What
Happened?
In 1945,
82% of East Germans attended or were affiliated with the church.
Today, only 2 or 3% of East Germans go to church and less than
1% are Christians. What could cause such a drop in church attendance
over just 45 years? Answer: the wall.
Communism
stifled Christianity. Although East Germans never shed blood
for their faith, they were persecuted in very real ways. Christians
were not allowed to go to university for fear they would use
their education to influence society for Christ. To be a Christian
meant you could lose your job, forfeit the benefits of your
society and experience public ridicule. It also meant the secret
police was probably spying on you.
After the
fall of Communism, an East German youth evangelist recounts
opening his STASI (secret police) files and discovering records
of all his correspondence and purchases. The most frightening
discovery was that his best friend and neighbor with whom he
even celebrated Christmas had been his informant for many years!
And
Now?
Today,
Germany is reunited and living in freedom but there are still
obstacles we will face in ministry due to the effects of Communism
in the East. The following are some of the direct results of
the spiritual vacuum left behind by Communism.
A hardened atheism
Germans
who have grown up under Communism have little or no framework
to understand Christianity. To them, trusting in anything "spiritual"
is absurd. When we first visited the team, a religion teacher
in a public East Berlin school asked for prayer because she
was experiencing opposition from a number of parents. Most East
Berliners find religious instruction ridiculous and a waste
of time for their children.
A
hunger for material possessions
As soon
as the wall came down, East Germans started playing catch-up
with the West. For years they lived without many of the commodities
we enjoy. Can you imagine waiting 10 years to buy a car? Today,
the quest for material possessions has become one of the main
distractions competing against spiritual "things."
A
rise in the occult
Rooted
in its Nazi past, the occult is once again popular in East Germany.
It provides an alternative spirituality for many undiscerning
youth. Satan's presence is visible, powerful and well established
in Berlin.
A
prevalent suspicion and disillusionment
East Germans
are generally quite suspicious toward new ideas and systems,
especially if they sound too good to be true. So would you if
you had been lied to about the glory of Communism. As a result,
even though the wall fell in 1989, it still exists culturally.
East Berliners do not like the feeling of being invaded and
swallowed up by the ideals of Western capitalism. They desire
a new identity of their own.
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