A Soulless Continent

In my Twentieth Century European History, we were required to read a book by Mark Mazower called Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth Century. In the book, Mazower argues that the democratic revolution that swept Europe (the West after World War II, and the East after 1989) was not a forgone conclusion. He contends that democracy was in a fight with communism and fascism/Nazism for which ideology would control the destiny of Europe. I think he is right. It is easy to survey the landscape of history and come the conclusion that whatever happened was inevitable. Nazism seemed to be the wave of the future in the late 1930s and very early 1940s.

One thing has struck me with Europe in the 20th century is the decline of the Church as a force within Europe. We also read several scholarly articles (great cures for insomnia, by the way) in which the authors have noted the decline of the Church as a contributing factor in the rise of totalitarianism.

I think this should sound a warning. A weak, ineffectual church can cause all kinds of problems. I am not speaking of the decline of the church's political influence. In fact, it is that very political influence that led to the church's decline in Europe. The church was more worried about gold than God, more concerned influence over the state than influence over the soul. As a church, our influence should not be over policy or politics, but over hearts and souls of people. We cannot abdicate that responsibility. So, whenever you hear some Christian leader say that our most important duty is to vote and select godly leaders, that is wrong. Those things are important, but our most important duty is accomplished through living relationships, not legislation.

Europe was (and perhaps still is) a continent without a soul. I pray that we, as Americans, do not lose our souls.