Great is Diana of the Britons!
This editorial is not so much about "Princess Di" as it is about the reactions
to her life and death. The title is a play on the words used almost 2,000 years
ago at Ephesus. A mob had been filled with rage because Paul had been teaching
the gospel, and this involved turning people away from worshipping vain things,
such as gods made with human hands. Why, the goddess Diana was worshipped all
over the world, and her temple was right there at Ephesus. The cried out "Great
is Diana of the Ephesians!" and went searching for this Paul to do him in.
Interestingly enough, it was Demetrius, a silversmith, who was the main
instigator. His business was making silver shrines of the goddess to sell to the
people and he figured the gospel of Jesus Christ was bad for business (Acts
19:23-41).
Diana's birthplace has been made into a shrine in England, and she has become a
goddess in many people's eyes. Flowers and gifts are brought in reverence to her
name and laid at the altar. For many, it has gone way beyond mourning the loss
of a national and international figure. It has become cultic. And yes, there are
modern Demetriuses making big profits hawking their Diana shrines; everything
from t-shirts and plaques to dolls and dresses. They are on a holy crusade to
make as much money as possible.
There is a reason for this. British society, like many (and maybe all) western
societies, has become mired in a materialistic, morally relative quicksand. What
spirituality there is often takes the form of occultic practices. The Church of
England and the Catholic Church in England are neither doing well, having lost
over a quarter of their membership since 1980. People need spiritual sustenance,
and will try and find it in the most amazing places. Organized religion failed
to adequately provide such to the British, and so they have turned elsewhere.
One lesson from all this ought to be plain. Some think that in order to attract
the masses, churches must compromise to keep up with the times. The Church of
England compromised away almost all its convictions, until it had nothing left.
Many of its clergy have denied such fundamental facts of the faith as the virgin
birth and the resurrection of Christ. Preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified
may not draw the masses, but it will draw some. And they will find God's grace,
not through the Princess, but through the Prince of Peace.
By Jon W. Quinn
The Front Page
From Expository Files 5.12; December 1998
