 A beacon for postmodern politics By Hans Apel © 2000 United Press International Thursday, January 25, 2001 This is the seventh installment of the UPI series, "Christ and postmodernity."
Two decades ago, I was West Germany's minister of finance and defense. I am a Social Democrat and always have considered myself a committed Lutheran. A clergyman I much admired in my youth was Otto Dibelius, whom the Nazis had persecuted severely. After World War II, he served as presiding bishop of Germany's state-related Protestant churches. Long before the war, Dibelius predicted: "Whatever one might think of the Church, there can be no doubt that we are entering a century of the Church." The bishop thought it impossible for the state and secularized society to survive without Christian guidance in the great ethical questions of life. There were great hopes in 1945 and 1989 after first National Socialism and then Communism had collapsed. Europe anticipated a renaissance of the Church and basic Christian values in countries freed from terror. To be sure, their democratic structures are solid now. Eventually, they will be firmly anchored in the minds of a vast majority of Western Europeans; in the Eastern part of the continent, this process will take a little longer. Yet, if you equate Christianity with our major churches, its anchor among the people seems to be cutting loose. Many are leaving their denominations. Even those still connected to their church seem less and less religiously committed. The result is spiritual impoverishment. Our Lord's message seems to evaporate in the everyday hustle and bustle. Once traditional Christian life has been emptied of meaning, it no longer keeps the individual in its grip. Let's not fool ourselves: Many do not see this development as a loss; they feel liberated from what had seemed a burden to them. Now that we have moved into a new century, the old one does not seem a "century of the Church" at all. Instead, it appears to have left the Church behind, at least in Germany and much of Western Europe. The Church, especially in its Protestant manifestations, seems trapped in the same quicksand that has sucked up mass movements that tried to eradicate humanity, human dignity and individuality – movements symbolized by Auschwitz and the gulags. After this historical experience, people in Europe no longer trust doctrines of salvation, including, alas, the teachings of Christianity. This being so, by which light should we now seek orientation for our journey through life? How are we to handle life's crises, such as unemployment, divorce, sickness and death? In Germany, the churches' past problem was that they meekly had resisted in the years of totalitarian violence and seemed more interested in their own preservation as institutions than in the inalienable rights of man. The churches' current problem tends to be that, in these free and democratic times, they are trying to make up for their deficits in the totalitarian past. Whether there are protests against NATO, the peaceful use of nuclear energy or the destruction of the environment, parts of the Church inevitably will chime in. But this way, churches betray Christ's Great Commission to bring the gospel to all people. Breathlessly, they chase after the zeitgeist. And if you criticize such behavior by pointing to the New Testament, you will be belittled as a sectarian or simple-minded idealist. As a Lutheran, I presumably am beyond suspicion of being an excessive admirer of the papacy. Yet, as I watch great Protestant denominations disintegrate theologically and observe their leaders cow to fads and betray their Lord, I can't help sympathizing with Roman order. "Pluralism" seems the favorite mantra of the theologically declining Protestant churches. What we really need, though, is a plurality in the unity of faith. What we don't need is to see the gospel melt away like a sugar cube in an ocean of temporal and societal "choices." In Europe, as in America, we discern the clouds of postmodernity's disintegrative might. Our political landscapes have changed dramatically. The great Christian Democratic parties are mere shadows of their former selves. Social Democracy, my political home for decades, has lost its identity. Once grandiose designs for a new society beginning after World War II bound us together; this is no more. The young don't know what to make of these kinds of tradition. The political parties have become geriatric clubs. Occasionally, Social Democrats like British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder still indulge in modernity's rituals, purporting "vision" and purpose. But in reality they are postmodernists. They are opportunists without any commitment to an ultimate reality. They are muddling through, which provides for some temporary political success without any lasting moral effect. Ultimately, it won't benefit anybody. Thus, all presuppositions are crumbling. Modernity had at least tried to give meaning to life, but postmodernity has rendered this endeavor senseless. Old convictions and yesterday's truths are being questioned and reduced to ambiguity. Man tries to free himself of yesterday's constraints. The individual is striving for self-determination. According to opinion polls, "doing one's own thing" is the highest goal of young Germans ages 16-27. In their scale of trustworthy institutions, the churches rank on the bottom, lower even than political parties. The drama of postmodern Germany is that many young people blatantly are incapable of developing community ties and understanding tradition as a means to mastering life. What they want is to forge their own identity, discard relationships and obligations, seek "freedom." In reality, they lose their identity because identity always is dependent on values and norms that give the individual his or her grounding. Without norms and values, they are left in a fickle state. Commitment for them is an alien concept. Narcissistically, they revel in their self-reflection at the workplace or in the discotheque on Saturday nights. Many suffer from their inner emptiness, which explains the success of the esoteric movement and the success of psycho sects among the young. But they, too, grow older, even though TV commercials emit different signals: Stay young forever! Being old is taboo! The fact is, though, that the question about life's meaning is being asked with ever-increasing urgency. And no amount of honky-tonk will ever squelch it. I am firmly convinced that nobody in the long run is capable of living his life without commitments and moral guidelines. The churches have lost their monopoly on interpreting life and meaning a long time ago. But this cannot be the final word. I fervently believe in the doctrine of ecclesia semper reformanda – of the Church's ability to always reform itself. Christ is by no means out of the picture. I am sure that, in the future, many people will, perhaps individually, seek His message and become disciples. Seen in this light, it may not be a bad thing that the churches vest themselves in the cloth of plurality, as long as their message remains unmistakable. The Church must distance itself clearly from fads. Instead of groveling to the spirit of time, it once again must courageously proclaim Him. Its task is to bring people to Jesus. What does this mean for politics in the age of globalization? What type of politician do we need in postmodern times? Of course, a politician must know his stuff, refrain from lying to his people, and keep his feet firmly on the ground. That's what we always have expected of this profession. But, like everybody else, a statesman needs models. Mine is Martin Luther. In 1521, he is supposed to have said during the Imperial Diet of Worms, "Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me, Amen!" Here is an example to follow – a man who publicly and courageously stood for his convictions and values. The point of all this is that like his predecessors, perhaps even more so, postmodern man requires a beacon to guide him through the chaos and confusion of our times, lest he never finds his place – with dire consequences for every society. In my life, that beacon has been Christ. I have seen people follow other beacons in my time, Hitler and Marx, for example. We all know the results. This is why I hope and pray that Bishop Dibelius' prediction still will come true, albeit belatedly. This new century must be a century of the Church, but one that stays faithful to its Lord instead of lusting after postmodernity's spurious spirits. Hans Apel, 68, was West German finance and defense minister in the 1970s under chancellor Helmut Schmidt. He now teaches economics at the University of Rostock and studies theology at the University of Hamburg. |
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