Soooo, yeah. Browsing around Facebook today, I came across this article.
Fair warning, I am a bit pissed. Fuming, really. And at the same time, heartbroken.
Long story short: Eva Brunne, a Lesbian Bishop (don't even get me started on that...) from Sweden, has announced her desire to remove crosses from the Church, in order to make refugee Muslims more comfortable. She believes it will make it "more inviting" to them.
Yeah, cuz it won't be a Church any more!
She reportedly wrote, “Leasing a room to people of other faiths, does not mean that we are not defenders of our own faith. Priests are called to proclaim Christ. We do that every day and in every meeting with people. But that does not mean that we are hostile toward people of other faiths.”
Soooo, now crosses are hostile? Since when? Are head scarfs hostile? NO! Is the Star of David hostile? NO! Since when are crosses IN THE CHURCH hostile? Are you kidding me??
The Church is supposed to be a safe gathering place for those who follow God. Period. It's not just a "religious building" in general - it is our safe place. God's house. Not the world's house. No other religion does this sort of thing, especially not for Christians. Since when do we hide our faith in order to make other faiths more comfortable? Acceptance, not hiding. We are called to love. That means we honor and respect other religions - why do we not expect the same treatment in return?
If I go to a Buddhist temple, I'm not going to ask them to remove their statues or anything to do with their religion, just to make myself more comfortable. I may not be Buddhist, but I damn well will respect those who are, and THEIR place of worship. Christians and Catholics should expect and be given the same respect for anyone visiting OUR houses of worship. Muslims, Buddhists, Pagans, people who worship salt, I don't care - anyone visiting a Church should have the respect to honor our faith as well.
In the military, the chapel does the sort of thing she's suggesting - it's simply the religious building where everyone is welcome, and there are many types of services performed. Christian, Catholic, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, Wiccan...and Satanic. That's where this type of thinking leads. Satan is invited and welcomed into God's house. It's no longer God's house, because darkness cannot be in the same place He is. If we invite it in, we essentially remove God willingly. That's not ok.
Holy ground needs to stay just that - holy. If we take God out of it to appease people who don't believe or follow Him, and just make it a neutral building, then it's no longer a Church.
Once we compromise our faith for others, and hide what makes us who we are, then others won't hesitate to trample us. Muslims believe the same way - ask a Muslim woman to remove her head scarf, and you'll hear the same arguments. Why should we be any less passionate about our religion? Why do we not fight for our faith with that much tenacity and ferocity? Why are we ok with casting our faith aside, in order to make others more comfortable in theirs, when they don't give us that courtesy, and we wouldn't ask it of them?
There does need to be segregation of religion, because they are all just too different. We all need to give and expect others to honor and respect our faith. They don't have to agree, convert or condone it, but they should respect it, just as they would want respect for their faith and beliefs.
They are welcome to visit, but just as any visitor to someone else's house, they are just that - visitors. Guests. They should respect that. It isn't their house, they aren't moving in, they aren't taking over. They are visiting.
I don't take down my Christian art or scriptures when someone of another faith visits my house; I don't put my Bible away; I don't hide my religion. If they aren't comfortable with my God, then they are welcome to leave. I do not remove my signs of faith, my God, or my pride in Him for anyone. He is more important, and the moment anyone else becomes more important than Him, and my relationship with Him, I am no longer a faithful woman to my God.
The Church should be no different, and if anything, even stronger in that mindset. I belong to God, and our Church belongs to God. It shouldn't be stripped of that to appease others, any more than His children should have to hide their pride for their faith.
We aren't asking Jews to remove their Star of David, or Muslim women to remove their head scarfs if they come into a Church; we shouldn't take down our crosses. It's just that simple. Mutual respect. Mutual love. We welcome them in love, but they need to come in love as well. And that means, no one needs to hide or remove their symbols of what they believe. Ever.
It breaks my heart, that a Bishop would ask for such a thing. Especially guilt tripping people, by citing the fact we proclaim Christ in our every day life, in every encounter. That's true. Does that mean that's enough, and we don't need a safe place to gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ? No.
People like her, are why the Church is failing. God is being removed from the Church, favoring people and the world instead. That is why the end times will come; that is why the world will end. God is slowly being removed from His own house, in order to accommodate those who see us as infidels, and would not hesitate to see us dead for our Faith. Ironically, proposed by a woman who would be executed for being a lesbian in some Islamic countries.
Just, wow. I need to pray. And cry.
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