Time for Remembrance

June is always a major time of remembrance at our house with birthdays and wedding anniversaries. This week in the news were some other major remembrances as the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Europe in WW2 was highlighted by President Obama's visit to that site. Since my dad went ashore there a day or two after the initial landing and went through a number of battles all the way to Berlin, D-Day is one that I always remember (also because of my wife's birthday!). This same week was also the 20th anniversary of the Tianenmen Square protests in China, causing us to reflect on the many changes that have taken place in China since that sad time.



This year is also the 25th anniversary of the death of Francis Schaeffer. It is hard to believe it has been that long. As I reviewed his book Genesis in Space and Time this week I was reminded again how very much his writing impacted the way I view the world, especially how I view the culture we live in. His writing on abortion, the arts, movies, literature, politics, and sexuality all caused to me to think more critically about how these things either reflect or deny Christianity. He more than anyone else I have read made me understand what it means to have a Christian 'worldview'.



One comment that I noticed more in this re-visit of his book than I did at the time was his comment that the church is by-and-large a middle-class institution in the western world, appealing to neither workers not intellectuals very much. That is quite unlike in Jesus' time or in other parts of the world like Africa, where the poor and working folks are the predominant members of Christian churches. Certainly as I was growing up the poor and the workers were all that I knew of the church, since that is where I was. As our prosperity has grown, we somehow have lost touch with the poor this country. I am not exactly sure how or what it means, but it is a concern.



As for the intellectuals, I think that they have always been a very small part of the church. Just as with the rich, I think they find it harder than the poor to view anyone but themselves as being in control, including God. Perhaps I should say 'we' instead of 'they'. It is a good time to remember my roots and not get too impressed by my own prosperity and education, which are enormous blessings that I should be more thankful for.