To be a genuine believer at all, in a western context, is actually a remarkable achievement – given our continual exposure and constant indoctrination in the complex web and matrix of philosophical thinking that currently shapes our civilization. From birth we are immersed in the myth of evolutionary origins and suckled on the ideology of materialist thought and constantly coached in the virtues of rationalism (under the dubious guise of scientific thinking). Spirituality is tolerated in our society (providing it makes no absolute claims) but for the most part it is relegated to the realm of private morality, comforting fiction or mindless superstition. So pervasive are the prevailing beliefs that it’s not until you travel to other lands that you discover that the beliefs and assumptions that shape most of western thinking are actually not universal.

While many in the west still seriously question and debate the existence of the supernatural or spiritual realms, this is not so among Africans and many other tribal cultures. To them the existence of spirits is implicit and almost never debated. Why? Because unlike us, their encounters with the spiritual realm are not infrequent. Nor are such encounters denied or rationalised away. Nor are they the result of misguided superstition or imagination or induced delusion. No, far from it. Their belief in evil spirits (particularly) is just as empirical and observable as any scientific method because in their culture they commonly witness the frightening supernatural phenomena that commonly results from the practice of witchcraft. And this is without exception in every tribal culture on earth. It’s universal. And this, probably more than any other factor, is why Africa, along with other tribal cultures, have so enthusiastically and passionately embraced the gospel. The power of the gospel, more than any other belief system, effectively and thoroughly displaces evil spirits, and diffuses the fear, curses, lies and bondages associated with the practice of witchcraft. As light dispels darkness. And it does so without denial of its reality and also with powerful demonstrations of the superiority of the power of God. Ask any missionary who has taken the genuine gospel to such places and you’ll hear stories that will either amaze you or have you incredulous with disbelief. Such things are remarkably common. And the fact that such things are almost never reported by the Western media actually serves as a powerful hint to why supernatural miracles occur with less frequency here (although, let me be clear… they still DO occur!).

So, why don’t we see as many supernatural occurrences and miracles in the west as we see in other cultures? Well, the answer is probably this: Your unbelief. And mine. You see, contrary to popular belief, it’s not primitive cultures that have been indoctrinated… it’s actually us in the west. We’ve been trained in the belief that scientific rationalism can tell us all that’s true and important about the world we live in. What we don’t realise is that scientific rationalism is, after all, a kind of rationalism. And rationalism, at its core, has a predisposition to skepticism. Actually more that that… it has a predisposition to unbelief. It not only demands to skeptically examine all things in controlled conditions, but it goes much further than that: It implies that beliefs not supported by such analysis must therefore be untrue, disregarded and treated with contempt. Then what follows naturally after that is arrogance, intellectual pride, consolidated doubt and confirmed unbelief. For many people, this establishes an almost impenetrable crust of resistance to God and resistance to any genuine encounter with His Spirit.

This is the base philosophical construct of western thinking and a philosophy that serves as a barrier to genuine faith. It also provides a constant justification to exclude serious discussions of the gospel (including testimonies of miracles) in the public arena. That’s why the only frequent coverage of spirituality you will see on popular morning or late night TV are crackpot mystics, mediums or astrologers, which only serve to confirm the prevailing collective reasoning that any consideration of spiritual things really belongs to the outer fringes of credibility. And that’s also why testimonies of someone being raised from the dead, which actually happened in my church years ago, was almost universally dismissed and disregarded by the community.

By contrast, in Africa news of such a miracles is far more likely to have spread like wild fire, spark hope and Christian revival. This disposition to unbelief is one of the reasons why I fear for the future of western civilisation (& western people). I can’t help but fear that such determined unbelief, especially in the light of our culture’s Christian heritage, will eventually result in the judgement of God. Jesus said, “Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which were done in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? thou shalt be brought down unto Hades.” (Luke 10:13-15). And yes, this was Jesus speaking!

But our inherited cultural predisposition to unbelief need not be the end of the story. Many people in the West, myself included, have successfully questioned the basic assumptions of our society and and have embarked upon a personal quest for truth and have found the message of the gospel not only credible, but irresistibly compelling and, ultimately, convincing. However, spiritual mysteries sometimes require crucial keys to unlock: Among these are humility, intellectual honesty, and a genuine willingness to seek after and follow the truth, wherever it may lead and whatever it may personally cost. The Bible is an open and illuminating door of discovery for those who approach it with a genuine hunger and thirst for truth, but it’s often a closed and confounding book to the casual enquirer.