The spiritual and theological legacy of Rudolf Bultmann is European Christianity in its present, anemic form. Actually, Bultmann was not solely responsible for what happened in the church on the Continent. He himself was part of a process that pre-dated him, yet, he was a highly visible and vocal spokesman of that movement away from traditional, biblical Christianity in Europe.
Yet, Christianity in Europe is not dead. In a recent "Breakpoint" commentary, Chuck Colson noted signs of renewed interest in Christianity among the Dutch. He pointed out "the remarkable critical and commercial success of a number of openly Christian writers." Colson further remarked that one "of those books, Kneeling on a Bed of Roses, by Calvinist author Jan Siebelink, was the second-best selling Dutch book of the past decade."
What was the no. 1 best seller? A new Dutch translation of the Bible. This edition "sold 500,000 copies in a nation of 16 million people: the equivalent of 10 million copies in the United States. Can those sales figures be a sign the Dutch are looking for "new" answers to their present-day dilemmas?
The secularization of Europe after WWII was made easy as the church, especially Evangelical, allowed itself to be marginalized, trivialized, and, thus, make unimportant to the debates of late 20th century Europe. No longer would social issues be decided on the basis of historic Christian principles that had undergirded European culture for over a thousand years. The socialization of European states and the liberalization of social policies progressed unimpeded by biblical values. The goal of those processes was to supply Europeans with whatever material needs they had and to rid them of guilt by allowing virtually any behavior.
Holland has led the march to liberalized social policies. Same-sex marriage, prostitution, drugs, euthanasia, and abortion were legalized. What did that freedom from ethical restraint bring to Europe? The family is in deep trouble in Europe, with birth rates in decades old declines. Did Europeans find happiness and fulfillment in their new, anything-goes societies? Not hardly. Colson pointed out that in Europe, "suicide rates between four and sixteen times higher than that of ‘less developed’ European countries and the United States" is the reality. So much for the socialist paradise.
Has America seen similar things? As a nation, we are in the midst of an epidemic of births to unwed mothers and a STD rate that is appalling. This new "sexual freedom" (read: sexual slavery) has produced a tragic result for teens. In one study, 47% percent of high school students surveyed reported having had intercourse in the last month; 45% reported drinking alcohol and 22% marijuana in that same period. One-third of those polled said reported having had feelings of sadness and hopelessness. College counselors report that depression on college campuses has doubled over the past decade and instances of suicide have tripled. An University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study showed that among teen girls, sex and drug use led to depression, not vice versa.
No one needs convincing that our public high schools, colleges and universities are committed to the safe-sex philosophy. As an approach to human sexuality, safe-sex is not working, and the emotional baggage young women must carry as a result of sexual promiscuity. Further, the negative physical consequences for young women with respect to child-bearing must be considered as well. Far from being a panacea, indiscriminate sexual activity is an emotional hell.
So, what does all this have to do with the sufficiency of Scripture. The Dutch provide the answer. In a society that had become almost totally secularized, human beings lost hope and direction. The rationalization of man’s spiritual side as somehow a holdover from his ancient, less civilized past was shown to be empty and void. Now, those who live in a culture with no boundaries are looking for boundaries, limits, and authoritative answers.
The writer of Proverbs wrote, "Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law" (Proverbs 29:18). The vision, in Hebrew, is a word or an oracle from God. Those who have no word from God are unrestrained (from a word meaning to break out). Without godly guidance, people break all the rules, cross all the boundaries. Yet, those who keep, observe the law are happy. So, observing the principles of the Bible brings one happiness and fulfillment. Many who once were disabused of that notion are now changing their minds.
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