Why don’t Italians know the Gospel?
Posted by Drew | Filed under General
One of the things I often say as I share about what compels me to Italy is that the average Italian, if he wants to know truth about God, does not have access to someone who will offer that truth in a clear and relevant manner. I often hesitate to make that comment without a thorough explanation or at least answering questions. The perception is that while most Italians don’t attend church, the churches which can be found throughout every city in Italy are still operating and still teaching God’s Word. Well… not exactly. These churches are still in operation - most of them. But most Italians would not find answers there. That statement also needs explaining. They wouldn’t find answers because of 2 reasons, and the most common reason is no fault of the church. Most Italians have simply concluded for themselves, for a variety of reasons, that the church does not have the right ideas about God. Past errors such as political corruption from the days when the church was the government, the Crusades, or more recent crimes involving immorality on the part of the priest in their home church. So the first reason may or may not be valid, but the second reason would validate the first, though not in ever case. The second reason is that some churches simply do not teach a clear or even accurate Gospel. I’m not clear on how the teaching varies from church to church because I have not been to a lot of Catholic churches, but I have talked with a lot of Catholic Italians. And it is clear that some congregations are more doctrinally sound than others. or at least, some churches emphasize certain teachings that parishoners perceive in such a way that would cause an outsider to believe that the church is actually teaching false doctrines. For example, I honestly believe that for many churches, if you were to only study the practical faith of the church members, you would conclude that Mary is the central figure of Christianity. More than one Italian student has suggested to me that Mary is the third person of the Trinity. That’s an extreme example, but from my perspective, it confirms that Italians are not guaranteed to hear clear truth about God by going to a church.
That’s why we are in Italy. We as outsiders are there because we want Italians to know God, and we believe that necessarily will result in worship. But Italians will hear the Gospel from another Italian more than they will from a foreigner. That’s why we are praying that God would raise up Italian leaders, and that they will begin taking truth to the rest of Italy, so that it can no longer be said that Italians don’t have access to clear and meaningful truth about who God is.
