Big is bad.  If there is anything else you carry away from this life it should be that maxim.  Big business, big unions, big government, big religions; you name it and if it is big then it will be bad.  Even big people are generally less healthy then the moderately built person.  I can remember the commercial for Benson & Hedges cigarettes setting themselves apart from the rest by being “a silly millimeter longer”, well that silly millimeter contributed to my fathers death (note: contributed not caused) and God knows how many others fell victim to the big sized cigarette.

There are various reasons why and how things grow too big to be good.  Sometimes it is a natural occurrence  that is left unchecked until it is too late but it seems that in todays world it is a planned operation. The human ego is the engineer of the desire to be big.  Being right, being honest, being honorable all take a back seat (if they are even in the building) to maintaining and growing the size of an organization.  We are told that it is only a reflection of our society; giving the impression that it is society driven. Possibly at one time it may have been that way.  When did it change?  It varies with each group listed above but they are all interconnected in one way or another.  Each is facing a crisis either now or down the road.  The transition will be painful for many but when nature gives a big shake to rid itself of a problem or to relieve pressure it always is for the best and it returns to it’s natural state.

BIG RELIGION

Religion gets a bad rap.  It is said, usually by atheists, that more wars have been fought, more people killed, more people impoverished and enslaved throughout history by religion than by anybody or any other human organization.  It has been said so often that it is generally accepted as the truth.  It is a lie.  Does it mean that religions are innocent of any of the above behaviors?  Hardly.  I am focusing on Christianity for the most part as the Judeo – Christian heritage is America’s heritage.  It is not to disparage other religions but while they may have seen growth here in America,  they are still minor parts of our heritage and current society.

The big dog in religious institutions is still the Roman Catholic Church.  It is a direct descendent of the Apostles.  It was the defender of the faith and more powerful then any government and in many cases it was the government.  How did it get to such an exalted position?  It was through the hard work of the Apostles and their converts.  Was that their aim, to grow into a powerful institution?  It would surprise me if Peter or Paul would have chosen the path that leaders several generations later followed.  The Church was infected with a healthy dose of Satan’s influence as it grew.  Does that mean that all Priests and Bishops were bad or Satan worshipers?  Of course not, in fact most were honest holy men who worked to save people.  However as the Church grew the hierarchy were becoming power hungry, greedy, humanistic followers of Satan all the while believing themselves to be rubbing elbows with Jesus himself.  They obtained power through intimidation, murder, blackmail and bribes.  They chose the worldly way not Jesus’s way.

It was this way that what should be the darkest most evil time of the Church took root.  The Inquisition was nothing more then an organization out of control.  No one was safe.  It is somewhat hard to imagine the terror that a visiting Inquisition Priest brought to a community.  Unbelievable torture methods and usually ending  in a bonfire for anyone found wanting in their view.  In the later years, in particular in Spain, Jews were the target.  Forerunner of the Nazi and Communist Russia holocaust against the Jewish populations the Spanish Inquisition laid the groundwork or reflected the anti-Semitism of Europe; depending on what historian you read.   The Inquisition was only a large bureaucratic organization’s attempt to corral any thought that contradicted Rome.  Rome not Jesus.  As an aside, there are many who see Islam at this stage.  They call for a “Reformation” within that religion to reject the “Inquisitors” that are beheading unbelievers.  What becomes of that is for others to experience.

It was only a matter of time there was a reformation within the Church.  Martin Luther is credited with initiating the internal revolt against the corruption of the Faith.  John Calvin was the other leading reformer that changed the world.  Far from being just being an intellectual exercise the Reformation was a bloody civil war.  It is estimated that Germany lost upwards of 40% of it’s population and in England the armed struggle between the Catholics and the Church of England Protestants led to several kings and queens being toppled. It was a bloody affair that causes some to point and say “Religion has killed more…etc.etc.”  It was the lack of religion, it was the Church which became so large and bureaucratic it became the government and lost it’s way.  In order to support itself the leaders relied on theft of property and enforced collections or tithing from the people who could least afford it.

There had to be a point when the Church came to a fork in the road and had to choose between bureaucratic growth or spiritual growth.  Actually there were probably many as God is good that way and one point was about 900 years prior to the Reformation on the small island off the coast of England.  The life of Patrick is an interesting study of a man who found God and became one who would have fit in quite easily with the original Apostles.  His methods brought him into conflict with Rome.  What disturbed the Church so much that they brought Patrick up on charges for various sins?  Patrick’s way was one of a decentralized organization which focused on spreading the Gospel not the receiving of tithes. In many cases he refused offerings because he understood what was to be gained and what was to be lost. If the Church had followed the decentralized, evangelical method of Patrick it would be quite a different world today.

Many of todays problems result from the bigness of Churches.  The bureaucracy that grows naturally from size separates the true purpose of the Church; spreading the Word.  Their focus changes to self preservation and financial growth ( both of this world ).  What can be done to save these Churches?  Nothing.  That is unless they change and I don’t see that happening anytime soon.  What is happening is with Christians themselves.  While these Churches grow more ungodly and weaker I see Christianity growing stronger.  While visiting  good friends who now reside in Virginia they invited us to attend a service or meeting at a small local chapel.  The Piney Mountain Bible Chapel located in the Blue Ridge Mountains southwest of Charlottesville was started by Robert Mansfield Sr.  I do not believe he was a minister in the formal sense with theological degrees.  His degree was his love of God and of his fellow people and his knowledge came from the Bible.  He ministered to prisons, the sick in the area and to anyone who needed assistance.  The Chapel was located in his home and the times we attended it was filled with about fifty people.   What a collection of people!   When I start to slide into the pessimism of our country’s future my mind works back to our visits there and knowing that there are thousands of small gatherings like those good hearted people I know it all will work out.

The true measure of a man is what he leaves behind when he passes and how people remember him.   Mr. Mansfield recently passed away and the number of people who came to pay respects numbered close to a thousand.  Only a small number were steady Sunday attendees to the chapel.  The majority of well wishers were people who knew him through his kindness and generosity.  That is the future of Christianity.  When all the big beautiful Cathedrals of stone crumble and the Crystal cathedrals shatter what will be left is the thousands of small gatherings built on the Bible.

It may be said that the size of the large Churches enables them to create charities that serve those in need and there is no question that their charities do good works throughout the world.  But when the true purpose of the Church, spreading the Word about salvation and fighting evil, is placed behind the ambition of gaining power and riches is it any wonder that these large Churches face a crisis and the congregants that are left are questioning their faith?