dailydeclaration.org.au
2026-10-02
From its first days, the Christian Church has lived in tension with the world around it. The early believers were accused of "turning the world upside down" (Acts 17:6), and they did so without armies, wealth, or political power. They did it simply by living differently.
In our own times the need to be a witness to the kingdom of God is of vital importance. The Church is not meant to be a mirror of the culture, but to be a luminous sign of another kingdom.
St Paul instructs Christians of his time: "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Romans 12:2). This is particularly necessary in our time when we see our society, though having Christian roots, abandoning its Christian foundations.
Society now tells us that the self is the final authority, that worth is measured by productivity and possessions, that comfort is the highest good, and that anything inconvenient, whether a commitment, a person, or a truth, may be discarded. Against this, the Church proclaims a vision of life based on the teachings and example of Jesus Christ.
To be counter-cultural in this sense is not to be merely contrarian. The Church does not oppose the world out of fear or resentment. It opposes that which diminishes the human person because it loves the world which was made by God. It also loves the people for whom Christ died. Its "no" is always in service of a deeper "yes."
The Christian Church is being called upon to affirm some fundamental truths which have been lost by our society.