Taking a stand
Greg Melia asks us to stand up for what we believe
Photo: Galen R Frysinger, www.galenfrysinger.com
I’m going to start this article off by writing about Martin Luther. Yes, I know I’ve done this before and yes, I realise that perhaps I should have found another role model in the meantime, but I couldn’t help it. You see; there’s one incident which, so reflective in character of Luther’s life and work, is something which I’ve come increasingly to value over the past months, and feel we could all do well to learn from.
The incident is this. In 1521 Luther appeared before a council, known as the Diet of Worms (yes, really!) Having caused uproar over the past four years for his sermons and writings against the church, he found himself up against the full weight of church and state, quite possibly to be burned as a heretic. When a pile of his books were placed before the Diet, and he was instructed to recant what he had written, Luther is reported to have replied thus:
Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.
Those words impress me, and not merely for their eloquence. They display a resoluteness which I admire, and an assuredness I can only envy. The path of a Christian can be a lonely one to follow. All around you, most of the world think you’re wrong and have a strong desire to tell you so, whether their ‘tolerant’ values officially permit this or not. The attacks on faith are so much more devastating, though, when they come not from outside Christianity, but from within. Hardly a week passes when someone tells me that, “This issue doesn’t matter. You can be a Christian without believing X, Y or Z”, when those may be what I considered the very cornerstones of my belief. At the same time, different people tell me that, “This is a primary issue, which all true Christians believe in!” referring to doctrines I not only don’t hold to be true, but regard as rather narrow and arrogant. When these are the people who you until recently considered to be ‘on your side’, it can be very hard to consider their points objectively, and it’s extremely tempting to coerce yourself into ‘believing’ something, or at least not giving it much thought, in order to spare yourself a hard time — not exactly the way Martin Luther chose.
So what should be done? It’s true that our theology wasn’t formed in a vacuum. We have, whether we like it or not, been influenced in our beliefs by those around us, and consequently we shouldn’t shut ourselves off from other people’s views and ideas; we should acknowledge the possibility that we may be wrong and be prepared to work issues out with those we initially may not agree with.
On the other hand, once we are sure of our theology, we should be prepared to defend it, whatever may come. Yes, it is possible to work with those one disagrees with on minor issues (though one of the most disputed points ever must be, “What makes a minor issue?”) However, it’s important to understand that whatever others may tell us, they’re fallible humans and can make the same mistakes as we can. We should not take their point of view for granted, however much authority they seem to speak with and whatever organization they’re backed by: after all, they can’t claim as much authority as the Catholic Church did in Luther’s day, and even it now admits it was wrong on some counts! After evaluating the facts and coming to our conclusions, there is nothing we can honestly do except for standing by them. After all, isn’t God the most important thing in our lives? Should we abandon any part of Him because of what mere people say?
To sum up, I’d like to suggest this little triumvirate. Firstly, that we never take anything for granted, but have the diligence to think everything over and work out our faith the best we know how. Secondly, that we have the wisdom to co-operate with those we can, and not get offended by their beliefs. Thirdly and finally, that on the issues that matter, God gives all of us the honesty, endurance and sheer bloody-mindedness to say, “Here I stand. I can do no other.”
Dr Luther, I salute you.