More on Crucifixes

I have been following yesterday's story of the girl and the crucifix with some interest over the last 24 hours. I has been an eye opener. It made its way from the local press to the national press, TV, radio (go to 1hour 40mins in to get the discussion) and from their across the pond to news sites. Of course from there it has found it's way on to american blogs. You can find an ever growing list of them here.

It's pretty amazing. The writers range from "concerned culture watchers" to proud white supremacist racists. On another front, Susan tells me that the school has been getting hate mail from these and other sites.

Of course this is a story which has taken on a life of its own. The facts of the matter have largely become irrelevant. Instead readers and "commentators" simply reveal their own agendas for debate.

Easily the most worrying thing has been the tendency of commentators to claim Christianity as their own in their battle against other ethnic groups and cultures. There is shocking racism. More importantly, they display a complete ignorance of Christ, of what Christianity is, and what the weapons of warfare are. In one discussion I got into, it was said

Christendom has been under attack for decades and since people have lost their faith due to this relentless attack, the west is buckling.

But of course, people don't lose their faith because of 'relentless attack'. People lose faith because they love the world and lusts of the flesh too much. (One thing I have noticed on some of these sites that claim to be defending Christianity is the number of links to pornographic girly websites!) In contrast, trials prove faith. And so, the quote goes, "the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church".

The real power of Christianity is not found in defending pointless meaningless, symbols. In making stands on this the enemy simply laughs, gives Christians a kicking, and then marches on. The stand is made by faith in Christ, proclamation of his word, faithful obedience to him while living lightly to the world.

I don't care about culture and ethnicity because the Bible tells us there are only two kinds of people in the world: those in the church, the kingdom of God, and those in the world. The latter is doomed to judgement. If there is a reason that "Christian culture" (and frankly I don't care for that term - it is an abuse) is buckling it is because it is rooted in the world. I want no part of it.