Christians, and those of some other religions, have been (in some times and places) a byword of courage.
Christians have given not just time and effort, but sacrificed their livelihood, their lives, to their religion.
Risked and indeed suffered a lifetime of threat - indeed terror, oppression, subordination, humiliation, torment and torture - rather than give-up what they regarded as essential practices of their faith.
Those days are gone, and nearly-all self-identified Christians now embrace worldly values as primary; and welcome the closure of churches, and cessation of (what were until last years) essential practices.
Why?
Well one reason is that the courage of past Christians was embedded in a community, a church. A courageous Christian did not feel himself alone but was aware of a solid group of co-religionists behind him, backing him up with prayers, thoughts and practical help.
All that has gone, and a courageous Christian is now On His Own; with supposed-coreligionists standing behind him to stab his back, mock his motives and intelligence, spy and inform-on his Christian resistance.
So modern Christian courage is a solo business; hence much less prevalent - less recognised, less known as such.
But why has the group and community disappeared (as an effective factor in Christian life)? Partly because Men have changed; and such things no longer have the power to motivate.
I mean that the decline of groupishness, community, social cohesion all have roots in a change of consciousness. We became first insensitive, then immune, to the power of symbol, ritual and the sacred.
From where we are, we cannot return to what we were - because that kind of objectivity of Faith simply does not work anymore.
That is the depth of our crisis.
From where-we-are we can only go forward-and-through, out the other side of isolated subjectivity.
Christians - here-and-now - can only be motivated by that which actually motivates Christians.
It is therefore the task of each Christian to find that Christian motivation for himself, and (partly) from-himself.
Because nowadays we need to go out and meet God halfway, to work-with the divine - rather than (as in the past) trying to be subordinate- and obedient-to the divine.
And for this to happen; we need to overcome fear, resentment and despair - need to have trust that when we personally are motivated actually to do what needs to be done and for the right reasons; God will makes things right* for us as individuals.
And insofar as many people do this: we need faith that God will also make things right for us as groups -- even though we are currently in no position to be able to see what 'right' might be, nor how right might be accomplished...
This requires a very high level of Trust in God, and hope for eternal resurrected life; requires this from each Christian As An Individual.
That is what is demanded.
*Right, that is, in an eternal context.
