Spain
As he retires this month as home secretary of the Spanish Gospel
Mission, Matthew Hill reflects on changes in Spain over recent years.
Málaga Airport, 8.20pm local time, 14 January 2004. A huge
volume of water has passed under the proverbial bridge since I first
arrived here. It was in 1989 that I landed on the Costa del Sol in
the company of a Spanish-speaking friend, for my first visit to
Spain. He was to be my eyes, ears and language for the next
fortnight as I sought to obtain a first-hand knowledge of the country
and the work that had been the object of my interest and prayers for the
previous 30 years. Here I was now, fifteen years later, about to
set off on the same journey by road from the Mecca of British
holiday-makers, via Granada and Jaén, to La Mancha where my friends
were working in the cause of the gospel.
In many ways much had remained the same. The dual carriageway
north from Málaga still climbed round the bluffs, crossing and
re-crossing the River Guadalmedina. Casabermeja still perched high
up on the edge of the cliff giving its residents a bird's-eye view of
the traffic below. Its last outpost, the cemetery, still looked as
if it were about to plunge its centuries-old residents into the
river. Life was going on as it had for long, long years. Still
the outward evidence of religion. Still the acknowledgement of
something beyond the grave. Still the fear of death which consigns
the dead to the very edge of the community. I was constantly
reminded of the words of Laurie Lee on his return to Spain after the
Civil War: ‘Spain was just the same - sombre with dead and dying
Christs and brassy with glittering virgins.’
But there had also been many changes. Once beyond Granada, the
road was much better than I remembered it. Fifteen years before,
the journey had alternated between speeding along a dual carriageway and
then toiling through the narrow streets of a village intent on minding
its own business and wishing the traffic far away. Everywhere was
now by-passed by a strip of asphalt so quiet that the driver could
almost hear his own thoughts. And those thoughts dwelt much on the
changes so evident.
Spain has outgrown its ‘1950s-ness’ and its mediaeval religion,
and is striving to be 21st century and secular. The Constitution,
adopted in 1975 by an overwhelming vote in a referendum, declared Spain
to be a non-confessional state. Evidence of the centuries of Roman
Catholic domination is everywhere, but, amidst the bustle of getting
possessions and using leisure, religion has been consigned to the very
margin of personal life; in many cases, to the cultural
dustbin. Average weekly mass attendance has fallen to 2% of the
population. Many congregations consist largely of elderly ladies
and their grandchildren. Religious festivals and processions are a
cultural affair and are little more than an excuse for Bank Holiday
jollification.
Some of the changes can be seen as progress. For many years
women were not taught to read and write, and there are still a number of
ladies of the older generation who are unable to read the word of
God. Girls now have equal opportunities in education and many rise
to quite high positions in business and society. On the other
hand, family life is beginning to deteriorate, particularly in towns and
cities. Drug-taking and alcoholism are increasing at an alarming
rate. Morals and ethics are sliding rapidly and the tide of evil
is threatening to overwhelm the country.
Many Spaniards had an injection of ‘religion’ in their childhood
and have become immune to it. As a result, 15% of those who say
they are Roman Catholic claim to be atheists. In all this the
Catholic Church is working hard to recover its position. One sees
huge notices appealing for people to join the catechism
classes. What they call evangelism can often be confused with
outreach operations by evangelicals.
The new constitution has had far-reaching effects for
evangelicals. All the old restrictions of the Franco era have gone,
and there are now some facilities in Spain that are denied to believers
in the UK. There is widespread access to local radio for gospel
preaching. Evangelicals, in common with the other recognised
minority religions - Islam and Judaism - have a weekly television
programme. There are opportunities for teaching the Bible in
schools.
Among all the changes, something that has not changed is the
desperate need for the good news that Christ is a great Saviour. Materialism
is the new religion and Spaniards, generally, are locked into the cycle
of working and getting things. So they need to hear that a man's
life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
There is virtually no interest in true spirituality or in eternal
issues. Forgiveness, they believe, is still obtained by a round of
religious duties. They need to hear that sinners are not saved by
works of righteousness, but by the sacrifice of Christ. How shall
they hear without a preacher, and how shall they preach unless they are
sent?
