Here is the list for 2017:
The Cross offends the world – and an increasing number of church denominations – for a number of reasons. The Church of Sweden has found a new one.
The Swedish Church’s head of communications, Gunnar Sjoberg, thinks it is offensive to wear a cross in support of persecuted Christians; he makes no mention of whether he finds persecuting Christians to be offensive.
Coincidentally, around the same time Sjoberg made his pronouncement, membership in his church plummeted.
From here:
“Provocative and un-Christian”: That is how Gunnar Sjoberg, the head of communications for the Swedish Church, chose to comment on the August social media campaign #MittKors (“MyCross”), which urged Christians and others to wear a cross in support of the world’s persecuted Christians.
The campaign was a reaction to Christians being murdered or kidnapped and enslaved by the Islamic State group, the Islamic terrorists pillaging village after village throughout the Middle East, and one would think this campaign would be given unanimous support.
But then, one would be mistaken.
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Sjoberg says, “The cross of Christ may end up being used as a weapon against another faith and not as a symbol of support for Christians,” thus choosing not to engage with the issue. This is cowardly and unjust, although it is in line with the Swedish Church’s documented lack of moral compass. Sweden’s largest daily newspaper, Aftonbladet, has a similar and equally offensive reaction, comparing the cross to the swastika and the #MyCross campaign to that of Nazi propaganda, thus playing shamelessly into the hands of the extremists who have made Christians into the world’s most persecuted group.
From Canon Andrew White. Read it all here:
In a scathing statement, Canon White has now slammed Europe for its response to the migrant crisis. He says it is wrong to focus resources on those already in Europe, when those in real need are the ones left behind.
“I am disappointed by Europe’s response to the refugee crisis,” he said “Not enough is being done to help the most vulnerable, particularly those who have fled religious persecution.
“My charity is providing food, shelter and medicine for hundreds of Iraqi refugee families who have fled ISIS and are now in Jordan. Some have walked across the desert to find safety, with little more than the clothes on their backs.
“When I see angry young men clashing with border police in Hungary and demanding to be let into other EU countries, I feel that the wrong people are at the front of the queue.
“Europe needs to distinguish between those who are looking for a better life and those who are running for their lives, otherwise we risk failing those who need our help the most.
“I would like to see more being done for the thousands of refugees, particularly Iraqi refugees, who are stranded in Jordan and other countries without any hope for the future.”
[…..]
“I can confirm that it is not just displaced people who are fleeing,” he said. “Priests tell me that there are also people who aren’t too badly off financially, people who work at banks for example, who are leaving. People who don’t really need to leave. They feel that a window of opportunity has opened up and they fear this window will soon close so they take advantage of it. Meanwhile, those who are poorer aren’t even considering leaving. Everyone is losing out. Those who are most able are leaving and they are the only ones who could rebuild all that has been destroyed in recent years.”
[….]
“If you resist the easy option taken by the chattering classes who claim the moral high ground by insisting on open borders, you can see that European policy is the result of moral confusion,” he wrote.
“Let’s take the ‘duty of rescue’, which is official Europe’s rationale for fishing people out of the sea. People have a right to dream of a life in Europe, but Europe has a moral obligation to rescue, not to make dreams come true.
“What does rescue imply and to whom does it apply? Just being poor does not make someone eligible for being ‘rescued’ by a life in Europe. Mass poverty has to be tackled, but the only way it can be done is for poor countries to catch up with the rich ones. There are ways in which we can help that process, but encouraging the mass emigration of their most enterprising young people is not one of them.”
We have the same problem in Canada. Rather than vigorously attacking the problem – ISIS – we react to the undeniably sad photo of a dead toddler with a predictable, sticky sentimentality that does more to stimulate our feelings of self-righteousness than aid those who actually deserve our help – persecuted Christians. Churches are, of course, among the worst offenders.
If you would like to donate money to help the real refugees, here is one place to do that.
Jonathan Cahn speaking at the United Nation’s Economic Social Chamber about global Christian persecution:
Whatever you do, don’t mention Islam; or Muslims; or jihad; or al-Qaeda. Best to concentrate on the futility of violence, love, justice, compassion, sprinkled with a few references to the myths we no longer believe in like the Resurrection – you know the routine. Oh, and don’t forget to bring in at least one Mark of Mission.
Actually, the statement isn’t that bad, although I can’t help noticing that the only time the Anglican Church of Canada manages to keep politics out of its pronouncements is when doing otherwise would necessarily drag in Islam, Muslims, jihad and al-Qaeda – oops, sorry, I wasn’t supposed to mention them.
Violent attacks on civilians in Pakistan and Kenya over the weekend remind us that peace is a fragile reality, always vulnerable to those who trust in the power of death to define and shape the world. Whether such attacks target Christians, as the bombing outside a Peshawar church did, or shoppers, as in Nairobi, it is the business of the disciples of Jesus to bear witness to the ultimate futility of violence, even as we express compassion and practical concern for its victims.
We follow the One whose death and resurrection unmask that futility and embody that compassion. Canadian Anglicans can hardly imagine what it is to live under the sort of fear imposed by the attack in Peshawar. We can only watch and witness to the courage and faithfulness of sisters and brothers in that place and give thanks for their continuing witness to the power of love, especially where it is bitterly opposed by those wielding death.
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The fourth Mark of Mission calls us “to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation.”
A clip from the documentary “Freedom Fighter” from OFWI. Neha is a Christian girl from Pakistan who was raped at the age of 2 years old by an 18 year old man. This was an attempt to force convert Neha’s family from Christianity.
