06095
Feb. 16, 2006

God, not globalization, is best hope
for world transformation, WCC leader says

by Jerry L. Van Marter
Ecumenical News International

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil — Economic and technological globalization has made it easier for strangers to talk as neighbors, but is creating profound new challenges for the Christian church, the moderator of the World Council of Churches said yesterday (Feb. 15).

        “Strenuous efforts have been made in history to transform the world,” Catholicos Aram I of the Armenian Apostolic Church said during a session of the WCC Assembly. “All political, religious, economic, ideological and technological attempts have failed.”

        Aram asserted, “As Christians, we believe that only God’s grace can empower, renew and transform humanity and creation.”

        Reflecting on the Assembly theme — “God, in your grace, transform the world” — Aram told the gathering of about 4,000 people that “globalization is yet another attempt to transform the world.”

        The plea for God’s grace is particularly poignant now, because societies and their churches are under siege, Aram said.

        “This ninth Assembly takes place in a period of world history when values are in decline, visions are uncertain and hopes are confused; when injustice is spreading and peace is almost unattainable; when violence and insecurity are becoming dominant in all spheres of human life,” he said.

        That the WCC is meeting in Latin America for the first time is particularly timely, he added, because the effects of globalization have been felt so acutely here.

        “Local people have lost control over their national resources and economic activities, and the gap between rich and poor people has widened,” the moderator of the world’s largest church organization said. “Recently, several countries have elected governments committed to development strategies that are at odds with the policies of international institutions.”

        Aram said there is much to learn from how Latin American churches have engaged in nation-building after periods of colonization and military dictatorships.

        He also noted, “The growth of non-institutional churches and charismatic movements is an important feature of Christianity in Latin America.” With so-called “mainstream churches” in decline, riven by internal divisions and losing their influence in society, the church is becoming less attractive to young people, he said.

        What today’s churches need, he said, is a “a responsive ecumenism that transforms and accompanies the churches in their efforts for the renewal of the church — an ecumenism that endeavors to replace traditional styles by innovative methodologies, and conservative approaches by realistic attitudes.”