MANIFEST | Christians4future

"We have reached a point where non-radical options no longer take us forward. We need a new narrative that not only shows us how to live, but also tells us what life after the age of alienation and destruction can look like.

Thomas Gamsjaeger-Allain, Initiator C4F

living sustainably with christians4future

MANIFEST - Part I

Long enough ...

... we followed either wrongly formulated or wrongly interpreted beliefs that nourished the paradigm of "FASTER - HIGHER - MORE". "Subdue the earth! Success is based on performance! What costs nothing is worth nothing! Trust the invisible power of the market!". These and similar slogans were supposed to guide us to the right "way of life". We were taught to trust the maxims of a concept of progress based primarily on the principle of competition instead of cooperation and trust.

Despite all the achievements of this era, the price paid by creation and its creatures for living along these paradigms is immeasurable. Our generation is now consuming those resources that would not be ours, but those of our children and grandchildren. Social inequality is growing at an alarming rate and the gap between rich and poor is widening dramatically. Aggression and violence are assuming ever more alarming dimensions and geopolitical power interests are ensuring a renaissance of the nuclear arms race. And last but not least: The destruction of our living space and the extinction of species are happening inexorably and with disturbing speed.

Our planet and its inhabitants groan unmistakably under the weight of these degrading and destructive developments. Human actions and omissions threaten and destroy much of what in Christian understanding is the expression of divine creation. In full knowledge of things, man is destroying life, living spaces and living dreams with his eyes open. To bring the absurdity to the point: As the so-called "crown of creation", man not only deprives himself of his dignity, but in the last consequence also of the foundations of his own existence. The protection of creation in its entirety is the only lasting protection of human life.

What remains are questions that will determine the future: Do people really have to stand idly by and watch recognized undesirable developments? Do they really have to resign themselves to an often meaningless life in an alienating world with no prospects? Or are there alternatives?

(MANIFEST - Part II)

What if ...

... it would be different. In fact, even earlier there were people who - like Jesus himself and later St. Francis of Assisi - rejected imposed ways of life. These are the heroines and heroes who experienced ridicule and scorn until they were on the right side of history. They are the ones who show us that human beings are designed for compassion and love, not for struggle and competition. And they are the ones who show us that we are meant to be a responsible part of nature, not despotic rulers over it.

Their example infects us: We follow them and discover new confidence and strength. Together, we break the chains of the lack of alternatives. From now on, we refuse to play only a passive role of a misguided system, because we have recognized that we can overcome the challenges of today by working together. We resist the lure of ever more consumption and competition. We topple undivided self-interest from the throne of our dreams and recognize the true value of the common good. We understand that there are many people who think and feel as we do. That is why we do not wait any longer. We organize ourselves.

Christians and all people who walk this path with us are no longer part of the problem, but the spiritual spearhead of the solution. We do not get bogged down with inconsequential efforts of reflection, but as followers of Christ we commit ourselves pragmatically and effect-oriented with all our strength to a social and ecological renewal.

From now on, we will shape our time so that it will be remembered as a time when deep joy and a new mindfulness before the Creator, creation and life awakened. As a time when the quest for social justice, for the preservation of human dignity and for global peace was given new impetus. As a time in which the common good and sustainable development became the guiding maxim in all areas of life. And as a time when humanity broke out of a spiral of destruction and rose to a new sphere of universal consciousness.