2024-04-09
The great preachers of times gone by (one thinks of John Wesley, Charles Grandison Finney, Billy Graham, to name but a few of a great many) have been credited with prompting religious Christian revivals in times past, and I suppose that those revivals could reasonably be described as religious awakenings. Some might describe these men as Bible-bashers, since the Good Book was the primary source of their instruction.
No doubt they were also motivated by what they regarded as the shortcomings of their times and of the societies to which they ministered, and certainly their preachings included much fulmination against the sins of the world, set against the story of the birth and crucifixion of Christ, and his resurrection by which "evil was defeated" - and only those sinners who confess his name can be saved from "eternal damnation". Heady stuff (and in my view, not entirely accurate ... read your bible carefully to see what Jesus is recorded to have actually said).
Our world today seems by contrast to be impoverished by a distinct lack of their ilk, which no doubt says something about our modern-day Christian Churches.
But perhaps all is not as hopeless as it may seem, and maybe a new awakening is gathering pace amongst those who have taken up the challenge to address the failings presented by our current world. This awakening is not founded upon religious dogma, but upon the need to counter the egregious insults offered the world over to good and true men and women, who never imagined that they would be called upon to foster a new spiritual revolution, but who nevertheless recognise that something has to be done and quietly (and perhaps not so quietly) simply set about doing it.
In the old days it is written that the Lord God looked around for a prophet to send to the miscreants of the time, and someone said "here am I Lord, send me".
Happily today we are not limited to a single volunteer, but people the world over have recognised and responded to the challenge, each in their own way, and many without considering any particular religious significance to their actions, nor even that they may actually be responding to a spiritual imperative at all.
Yet as they set about their chosen tasks and learn through confronting the dark powers as best they may, they are learning a deeper faith through trial and error, effort and tribulation, than any might learn through book-reading alone. And (dare I suggest?) they are discovering that their spiritual learning differs significantly from the traditional "Heaven Hell and Eternal Damnation" narrative that infests the religious instruction of the Churches.
Their's is a hard-won spirituality, founded in practicality, that transcends religious dogma of all kinds, and brings all of humanity together in a great global awakening around the principles that matter ... perhaps the first global awakening ever.
One such is Martin Geddes, who has not only accepted the challenge but shares his personal journey with us through his Substack.
He is but one, but there are legion.
