Comment

Comment by James Nored on May 2, 2009 at 11:45am

Bill, that is an interesting story about your Muslim friend. With Islamic expansion has often come restrictions upon religious expression. Share Christ while we still have the freedom to do so, indeed.

Comment by James Nored on May 2, 2009 at 11:43am

Stanley, I can understand the "white people are disappearing" interpretation of this. The video does speak of the disappearance of a culture, and the culture in Europe has obviously been white. We must be careful not to make the preservation of white culture our motivation for holding back Islam.

Europe, however, has also been historically Christian for centuries. It is true that Europe has become post-Christian in recent decades. Still, it is striking to think of Christian Europe becoming Islamic Europe. For me, it is not the disappearance of Western culture but the disappearance of Christianity in Europe that is disturbing.

As you say, the video does not speak of the explosion of Christianity in Africa, India, or increasingly, China. These will become the new centers of Christianity. Africa, it seems to me, is becoming the primary new center of Christendom, which has its pluses and minuses. I think that the video authors did not mention this because there is not the birth rate problem in the "Global South," which is the context in which they were framing the spread of Islam.

Jenkins' book is excellent. I have not read "God's Continent." I will have to add it to my (long) reading list!

Thanks for your excellent perspective, as always.

Comment by Stanley N. Helton on May 1, 2009 at 9:38am

James,

I saw this video about a week ago and while I think there is truth in it; it is also alarmist and has a "the white people are disappearing" type of approach. It says nothing of the explosion of Christianity in the Global South.

One would do well to read Philip Jenkins' books: The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity; The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South; and God's Continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe's Religions Crisis. While the situation is serious, I think Jenkins can help us think more clearly about this crisis.

Stan

Comment by Bill Bowman on May 1, 2009 at 6:21am

James:
If ever there was a wakeup call, that Demo would do it.

Several years ago I had a Moslem friend and his wife into our home for a meal and likewise he invited us for a Mideast treat! His name was Ahmal Alha Hani and his wife, Badria. He was a sheik who ran a 10 billion dollar shipping business.

What impressed me was that he was proud to be a Muslim. He said back in Arabia where his office was, he had a 4 foot wide, 2 foot high framed writing from the Koran similar to what Christ said in the Sermon on the Mount. We had a conversation about our different beliefs and were amicable. He was not shy at all about what he believed. He reinforced the need in me to be telling people the Good News while we still have our freedom to do so. Bill Bowman