‘Tear a little corner off of darkness.’ Bono, U2

By Mrs Ruby Holland

Posted on 19 May 2010

‘See Rome and die' said the ancients, encapsulating both the achievements and pride of the Roman Empire. I was reminded of this saying recently as I stood at the edge of the Huangpu River on the Bund in Shanghai and looked across at the modern miracle rising from the mudflats across the river in Pudong. On my eighth visit in fifteen years, I still stand and gape at the sheer immensity of everything Chinese. Buildings, freeways, crowds, capitalism, pollution, political power, faith: all appear larger than life in ever changing landscapes. The 21^st Century does seem to belong to China.

Steven Garber in a recent revision of his book, The Fabric of Faithfulness recounts how Chinese and Western intellectuals are responding to the challenge of renewing the culture of China after the disillusion of Communism, Tiananmen Square and raw capitalism. They want, in Bono's words to ‘tear a little corner off of the darkness' that is present in every society. What their hearts warmed to is the realisation that ‘the Christian vision does give people the contours for genuine human flourishing, from the most personal areas to the most public areas of life. That at the heart of the Christian understanding of human nature and history is the possibility of a life of responsibility marked by love, of "gladness and singleness of heart," as the Book of Common Prayer puts it. (p. 20)

For the Chinese intellectuals that Garber dialogued with, the implications of such a fully-integrated worldview were immense: often return to China and possible imprisonment. As Garber says ‘worldviews are not abstractions; they become ideas with legs that have metaphysical and moral muscle, enabling real people to make the hardest choices possible' (p.21). Despite national differences, this is surely what we want for young Australians as well. Whether they are being educated in State, Anglican or other independent schools they need a worldview that can sustain and motivate them throughout life, a worldview based on a relationship with the Creator/Saviour/Sustainer God.

Garber has further advice on the factors that have been shown under God to sustain Christian men and women in connecting belief to behaviour or leading an integrated life. People in his study continued to prioritise God's kingdom in their lives because of three factors: convictions, character and community. They were firstly taught a worldview that could withstand secularization and pluralisation as well as the usual challenges of living. Secondly, they were mentored in some way by a teacher who modelled and incarnated their developing worldview. Finally, they sought out and were stimulated and encouraged by a fellowship of other Christians who together demonstrated that ‘the ideas could be coherent across the whole of life' (p. 52).

Convictions, character and community produce for the Christian a framework of moral meaning which is enduring. Given that moral meaning is not the exclusive need of Chinese intellectuals, it would seem that Christian teachers in every system have a wonderful and onerous opportunity to nurture students in such a resilient framework. The challenge is for all Anglican teachers to articulate a Biblical worldview, model this worldview to their students and encourage them to fellowship with others of similar vision. As a community of faithfulness, perhaps we can also ‘tear a little corner off of the darkness'.