Crimes against persons and properties are so numerous and
frequent that the news on the media is invariably bad news.
The reality is that we live threatened by criminals, from
vandals to hoodlums and others guilty of crimes against humanity,
sectarian sometimes and otherwise for profit from smuggling,
drug dealing and every other form of racketeering. What we
have in Northern Ireland is an uneasy, limited peace, hardly
worthy of the name. Whatever reasons are given for the unhappy
state of the country it is gravely affected by the changes
in attitudes which meant the loss of influences which contributed
to a once stable and peaceful society. The abandonment of
traditional practices has had its baleful effects. The Northern
Ireland many of us remember was very different to what it
is now. Changes were inevitable. The higher standard of living
so much needed contributed to the making of a different world
for us. Some of what happened was good, especially in education
and training for employment in commerce and industries which
replaced advantageously old ones in which working conditions
were woeful, unemployment rampant and where worker victimisation
was the frequent and legitimate complaint. These positives
being accepted there were negatives too. While what was wrong
in the past was condemned and replaced what was right was
too often disregarded. The refusal by many of Christian teaching
and practice meant that abandoning the fine principles enshrined
there with their commitment to the lofty standards of behaviour
spelled out in them. Other attitudes to life secularised and
individualised society to remove the constraints and restraints
in which faith in God and the service of one's fellows had
been paramount. The result has been a lowering of moral and
ethical standards; an acceptance, not of Christian selflessness
but of the selfish aims and aspirations of individuals. Religion-less
living has had its effects and they show, too, in lawlessness
and criminality. We deeply deplore the replacing of religion
with secularised liberalism where everything is acceptable
if it is not unlawful or can be made lawful. There is the
question, what have we been doing to keep the faith and to
persuade others of the benefits of our beliefs? Churches have
been lacking in their commitment to voice and live their faith
so as to persuade people to accept it as a necessity of life,
with God and with people. A Christianity silent and quiescent
in a secularised society suffering from the want of a moral
order which would free the human spirit from moral degradation
is guilty of 'Peter-like betrayal of Christ'. The loss of
church sponsored groups and organisations has contributed
to the indiscipline which has taken the place of the self-discipline
and self-restraint that characterised them. Those churches,
fellowships and organisations which provide opportunities
and facilities for people and young people particularly to
enjoy themselves in a healthy moral environment are to be
commended and supported. So too are those Christians who use
their presence and influence to guide others in the Christian
way. The task is never easy. It promises to be increasingly
difficult to connect with those who are indifferent or antagonistic
to religion in a society whose seeping secularism is now a
flood threatening its fabric and rocking its foundations.
To witness for Christ is the responsibility of Christians,
not a you may but you must. It is not a matter of choice but
of commitment!
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