Tuesday, June 22, 2004
IS EUROPE AFRAID OF GOD?
Berlin Gathering Discusses Political “Responsibility Towards God and Man
By Wolfgang Polzer
BERLIN (ANS) -- During
the very hours when European heads of state and Prime Ministers decided
in Brussels to leave a reference to God out of the proposed EU
constitution, more than 300 politicians, diplomats and Christian
leaders from 30 nations gathered in Berlin to emphasize the importance
of the “Responsibility towards God and Man – Our Approach to the
Extension and Deepening of the European Union”. They took part
in the 9th International Berlin Gathering June 17 – 19 – a meeting
comparable to the National Prayer Breakfast in the United States. The
most prominent guest was German President Johannes Rau.
“Responsibility towards God and Man” – this phrase is part of the
preamble to the German constitution adopted in 1949. After the horrors
of Hitler’s Nazi regime the mothers and fathers of the West German
democracy were intent on making sure that elected leaders would never
again fall victim to a Fuehrer or any other form of totalitarianism.
They should always feel accountable to an ultimate authority.
Responsibility towards God is by no means a new concept. It dates back
to Old Testament times. The kings of Israel were not absolute rulers.
There was always one authority above them – God. And woe to the king
and his people if he did not follow God’s commandments! We wonder if
this example has anything to say to Europe’s leaders?
The German President – a devoted Protestant Christian - seemed to sense
that all was not well in Brussels. In his address to the Berlin
Gathering Rau said: “I do not know yet if there will be a reference to
God in the EU constitution. But I do know that to keep our personal
reference to God – the awareness that we are in His keeping - is more
important than any constitutional text”.
At a time when EU’s statesmen are content with vague references to
Europe’s “cultural, religious and humanitarian heritage” it is all the
more important to have leaders who are conscious of their personal
“Responsibility Towards God and Man”. To find such leaders worldwide,
to bring them together at breakfast meetings with Bible readings and
prayers is the purpose of the movement behind the Berlin Gathering.
Such meetings in the corridors of power were first established in the
United States after World War II; they have since spread around the
globe. In Germany, interdenominational prayer meetings with
participants from all democratic parties are held in the Bundestag as
well as a number of federal Parliaments. Rudolf Decker, former deputy
in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, is the driving force. Untiringly he
brings together friends and foes – not only in Germany, but also in the
Balkans and in Africa.
For decades he has been working patiently behind the scenes to end the
longest running civil war in Africa – the conflict between the radical
Islamic Sudanese central government and the rebels in the South where
Christians and Animists have a majority. The conflict has been raging
for 20 years and has cost the lives of more than two million people.
Decker and other representatives of the breakfast movement were
instrumental in bringing about a peace agreement which promises to end
the strife, although it is overshadowed by new massacres - some human
rights organizations call it genocide - in the Western Sudanese region
of Darfour.
The peace agreement was negotiated under the auspices of the Kenyan
government. Kenya’s foreign minister Stephen Musyoka also addressed the
Berlin gathering this year. He called attention to “tribal conflicts”
that plague both Europe and Africa. Europe, he said, had come a long
way on the road to reconciliation. Africa could learn a lot from Europe
in this respect but Europe should not forget the plight of Africa.
This thought was reiterated by the spokesman for foreign affairs of the
German Social Democrats, Gert von Weisskirchen. He warned that the
united Europe must not turn into a fortress but become a “project of
solidarity”, he said. The leader of the Christian Democrats in the
Saxonian Parliament, Fritz Haehle, reminded the audience of the
Christians roots of solidarity – the commandment to “love thy
neighbor”. Brigitte Schulte, one of the leaders of the prayer
breakfasts in the Bundestag, urged Europeans to continue to work hard
for peace and reconciliation. She is wondering why the entire world is
shocked about acts of terrorism but hardly seems to blink an eye at
starvation and genocide.
The outgoing German president – Johannes Rau (73) is succeeded by Horst
Koehler (61) July 1 – is deeply concerned about the widespread
political indifference among Europeans. The poor participation in the
EU elections June 13 seemed to indicate that disillusionment is turning
into contempt, said Rau. He urged political parties and the churches to
win the younger generation. A lack of democrats, not a surplus of
extremists had been the downfall of the first German democracy in the
1930s.
Thomas Rachel, leader of the Protestant Working Group in the Christian
Democratic Party, predicts a critical change in Europe. Ethical
challenges like genetic engineering and euthanasia demanded clear
answers “in responsibility towards God”. If Europe, however, denied
it’s own cultural and spiritual heritage it could not open the way into
a promising future, Rachel said with reference of the EU constitution,
which has yet to be ratified by all 25 member states.
France and Belgium were the strongest forces behind the largely secular
wording. Prof. Dorota Simonides, member of the Polish senate, does not
understand why a reference to God should not be included in the
constitution. Her simple question is: “Why is Europe so afraid of God?”
Wolfgang Polzer (54), is senior news
editor of the Evangelical News Agency idea, Wetzlar (Germany), which he
joined in 1981. His previous work included four years in the editorial
department of the Salvation Army in Germany. In all, he has spent 27
years in Christian media. Wolfgang can be contacted by e-mail at: Wolfgang.Polzer@idea.de.
|
|
ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 2126, Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126
USA
E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com, Web
Site: www.assistnews.net
|
