For many years, I was Your Average Protestant. As such, my concerns were simple, my needs easily satisfied. Being “Your Average Protestant” became, in and of itself, a goal. Church was over in an hour. Hymns were uplifting. One Sunday, our church bulletin had an article about the Southwest Africa People’s Organization, known as, SWAPO.
SWAPO was fighting for justice and the ever-popular “land reform” that concerned those fighting for “fairness”.
The article in the church bulletin informed us that SWAPO’s noble endeavors had the full support of The World Council of Churches. That support included monetary donations because “The Christian Community has a duty to join in the world-wide battle for justice”.
“That’s nice.”, I, your average Protestant, thought. “The World Council of Churches is concerned about justice and land reform. We are helping to do God’s work.”
My Protestant Church, like nearly all the Mainline denominations, was a member of The World Council of Churches. Money went from each Protestant’s pocket to its local church. A percentage was sent to regional headquarters, “Synods”, “Presbyteries”, “Conferences”, etc.
The regional headquarters kept some of what they received from the individual churches. They obediently sent the proper percentage up the ladder to the denomination’s National HQ. From that, a little bit was forwarded to The World Council of Churches for “Global Outreach”. Of that, a tiny fraction went to The Southwest Africa People’s Organization. There it was to be used, we were frequently reminded, for “justice” and, of course, “land reform”.
In those days, there was no internet, and no source of real news. From Church bulletins to Network News, information was tightly controlled. A few conservative magazines existed. One of them had an article on SWAPO.
I discovered that the Southwest Africa People’s Organization was a front operation for the Soviet Union. They were making a huge land-grab in mineral rich Angola. SWAPO forces were not freedom-fighters, but brutal, heavily armed Communist armies. Part of their plan to destabilize Southwest Africa included the destruction of all Christian churches, schools, and hospitals.
SWAPO was actually destroying all that had been built and funded by ongoing donations, mostly from Mainline Protestant churches and denominations. Missionaries, teachers, and medical personnel were in such danger that many left the area before being murdered.
I explained to our Protestant Minister: “Reverend, our money is going to fund people who are destroying our missions and killing our own missionaries. For every few hundred dollars I give to our church, maybe a dime, enough to buy a bullet, gets to SWAPO and may be used to kill our own missionaries. This is wrong. Jesus said ‘A house divided cannot stand.’ What we’re doing is very, very bad.”
“I know. But, what can we do? What can you do?”
I thought about becoming a Baptist. “They are still holding firmly to tradition.”, I told myself. On reflection, I realized there were dozens of Baptist groups, with varying views on nearly every issue, each believing their own to be “truth”. I realized that, respectable as most Baptists are, their hierarchies are where the other Protestants were thirty years ago. They were dividing, disappearing, and sliding into irrelevance.
A week later, a local Catholic priest was invited to our local service club. I said, “Father, I need to become a Catholic.” I did. I am no longer participating in the killing of Christian missionaries.
Have things changed? Today, the Third World is ravaged by malaria. It’s made a murderous comeback since the forces of Political Correctness made it impossible to obtain DDT. “If the natives die, we get their land and minerals.”, a thousand exploiters chuckle to themselves.
The Mainline denominations still send well-meaning missionaries into the world. None of them notice that those in charge are not demanding that millions of lives be saved every year by immediately re-introducing DDT. Protestants continue to be a house divided. “Thou shalt not kill.” is still ignored by those whose denominations are controlled by those with very earthly agendas.
