The heart of it all...

(WARNING: THIS IS A LONG ENTRY—GET COMFORTABLE BEFORE READING IT!)

So far in my journaling, I have been avoiding one topic that has been on my mind a great deal, largely because I wasn’t sure if my thoughts on the subject were valid or not. But, last Tuesday night, I found some confirmation of my thoughts in a very interesting discussion.

One of the English language teachers, Dasha, asked me to attend her class of intermediate students and talk about my impressions of Russia, Russian people, and life in this part of the world. I was very interested in helping her, because I figured that this was on opportunity for me to ask questions and to learn as much as it was to speak and to inform. I was only scheduled to come for a half hour, but I ended up being there for over an hour, and I think that the time was well worth it.

The issue that had been troubling me was concerning the moral center of Russians. I have been thinking a great deal about what was at their center, and I wondered if my thoughts on the subject were valid or not. As a Christian hoping to work to share God’s love with Russian people, my ultimate goal is that the Triune God would be that which lies at the very center, the heart of each Russian’s life. But, when working with those who do not have faith in Christ, it is first essential to what does captivate their hearts. So, I really want to know what is at the core, the spiritual core, of most Russians.

Well, my hypothesis was that Russians today are by and large lacking any sort of moral guidance, both on a cultural and individual level. There are many signs which I believe point to this very point: last year (and for several years now), Russian have aborted more babies than they have given birth to; Russia has the fasted growing AIDS rate in the world; divorce is quite high (in fact, much higher than the even our divorce-plagued American society)—and these are but the highlights.

Well, when the question was posed to me regarding what I had observed about Russian people, this was one of my points. I spoke briefly about my insights, and I asked the seven students for feedback. Several students commented on my suggestion, though none in disagreement with what I said. It was explained to me that now for most Russians, life has transitioned into a time of moral uncertainty. The old stalwarts of moral guidance—communist ideology and the Orthodox Church—were no longer influential. Communism sought to make itself the authority in the average Russian’s life on all levels—economic, social, moral, etc—and it by and large did. Thus, when Communism fell, after 70 years of power, there was a gaping ideological hole for generations of Russians who grew up under that era.

Into this hole the Orthodox Church was eager to step into and once again be the moral authority, as it had before Communist times. But, there were (and are) a few problems for the Church. First off, there are millions of Russians who were indoctrinated under the atheistic teachings of Communism, and they reflect that programming. A good example of this is Julie’s teacher, Elaina, who told Julie that she is an atheist because all throughout her years at school, she was taught that there isn’t a God, and she hasn’t changed her mind simply because Communism is no the official policy in Russia.

But, even for those people who aren’t atheists, the Orthodox Church is not seen as authoritative (the statistic that highlights this point is that even though the church officially claims 90% of Russians as members, its attendance hovers around 5% of the population). Particularly troubling for many Russian people is the perception that the Orthodox Church was in bed with the Communist government. Indeed, during the 70 years of Communism in Russia, the church was between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, they could resist Communism—a way to certain martyrdom (a road taken by many Christians of all kinds--Orthodox, Lutheran, Catholic). But, it was argued, to do this would essentially eliminate any hope for the Church to influence society—because the church would be exterminated; thus, others thought the best course was to acquiesce to as little as necessary, thereby still having some sway in Russia. Well, the problem with the second choice was two-fold (at least these are the problems that I have been told of, I am sure there are undoubtedly more): first, over time, the government expected more and more from the church, until the church became an agent for the government—many priests were KGB operatives, informing on their parishoners. Second, the problem which flowing directly from the first is that now, in the aftermath of Communism, the Orthodox Church has by and large lost its credibility. In hindsight, I wonder if the first option, though it would have undoubtedly been a truly tough road to choose, may very well have benefited the Orthodox Church (and maybe even Christianity in Russia?) in the long run. So, as a result, many Russian people view the Orthodox Church with a healthy dose of incredulity.

All of which brings us back to the question of what then is at the moral center of modern Russians. The explanation given to me by the group of students was this: the Russian government is trying to foster a strong sense of nationalism to fill the void left by Communism—an idea they doubted would succeed. Some Russians now try to find the answer in materialism (mimicking the West, particularly America) and their jobs; others look to family. But, as one student commented to me, “As a culture, there is no moral center for us right now. Each of us is to find the center on our own.”

Over the past few days, I have been reflecting on this comment, and it seems to me that Russia is quickly modeling itself (morally, at least) on the cultures of Western Europe and America. Now, this is hardly good news on the level of faith, for Western Europe is quickly defining itself as “post-Christian” and America seems to be hot on its footsteps. All of this leads me to pray, “Lord, have mercy!”