Is the church civilized?

To be civilized or not is an important question for the church and its believers. In theory it might seem obvious that there is only one answer, but in reality there is both “yes“ and “no” to the question. The “yes” comes from the calling to the believers to live out the Kingdom of God. And the “no” comes from the other part of the calling; to be devoted to God in a spiritual realm. To be Christian and civilized has to do with being respectful in all relations and deeds. Above all it means to not be tempted by making use of short cuts, and start using power influence in helping others to reach and be included in a spiritual realm. Challenging people to follow Christ must pause at the border of individual decisions and ownership and never overstep that line.

The energy of a Christian life can be picked up in the inner life with Christ and never in the numbers of converts. So when it comes to sources of life, the fellowship with God; it is a matter of being sanctified rather than civilized. The fellowship of humans; it is always a matter of being civilized.