Each day, I try to visit a different section of my the portion of our unit that is on the post. As this post is so compact, any visit of this sort becomes an adventure. I walk down alleyways and duck through doorways that seem to appear out of nowhere. This maze of a post gave the previous chaplain headaches, but as I am my dad's son, it gives me a thrill. It feels like a giant fort.
Today, when I arrived at one of our sections, the group there seemed ready to talk about fun issues. I got started with the commander of the section and an Albanian officer, who were talking about religious issues in Albania. (We concluded that, using Western vernacular, the Albanian is a universalist, though he is a Muslim by culture and feels most comfortable in an Orthodox church).
As we were talking, a discussion erupted behind me, prompted by one soldier friend of mine saying that because of his ordeal with Christian cults in the past, he doesn't go to church. Another soldier spoke up and said that one who claims to be a Christian should still go to church, while another soldier used the common "where two or more are gathered" lines to make the point that church is wherever you have Christian fellowship. It took me a few minutes to extract myself from the first conversation to join the second.
I jumped in and told them that church is not where two or more are gathered, but where the Gospel is faithfully preached and the sacraments faithfully administered. I made a quick distinction between the invisible church (the body of believers) and the visible church (preaching/sacraments). Ultimately, God's has appointed under-shepherds to guide His flock this side of heaven. Simply gathering with fellow believers is not enough.
One gal made the point that you don't have to go to church every week to be a Christian, and there are many hypocrites who go to church every week but don't do anything to help people in their community. I said "Amen" to both of those things, but I reminded her that Christians are not called to do good deeds before the eyes of men (and make themselves self-righteous Pharisees). Also, it is true that you don't need to go to church to be a Christian, but it means that in practice, we're confessing Jesus as our Savior but not as our Lord, because He actively leads us using the preaching/sacraments.
Someone made the unfortunately slip about being a good person, which is a bad move in our unit (as most of the soldiers know), because I inevitable roar "None of us are good and I am the most sinful and damn-worthy of us all." A Roman Catholic civilian (who I had just met) jumped in and asked "Are you saying I'm not a good person?" "Sorry, my man, I said. Even our good deeds are like filthy rags before God. Our good morals are merely baggage we carry with us to Hell apart from Christ." We had to break for work, but folks are preparing conversation starters for my return.
The wonderful thing about this discussion, like many others, is despite the rhetoric and sensitive topics, they are not heated in the least. My soldiers love these discussions, in part because we've created a "No BS" culture within our unit. People aren't allowed to be offended. They can disagree and explain why. So, I tell my soldiers, if you think Christianity is crap, tell me so--just be prepared for me to ask "Why?" and challenge you.
So tonight, four of us (of three different races) gathered at a table for dinner to discuss the problem of the inner city, cycles of violence and poor education, the breakdown of the family structure, the corrupting influence of entitlements, personal responsibility, and the way ahead. We all had very different backgrounds and all brought something to the table, and it was a heck of a conversation.
In an age of contrived "dialogue" where people can share views, but not sharpen them against others, one's ability to reason is inevitably diminished. But allow people to truly discuss issues--to challenge, be challenged, and thoughtfully reflect--and you have the intellectual dance that makes for greater entertainment than any of the technological distractions we typically rely on. And set this dance before the light of the Gospel, and the sweet silhouettes of truth gain the beauty of eternal meaning!
