Fighting Against God

Gamaliel was a Pharisee, a doctor of the law, bad in honour of all the Jewish people: young Saul of Tarsus was instructed "at the feet of Gamaliel" in Jerusalem (Acts 5:34; 22:3).

When the Jewish Council felt disposed to slay the apostles because of their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Gamaliel wisely advised his colleagues to let them alone. "If this counsel or this work be of men" he said, "it will be overthrown: but if it is of God, ye will not be able to overthrow them; lest haply ye be found even to be fighting against God".

"Fighting against God"! For the past thirty years or so in Cuba, the government under Fidel Castro's leadership has in effect been doing just that. At the start of his regime in 1959 Castro had promised that religious freedom would be respected, and this obtained for about eighteen months. Then as his power was consolidated Castro's real objectives became clear. The Cuban government set Out to destroy all religious faith and to build an atheistic society. Many Christian leaders were sent to prison or labour camps, suffering deeply for the sake of the Name: Church activities were confined to church buildings, and it was forbidden to attempt to influence others towards any religious faith. Construction of new church buildings was banned, and even repair of existing buildings was officially hampered. There were no Christian bookshops; the Cuban Bible Society was closed down; religious radio and TV broadcasting were prohibited.

Supervision of those churches which survived was carried out by the Ministry of Religion through the Ecumenical Council of Cuba, an institution designed to ensure that government policy was enforced. For more than twenty years these oppressive measures seemed to be having their intended effect. Spiritual interest was on the wane; very few Bibles or Scripture portions were allowed into the country. The majority of Cubans remained apathetic towards God's Word; many of them doubtless attracted to the official materialistic philosophies of the Marxist regime.

In recent times, however, there has been a notable spiritual awakening throughout Cuba. This has not resulted from the work of an outstanding evangelical leader or preacher, but has been a general movement in many parts of Cuba. Doubtless much prayer underlies this remarkable evidence of God's working. A regime which has been fighting against God now finds itself confronted by the changed spiritual attitude of thousands of its subjects. Oppressive measures continue, but there have been a few concessions by the Castro government. Bibles are to be placed in some public libraries and hotels. Government book stores have begun to sell Bibles, and agreement given to a Scripture production programme in Cuba which will include the printing of one million selections. All this is welcome news as far as it goes, but will only satisfy a small part of the demand for God's Word. For a large majority of children and young people have never seen a portion of Scripture. In the past people have typed or copied the Bible by hand, and many would memorize whole books of the Bible.

Perhaps Cuban government concessions have been partly in response to pressures from the spiritually awakened, a development which must have impressed and alarmed a regime which has consistently worked for the suppression of religious faith. They may also have been influenced by the dramatic collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Although still proclaiming no deviation from its traditional policies, the Castro government faces a disastrous economic situation. This has been made worse by withdrawal of vast economic support from the former Soviet Union, leaving Cuba isolated and further impoverished.

The attitude of such atheistic regimes is strikingly reflected in some of the Psalms, which express the suffering of the godly under similar oppression:

The wicked, in the pride of his countenance, saith, He will not require it. All his thoughts are, There is no God ... He saith in his heart, God hath forgotten: He hideth His face; He will never see it (Ps. 10:4.11).

But the Psalmist's faith rose above his circumstances:

Thou hast seen it; for Thou beholdest mischief and spite, to take it into Thy hand: the helpless committeth himself unto Thee (v.14).

unknown | Feb 1992
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