilty enough as it is without anything being said.

8. There is the influence of the postmodern, your-truth-is-not-my-truth relativism and subjectivity which is deeply suspicious of specific types of authority – generally deemed to be patriarchal, hierarchical and oppressive – and of biblical revelation.

9. There is a fear of adding to the present unpopularity of the Christian church in society at large, an unpopularity which is compounded by a ‘wimp’/‘do-gooder’ image and tainted by widespread views that the church is uncaring and intolerant, hypocritical, money-hungry or simply in error on the whole God issue.

10. And finally, there is a loss of nerve in relation to openly and unapologetically advocating traditional biblical sexual morality and showing why and how it is good for individuals, families and society. There has never been a proper recovery from the damage inflicted by the 60s sexual revolution.

Christians in Canada – indeed all social conservatives – are living off the moral capital of the past, capital which is vanishing now like snow in the noon-day sun. The unthinkable is becoming the thinkable; the beyond-the-pale is heading to centre-stage. The traditional family is rapidly losing its normative position and becoming just one choice on the menu. In trendy circles in both Canada and the US now, for instance, we are seeing a quietly confident, determined emergence of polygamy, think ‘Mormon’, and polyamory, which means three or more committed bi, gay or hetero lovers or a mixture thereof. Polygamists and polyamorists or ‘polys’ are becoming more successful in establishing themselves as visible, legitimately-present, and fairly-normal households and communities. They are determined to be seen as and having considerable success in presenting themselves as not weird, disgusting or crazy. They are just like you and me, really, with the odd twist or two which is wisely downplayed and out-of-sight most of the time.

What is even more striking is how tolerant and welcoming significant strands within the mainstream – those who wouldn’t want these options for themselves – have been to such alternative family structures. Like Pavlov’s dog, they have been well-trained and know better than not to cherish diversity by now – though perhaps for some, especially older folk, these more extreme forms were never on the cards. However, for younger people such is not the case – they simply shrug it off. After all, they are less bothered by the more bizarre and alternative. They have been raised in a cultural climate which sees as self-evidently true the right to ‘do one’s own thing’ as long as one does not hurt anyone. Moreover, they frequently originate from homes where traditional marriage failed. Alternative family life might not be their thing, of course, but if someone else chooses it and does not force it on them, what’s the problem? Really, to each her/his own. Toleration and diversity become the new mantras, the new shibboleths.

In short, we have been watching a new sexual/social revolution – pansexuality – unfold before our very eyes. There is a complete sea change here, one which will make the swinging 60s pale by comparison. Polygamists and polys follow in the train of the brave GLBT, and consciously or not, serve to prepare the way for even more ‘alternative’ sorts of relationships. For the most part, few in the church attend and fewer care.

As you read the above, it should have become obvious that the Canadian situation is actually being replicated in most respects elsewhere in the West. We may not be quite as far along the road, but it is the same road we are on. The conditions which have led to the silence of key Christian leaders on sexual morality issues there apply here in the UK and also in the US and Europe.

Part III will take us a step further, though. Advanced in many ways, Canada is in lead position in the realm of the ‘Thought Police’. Its cultural, political, and legal clout is second to none; it is effectively silencing those who have the temerity to dissent. Most, however, choose to play it safe. Silence is not golden, just necessary for success, or if not that, survival. But back to the UK, if the SORs succeed, we will be next in line for getting our own Thought Police.

Lisa Severine Nolland
9 December 2006

To read part one, Belief Crime Today [click here->http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/?p=1023]

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