More From Harry James Cargas

The following is from the book, Encountering Myself, Contemporary Christian Meditations by Harry James Cargas...a favorite author of mine. This piece was written in 1977 and the book is no longer in print. I found my copy by having Amazon search their database of book sellers.

Christians of Silence

History contains the stories of many Christians that were forced into silence to maintain their beliefs because of persecutions. In Japan, for example, Christianity went underground for several centuries because it was identified with political betrayal by the official government of that nation. Under such conditions, silence may be looked on as heroic and virtuous. But there is another side – a dark side – to the silence of Christians. There are circumstances when silence is sinful, is cowardice, is not only the easy way out, but it is an absolute betrayal of Christian, and therefore human, values. In the face of racism, say, in the United States, silence among alleged Christians is abominable. The historical fact of the holocaust , which was different from a long series of persecutions of Jews by Christians perhaps only in degree, proved a test that many of us failed. Some who called themselves Christians actively destroyed Jews. It may be that hell was created for the likes of those killers. But what of the many silent (and therefore cooperative) “Christians” who knew of those atrocities and were unmoved by the mounting tragedy? And how visible are we today, as Christians, regarding such problems as starvation in Bangladesh or racism in Rhodesia or gross public immorality on the part of entertainers or illegal and immoral practices by our local businessman or when our neighbors tell jokes at the expense of ethnic or minority persons? In large things or in small, the Christian is called to witness. In a true sense, there can be no such man or woman who claims to be a Christian who doesn’t want to be involved. A full definition of the term Christian implies involvement, discipleship, apostleship. A Saint Paul who did not wish to be involved is unthinkable. The same is true of Luther, Hus, Newman, Schweitzer, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa. Even those of us who “stand up to be counted” on one or two issues too frequently remain contemptibly silent on others. As such, we are probably part-time Christians. That’s a full-time tragedy.