Window on the World

From Randal Dick
Superintendent of Missions

By John Halford

  TYREHEIM, Norway—This is a hard article to write. It’s much easier to tug at your heartstrings writing about the poverty-stricken Third World hell holes where some of our brethren live.

Norwegian members

But what do I say about Scandinavia? It’s idyllic. Here at Tyreheim, 50 kilometers from Oslo, cozy log cabins fringe a mountain meadow dotted with wild flowers. Beyond is a forest of dark green fir trees, with just a trace of the winter snows. The peaks soaring above are still snowcapped.

Far below, a lake sparkles as the melting ice gives way to crystal clear water. A boat makes its way slowly to the opposite shore. The sky is blue, with a few puffy white clouds on the horizon. Norway in spring is paradise—heaven on earth.

Statue in Vigeland park.

I am here to enjoy a spring festival with members from Scandinavia. They have come from Norway, Sweden and Denmark to spend a few days together. They need the contact, because there are not many of them, and they have an important job to do. Scandinavians may live in paradise, but they have lost the knowledge of God. The Nordic region is one of the most spiritually deprived places on earth.

Our church’s congregations have never been large here. We have 85 members, scattered throughout Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. We have two elders. Carl Aas from Oslo is the regional pastor, and Don Boddie takes care of the church in Copenhagen, Denmark. (Scan­dinavia includes Iceland, but our church has never had members there. Mr. Aas also serves members in Estonia—see box, page 13).

As good as it gets

Every now and then the United Nations ranks the countries of the world according to a quality of life index. The Scandinavian countries usually come out on top when such things as education, health care, in­come and life expectancy are compared. The average Norwegian can expect to live to 78, twice as long as in some Third World countries. In terms of physical well-being, the Nordic countries are the best places on the earth to live. 

But without God in their lives, they surely are not the happiest places, we are tempted to say. Scandinavian countries are relatively crime free, and although they have pockets of misery, overall they are disciplined and tranquil. Their towns and cities are pin clean and the buses and trains run on time.

Carl Fredrik Aas

Scandinavians are to be found on the cutting edge of humanitarian and environmental projects around the world, and at home they are extremely generous, giving more to charity per capita than almost anyone else. And don’t be­lieve that stuff about the suicide rates being higher—the statistics don’t bear it out.

Norwegians, Swedes, Finns and Danes may not be an exuberant people, compared to, say Italians or Filipinos. But don’t mistake seriousness for unhappiness. They are not un­happy. Why should they be? 

So, what is this article about? Perhaps to help you understand the question our Scandinavian members have to ask themselves sometimes—what is the church’s job here?

The problem of paradise 

Although the Nordic peoples have a long Christian tradition, most now show little interest or involvement in religion. Nearly everyone is a de facto member of the state church, but most are content to leave it at that. They would say they are Christian if asked, but the knowledge of God does not intrude much into their lives. The cradle to grave welfare state has blunted the physical consequences of letting go of traditional morality.

So preaching the gospel to Scandinavians is like selling proverbial refrigerators to Eskimos. What do they need it for? They are already blessed.

The church members told me that when they try outreach projects they often find themselves getting in the way of state-run departments formed specifically to do the same thing.

No need for God

Something is frightening about this paradise. The people who have the highest standard of living on earth now see no need of God. Their “Christian” ethic has helped them become developed, civilized and democratic. But a “Christian” society without the real power of God coursing through it is ultimately a liability.

Prosperity without the knowledge of God can lead to self-satisfied delusion. “What does it profit a man that he gains the whole world and loses his life,” argued Jesus. He meant life with God—real life—but what does that mean to someone who has no understanding or knowledge of God?  The Scandinavians have not really rejected Christianity—it has simply become a non-issue.

Why does life need to be better? Why is Christ the answer if you aren’t asking the questions? Why bother about the wages of sin when you have a welfare state? Why do you need a Savior if you have no sense of guilt?

“Our challenge here is not to explain to people what the Bible means,” Mr. Aas said. “People don’t yet know what it says. They certainly don’t look to it for the answers to the big questions in life. Like the church in Laodicea, they are rich in material goods, but do not see that they are poor in spiritual matters. This is a problem in most of the Western world, but especially in Scandinavia.”

Uphill battle

Church members work together  to write, edit and publish booklets on various topics in the main Scandinavian languages—Danish, Swe­dish and Norwegian. (Scandinavians understand each other to some extent, but obviously prefer to learn in their own language.) Today we have an active reading list of 1,400 people. The members also organize concerts and public lectures. But it is an uphill battle.

On a day-to-day basis, Scandinavia’s physically blessed people have little need to stop and think about God.

But as French scientist and theologian Blaise Pascal observed, “There is a God-shaped hole in everyone.” Even the most physically secure people cannot escape their humanity. However good life is, it does not last forever.

Reality check

Don & Beth Boddie with sons.

In Oslo, a sculpture park is dedicated to the work of Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943). Dozens of bronze and granite human figures are on display, modeled with brutal realism.

Instead of idealized, perfect physiques, many of Vigeland’s statues show us as we really are. It is a sharp reminder of reality in this humanistic paradise, and you can’t walk through it without wincing.

The central feature is a 50-foot statue, sculpted from a single piece of granite. More than 120 figures are sculpted, scrambling and clawing in a tangle of arms and legs, seeking to climb higher and higher.

Vigeland was expressing our restless need to grow, to get somewhere, to be more than we are and to find something to fill the God-shaped hole. And when you’ve reached the top? Well, on the day I looked at it, a pigeon was casually relieving itself.

Eventually even the most physically blessed people on earth must confront their mortality and ask, “What is the purpose of it all?” At such times, God’s voice can often be heard most clearly—but not by people who have long lost contact.

The words of Isaiah 40:3-5 have a special poignancy in this context: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed.”

Please remember your Scandinavian brethren as they work together to do their part in clearing a way for the message of hope in their magnificent spiritual wilderness. 

Our church in Estonia

The WCG has 15 members in Estonia. Carl Fredrik Aas, regional pastor, visits four times a year, while Leo Kaagjarv is our local leader. Mr. Aas gives a public lecture every time he visits on topics suggested by the invited audience. In the last seven years he has covered more than 20 basic but important biblical topics. The last one was about forgiveness.

Attendance at the lectures is between 30 and 80, depending on the topic. After the lecture, while the audience is enjoying coffee and cakes, Mr. Aas and Mr. Kaagjarv have prayed for those with health or family problems.

Many people in this once communist satellite republic respond with tears of gratitude and relief when they are prayed for. They have never had someone pray for them just because they cared.

Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2004