Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.01.2007, Side 12

1_RVK_GV_01_007_OPINION
In 1949 artist Dan Robbins birthed
a concept allowing millions of Van
Gogh novices into the sacred por-
tal of the creative world. It is called
Paint by Number. Each painting
kit contains a colourless sketch in
which each distinct area of the pic-
ture has a specific number. The art-
ist’s job is to match each number
with an intended colour provided
in the kit’s instructions. If you fol-
low the numbers, a beautiful image
will appear right before your eyes.
Practically anyone can be fooled.
Numbers can provide valuable
insight on the presentation of an
image, the livelihood of a corpora-
tion or even the religious standing
of a nation. These powerful sym-
bols have been trusted throughout
history to represent the truth in
the most objective manner pos-
sible. However, can the mere vision
of numerical data truly reflect the
faith of thousands of hearts? Sta-
tistically speaking, Iceland carries
the title for having the highest per-
centage of Lutheran Christians of
any country in the entire world. On
paper this country’s inhabitants are
almost as religious as the citizens
of the Vatican City, the residence
of Pope Benedict XVI. Neverthe-
less, after living here for almost
half a year my eyes and ears tell me
that religion seems to be playing
a game of Hide and Seek. Which
leads me to question, where does
religion show its face in the life of
this society?
Through my own personal
investigation it seems that most
Icelanders do believe in God, or
some form of higher power; how-
ever, the practice of that belief is
not a top priority. In order to find
out what’s important in someone’s
life, two things to examine are their
wallets and calendars. Time and
money happens to give an incred-
ible amount of insight as to what
people rank as imperative in life.
The Sunday before Christmas,
my husband and I went to church
and the traffic, as it is every Sunday,
was nonexistent. At church that
day, one of the topics introduced
was why church attendance was so
low in Iceland and what it would
take to get people more active in
their beliefs. The topic stayed on
my mind for a while and followed
me into the car after we left. Af-
ter church we headed over to
Smáralind to shop for gifts, and as
we entered the parking lot I quickly
got my answer as to where people
spent their time and money. I could
have sworn half of the country was
present busily shopping for Christ-
mas, you know, that day we hon-
our to celebrate the birth of Christ.
Yes, it was a week before Christmas
and the crowd was understand-
able; however, what would those
same people be doing on any other
Sunday afternoon? Can it be that
church is only a thought on the
most important events in people’s
lives; the memorable baptism, that
perfect day of wedding bliss and
the ceremony that allows them to
finally rest in peace.
To understand a bit more about
the national church I attended a
Lutheran service on the first day
of the New Year. As I approached
the sanctuary the sign on the door
read, “Silence please, service in
session.” That immediately gave
me an inclination of what kind of
atmosphere I would be joining. I
strategically chose a seat six rows
from the front to obtain an observ-
able view of the congregation, the
choir and the priest. The church
itself was statuesque and quite
breathtaking. Regal organ pipes,
high ceilings, luminous candles and
archaic statues all gave it a very
holy ambiance. During the sermon
(spoken solely in Icelandic), the
only word I could actually make out
was “Jesus,” but I could still easily
get the sentiment of the priest’s
effect on the parishioners around
me. People were clearly listening
and engaged, yet caught in a spiri-
tual methodical process. Everyone
did what they were supposed to
do, which included sitting very still,
listening quietly, standing, sitting
again, looking forward as the cho-
rus sang angelically in the rear and
reciting their lines at all the cor-
rect moments. By nature, the Lu-
theran sector of Christianity tends
to be on the conservative side. The
mood is very solemn except for the
omnipotent voice of the priest de-
livering the reading of the sermon.
Although, I’m used to a much more
“call and response” church setting,
where the congregation expresses
themselves with alacrity at will,
I respected the traditions of this
Lutheran service. Meanwhile, with
all due respect, I can also certainly
comprehend why so many people
feel that a weekly dose of this quiet
Biblical lecture cannot meet their
needs as a person living in the 21st
century.
In approaching Icelandic people
about their rationale for low church
attendance, the recurring reasons
given were that one, it’s just too
boring, two, the church has not
reached out to embrace modern
times and lastly, that the lessons in
church are not applied to the way
people realistically live their lives.
Church is considered to be a sanc-
tuary where all believers should
feel welcome. It is a domain where
people should leave feeling spiritu-
ally fed. Church used to feel like
an obligation to me until I found a
place that nourished my soul. Each
and every time I attended the ser-
mons directly applied to my life be-
cause it was delivered in a personal
and narrative manner. Now I yearn
for church each week and I feel
empty without worshipping with
others in the presence of God. For-
tunately for me, my options were
plentiful when I sought out a place
of worship. It’s unfortunate that a
country that’s 84 percent Lutheran
has a meagre 10 percent church
attendance level. Maybe it’s be-
cause people feel as if their options
are limited and they cannot find a
place that provides purpose and
guidance as they evolve and grow
in the world.
To put it rather simply, the real
evidence of our belief is in the way
we act and treat one another. Al-
though it seems arduous to treat
everyone as if we were encoun-
tering Jesus Himself, it is the only
proof we have to be judged upon.
If you do say you are a believer,
how well do your actions separate
you from an unbeliever? Belong-
ing to a church is only one of many
ways you can convey your faith.
How many times have you done all
you can to help someone in need
or forgotten yourself to put the
needs of others before you? I didn’t
intend to take us back to numbers,
but these are the only ones that re-
ally matter. And if we can get these
percentages right at the end of the
day, we’ll create much more than
just a pretty picture, we’ll mass pro-
duce an even greater tomorrow.
Religion by Numbers
By Gabriele R. Gudbjartsson
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After church we headed over to Smára-
lind to shop for gifts, and as we entered
the parking lot I quickly got my answer
as to where people spent their time and
money.