Archive: Another Notch in Freedom’s Belt

By Mark Elliott

Never before has history moved so quickly. Who could have imagined that we would see the virtual collapse of the Iron Curtain? Here Mark Elliott, director of Wheaton’s Institute on Marxism and Christianity, discusses the changes.

Good News: Are we really seeing, after some 70 years of dominance in Europe, the virtual collapse of the communist system?

Elliott: I wouldn’t be ready to say the virtual collapse of the communist system because obviously events in China have not turned out this way, at least in the short run. And I don’t think the conservative forces in the Soviet Union have given up, although they obviously are out of the public limelight So I probably wouldn’t make quite so dramatic a statement, but at the same time I would say, along with Secretary of State James Baker, that these are some of the most extraordinary political events since World War II.

Good News: I recently read of a young man in Moscow who said, “Every honest man wants socialism wiped out” Has that become a universal aspiration in the Eastern bloc?

Elliott: I think that’s a fairly widespread opinion of the laypeople as opposed to the members of the elite who have benefited from being on top of the socialist system. For some time ordinary workers have felt profound disillusionment in contrast to the promises of Marxism, and it’s coming out in all sorts of ways. One example was the counter-demonstration through the streets of Moscow parallel to the traditional October Revolution demonstration through Red Square. One plaque read “72 years leading nowhere.” I think that’s a common sentiment among ordinary folks in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

Good News: Mark, we’ve been following the events of the recent sweeping change in Eastern Europe, but we haven’t heard much about Estonia. What is happening there?

Elliott: The events in the Caucasus and in the Baltic are just mind-boggling. I think the Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians are all beginning to feel they can stretch the limits of what the [Soviet] leash will allow them in ways that would have been unthought of even a couple of years ago. They’re dreaming now, it appears to me, of if not full sovereignty then certainly economic autonomy and local self-rule, with perhaps a patchwork cover provided by Moscow in terms of foreign policy and international relations. It appears that the Baltic states are dreaming of modeling themselves after Finland. Finlandization is a code word for a government that’s basically independent, but which leans over backward in deference to Soviet foreign policy.

Good News: Someone pointed out that it’s significant that no Germans are fleeing East.

Elliott: More than perhaps any other symbol of Marxism in the 20th century, the focus has been on the Berlin Wall. It’s not down yet, but it’s certainly porous now. All these openings make it abundantly clear that there is something lacking. We’ve got a bankrupt system here, and the chinks and the holes in the Berlin Wall are a dramatic, symbolic illustration of that fact.

Good News: What do you sense the mood is among Christians in Eastern bloc countries about staying or leaving?

Elliott: Each East European country has its own set of unique features, and it might be foolhardy to make a generalization. In the midst of all of these exciting developments, we need to remember that our own state department has effectively cut off the valve in terms of evangelicals leaving the Soviet Union by removing the processing from Rome back to Moscow. This has actually hurt the case, at least in the short term, for evangelicals to leave—in particular Pentecostals who historically have had a lot to complain about in terms of treatment at the hands of Soviet authorities. I believe that most Christians in East Germany feel some obligation to stay. For one thing, the church in West Germany has not given pastorates immediately to any clergy leaving because it [the West German church] has felt that it is not healthy to see the church eroded. We had some East German guests on campus a couple of weeks ago and they were adamant in supporting the notion that people stay and be Christian witnesses in whatever the context.

Good News: What do you think have been the major ingredients in bringing about such sweeping change so suddenly?

Elliott: I really believe that serious disillusionment, at least in the Soviet Union, began with Khrushchev’s secret speech back in 1956 when he let it be known to the Central Committee [of the Communist Party]—and then the word filtered out into the population—that serious mistakes were made under Stalin. Then the intelligencia began to disassociate themselves from the ruling party, seeing many of its promises not fulfilled and seeing the state as one big lie. The quest for spiritual integrity among the intelligencia caused them to divorce themselves from the regime. Then Christians from both Baptist and Orthodox camps began to make bolder statements. So I think there was a slow increase in the opinion that “this is not working,” and at first nobody would say it openly, but people would say it among their closest friends and relatives.

More recently, information control is an important contributing factor. For example, in the Soviet cities frequented by tourists there has been a growing disenchantment with the regime. But as we look at what has precipitated all this I think we have to start with Gorbachev. Now why did he do it? I personally don’t think it was any particular humanitarian concern as much as it was a fight for survival—a fight for economic viability and technology. In the past the Soviet Union could perhaps not be as dynamic in its economic evolution. But it could beg, borrow or steal Western technology and adapt it for at least certain sectors of society—missile improvements, military hardware. But with the coming of the computer age, it became impossible for the Soviet Union to keep that gap from widening because the technological revolutions in the West now are happening so rapidly the Soviet Union can’t keep as close to the West technologically by begging, borrowing or stealing. It could be argued that this computer revolution and the associated economic malaise of the Soviet Union forced the leadership’s hand. Gorbachev decided that the economic situation was in such a shamble radical changes would have to be made if the Soviet Union were to compete with the West in any appreciable way.

Good News: Do you anticipate that this revolution will remain bloodless, or do you think there could be some violence in the weeks ahead?

Elliott: Ceausescu [the head of the communist party in Romania] doesn’t want this infection coming into Romania, but it will sooner or later. If there is an uprising against him—not necessarily in a political-revolutionary sense, but in terms of passive demonstrations as in East Germany—I feel that he would not hesitate a second about resorting to force. But in the other countries that have already moved quite a bit—Hungary, Poland, East Germany—I think if we were going to see large-scale violence it would have been before now.

Good News: Mark, your institute is involved in helping Christian ministries understand what’s going on in these Eastern bloc areas. Is there a need right now to help Eastern European churches and ministries in those areas?

Elliott: I think the needs are more profound now than they have been since World War II, simply because there are opportunities that could not have been anticipated and that are unprecedented. People need Bibles and teachers from the West. At the same time, of course, the West receives great lessons of faith from the church in the East. So I think now is the best time ever [for Christians] to be generous with reputable ministries to Eastern Europe because the opportunities are unlimited now as compared to any time in the past.

Good News: One of the things your institute does is to train and provide orientation for those kinds of ministries.

Elliott: More and more I’m getting involved in training and orientation for East European ministries that are sending people to that part of the world. This is in addition to the courses that we offer here at Wheaton, especially in the summer, toward that end. This past year I have had the opportunity to help with orientation of seven East European ministry groups, and I’m hoping that will continue to increase as time goes by.

Good News: What is happening with the Methodist Church in some of these countries, including Estonia, that you have visited a number of times?

Elliott: Well, the Methodist Church in Eastern Europe, in every case, is extremely small. The largest is in East Germany, and it only numbers 25 or 30 thousand people. All the other Methodist churches are in the range of one to three thousand people, and those would be in Poland, Hungary and Estonia. There are also small Methodist communities in Bulgaria and Yugoslavia.

I would love to see the Methodist Church in the West become more involved in helping those tiny outposts of Methodism in the East. In some cases, they offer dramatic and memorable examples of faith that has gone through the refiner’s fire. I think of the small Methodist church in Estonia, for example, which I know best firsthand. Those Methodists are so deeply committed to their faith, and they have put that commitment on the line with their own lives—careers lost and chances for higher education lost—that we’ve really got some wonderful lessons to draw from their example. They’ve got a lot to offer us, and we might be able to offer them help. For example, theological education is one of their great concerns because they have no seminary. Until recently they’ve had no chance for anyone to study in the West, and there’s a tremendous need there.

Good News: Some groups have been calling you, asking you for advice. I understand you’ve been busy these days.

Elliott: This is by far the busiest time I’ve had in my three and a half years with the institute. It is obviously an exciting time for the people in Eastern Europe. It’s also very exciting for people who have invested a good bit of their lives in trying to help, in trying to understand, in trying to study the church in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. It has been somewhat hectic, but at the same time I couldn’t be more delighted because things seem to be improving for these people that I have such affection for.

I’ve been getting quite a number of requests for radio interviews—”Prime-Time America,” the Moody network, and some journalists. I think perhaps the most exciting opportunity has been a visit from a foundation officer. He flew in to talk with me about how best to invest in the new opportunities to strengthen the churches in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union and to see the churches expand through evangelism. In a sense all of my spare time since 1982 that I’ve devoted to studying the church and ministering to the church in Eastern Europe seemed to focus on that Actually, I spent more than half a day with this foundation officer sharing something of what I had learned about what’s working, what’s not working, where countries need the most help and which countries can use the help to best effect.

Good News: How might United Methodists help?

Elliott: I’ve been involved with some people from Asbury Seminary in putting together pastors’ workshops for the Methodist ministers of Soviet Estonia. I have a dream of seeing this kind of help extended to other small Methodist communities in Eastern Europe. I’m dreaming right now about taking some key leaders who might dream dreams and see how Methodists in the West might become prayer partners or aides to these small churches. I already know of the possibility of someone going to Estonia for a pastors’ workshop to be able to do something similar in Yugoslavia, perhaps as soon as next summer. This is certainly not guaranteed; there are too many variables and imponderables. But I’m dreaming this way. At one time dreaming of helping the Methodist church of Estonia was no more than that, so I have some confidence that with commitment and an extended vision some more and exciting things can be done in Eastern Europe. It’s interesting to me that each professor from Asbury Seminary who has gone to help with these pastors’ workshops comes back so aglow. That’s really my secret if I have any—to get people involved firsthand in one experience. Then the Holy Spirit does the rest

Good News: One of the things that has to impress a traveler is seeing what it costs believers behind the Iron Curtain to be Christians.

Elliott: Andrus Nocar’s story shows the cost of discipleship. He was a youngster in the capital city of Tallinn, and through some exceptional youth ministry in the Baptist and the Methodist churches there he came to the Lord. This caused political reverberations in Tallinn because his father was the mayor of the capitol city. His father lost his post over this scandalous situation with the son, and the [new] mayor actually became an outspoken believer. Andrus is now pastoring the Methodist church in Tartu, an ancient university city farther south than Tallinn.

Good News: In several succinct suggestions, Mark, what should Christians do to be involved and to help the Church in these countries?

Elliott: A couple of Methodist churches have looked into the possibility of being sister churches with Methodists in the Soviet Union. I would love to see a program like that take off. It’s hard; it takes commitment. Also, I don’t think we can underestimate the power of prayer. Methods are not what we need so much as people willing to pray with conviction.

We need to study the situation there, to read more. As far as the small Methodist communities in Eastern Europe, there’s a lot of room for exposure of our Western Methodist communities to those tiny, struggling churches.

We could visit. It’s encouraging to believers in the East to know that they’re not forgotten. I’ll never forget the Rev. Partimus of the Methodist church in Estonia, after being asked, “What’s the most important thing we can do for you?” saying to a group of American visitors, after some pause, “We need you to pray for us so that we won’t feel like we are forgotten.”

 

How Wheaton’s Four-Year-Old Institute Has Been

Unmuddling Marxism

The events of recent weeks in Eastern Europe have focused our attention on that part of the world with an intensity perhaps not seen since the construction of the dreaded wall.

But Mark Elliott’s attention has been riveted on Eastern Europe for many years. In fact it’s been a major part of his job since 1986. That’s when the Institute for the Study of Christianity and Marxism was founded at Wheaton College with Elliott, a professor of history, at its helm.

From its inception, the institute has functioned around three specific goals:

• to articulate in a variety of forums a clear understanding of the Marxist challenge to faith;
• to assist ministries and Christians in academia in acting on behalf of Christians in Marxist countries; and
• to facilitate greater communication and collaboration between Christian workers who serve, and academics who study, the church in Communist lands.

To those ends the institute serves as a kind of think tank as well as an educational organization. Elliott acts as a consultant to several groups with an interest in Eastern Europe and as a resource to reporters from both the religious and secular press.

ISCM also

• sponsors summer conferences and seminars on Soviet-bloc history, theology and missions;
• sponsors tours to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe;
• sponsors lectures and symposia on Christian/Marxist themes (Some of the guest lecturers have included such notables as poet and human rights advocate Irina Ratushinskaya, Time magazine foreign policy correspondent David Aikman and Josef Tson of the Romanian Missionary Society.);
• provides instruction for part of a Master’s degree in missions from Wheaton Graduate School;
• produces reference material on Christianity and Marxism. (Elliott has written numerous articles, edited books and contributed to encyclopedias.)

Elliott has to date made five trips to the Soviet Union and has a special interest in Methodist churches, particularly in the Baltic States. He has also organized conferences conducted by American seminary professors that have been helpful to local pastors and vision-stretching for the teachers.

Perhaps the least attention-getting goal of the institute is to build a bridge between Eastern European ministry and scholarship, yet it is highly significant. As an example, Elliott points to the fact that one missionary organization had received 15,000 letters from the Soviet Union in the past year in response to the institute’s radio broadcasts and literature distribution—in contrast with 450 letters in 1987.

“I see those letters as a wonderful, primary source for historians and sociologists of religion,” Elliott says. “It’s a wonderful window on ordinary people’s opinions about questions for faith.” On the other side, Elliott adds, “Studies done by specialists could be a benefit to East European ministries if they only knew about them.”

An understanding of demographics would help such ministries with planning how to be most effective. Given the multitude of ethnic backgrounds represented in the Soviet Union, “Isn’t it a shame that 98 percent of the Bibles being sent into the Soviet Union are in Russian when [Russian-speaking people] amount to 51 percent of the population?”

Elliott sees his role as strategic: “Since I have academic training but am involved in a missionary support enterprise here at the institute I’ve got a foot in both worlds.”