There is a crisis in the Church today. One that most of our predecesors did not have to deal with. I think most of us, both those in the church, as well as those outside of it, intuitively know about this problem. And that is how many of the modern churches bow down to popular opinion, the will of the masses, and the spirit of our age.
Someone might say, that this isnt happening. But to them I will just say: take a look at the countless churches that have embraced the modern approach to many topics, which we, as the Church, previously stood against for centuries upon centuries. Take for instance the idea of Christian female priests, or the problem of homosexual weddings and/or blessings. The lackluster approach to gender roles and sexual norms seen in many mainline churches.
You might point out: Well either all or some of these are acceptable because of this, this and that. But that is missing the broader point I intend to make. I, for the record, don’t think that these problems are acceptable (as you might be able to tell from my tone), but the very fact that we, as the Church, for centuries upon centuries didn’t have these stances, but now that the society sorounding the Church has changed, we decided to, instead of keeping our previous opinions and inherited traditions, change our opinions and disregard our own traditions. This is the completely wrong way around. The Church, in its ideal and perfect state, is not supposed to be susceptible to the will of the masses, especially the will of the people that dont even share the faith. Rather it is the opposite, we, as the Church, are supposed to be the one influencing society at large, and convince them to conform to our opinions and inherited traditions.
Now, I do think that it is completely fine to take in local and secular ideas from society, and bring them into the Church in principle. But only when we dont change our teachings to accomidate it. This is where we have gone wrong in recent times. We have changed our stances, our beliefs, to accomidate the world around us, all because we wanted to remain “relevant”, “popular” and because we wanted to “keep up with the changing times”.
I contend that unpopularity is not a bad thing. Sure, dont get me wrong, we should strive to be popular. But this is not the goal. The goal is, and has always been, to preserve the teachings, traditions & ideas we hold to be eternally true for future generations until the return of our Lord. When we abandon our obligations and our mission, what do we then become? We become just another social club with pretty buildings and fancy dresses. What we say then carries no real weight because we have lost our authority and mission. We are not distinct from the world because we look just like it and teach the same, all just with some fancy words, buildings and clothing.
It really comes down to the central question of what the Church is and ought to be. And no, I dont mean whether it is one institution, such as the Catholic Church, or another like the Eastern Orthodox. Rather, what is the Church meant to represent & how are we, as believers, supposed to interact with the outside world. I think that we are supposed to preserve our teachings, traditions and beliefs for the next generations up until our Lord returns. We are also meant to proclaim these things to the public, and spread the good word. Especially when it conflicts with the societies we inhabit, because the purpose, and mission, of the Church also includes transforming society, making it conform to our beliefs and teachings, instead of being transformed by it.