The Norwegian Church – Shall I Cut the Ties?

The Norwegian Church has a history as a state church where Christianity was the religion of the land.  People became members through baptism. My parents once carried me to baptism, partly due to a maternal grandmother who insisted on following tradition. My parents were agnostics, not close to the church, not decisively against it, but they were both members. My mother had reasoned that she should not hinder the ceremony; it might be beneficial to her child. If there was some truth in it…it was something good. So, I was baptized during a vacation period, when visiting Grandma. I was 3 months old. And so I became a member of the Norwegian Church.

            Needles to say, I was not in the church much, only when social conventions demanded it of us. In my childhood there was a closer bond between school and church than today, and my dad was a schoolmaster, so there were times we appeared in church.

            It was not until I was in my teenage years that I came in contact with Christian teachings, and after some years, was convinced of the truth of the gospel. Although the church considers me a ‘Christian’ from the time I was 3 months old, I recon it from the time I came to believe.

            Today we have a vast majority of baptized unbelievers as members in the Norwegian Church. They are never challenged on their beliefs – well, they do not show up in church to hear about it, they are not particularly interested in the subject, it seems.

Anyway, what we have today is a democratically chosen leadership, which, through pressure groups of different liberal theology strands with a pro-gay agenda, has seized the organization and will from now on dictate what the Norwegian Church shall be. The liberal theology has some key elements: it denies biblical teaching by reason of historical context, it rejects Pauline teachings on morality (especially concerning gays), it bases the truth value on human experience rather than the revelation of God; it denies the call to obedience to Christ, and it hollows out the teaching of sin-redemption, to mention a few hallmarks.

My question is: with such an ideology in the leadership, will I remain a member?

I had a chat with one of our local priests about it. He faces naturally the same issues, and he wants to be faithful to the Word of God and to foundation the church is built on. He will fight from the inside until they kick him out. I know the local congregation, and I know our two young priests. They are solid, and they are relevant. I am involved with a few things in our local congregation – like Sunday school, choir, and on occasion reading texts, like a sacristan’s function.  I love our gatherings, the liturgy, the moments of sacred time in fellowship.

But what if the liberal profile will define the church organization, and if I still am a member, would it not be like a silent acclamation? Is it not better to have a clear conscience, follow the Lord and separate from the heresy?

On the other hand, I see this church as a mission field in the way that we have an open door of communication to many who otherwise would be totally cut off from any connection with Christianity. On a local level, I may contribute to share the hope we have in Jesus.

Then again, I could back out and find my rich and fulfilling fellowship elsewhere.

On the other hand, I need not cut the tie in order to celebrate with other Christians.

There are options. For instance, I could cut the tie formally, but continue to contribute as I do now.

Perhaps I also come to the conclusion that, even though I am on board a hijacked ship, I may be doing my share to stand up for the truth in the Word of God, until they throw me over board…

Alter i Fjågesund Kyrkje