Divine Humor?

According to the UK's left-leaning Guardian, churches in Europe are experiencing growth from an unlikely quarter, converts from Islam.

A growing number of Muslim refugees in Europe are converting to Christianity, according to churches, which have conducted mass baptisms in some places.

Reliable data on conversions is not available but anecdotal evidence suggests a pattern of rising church attendance by Muslims who have fled conflict, repression and economic hardship in countries across the Middle East and central Asia.

Complex factors behind the trend include heartfelt faith in a new religion, gratitude to Christian groups offering support during perilous and frightening journeys, and an expectation that conversion may aid asylum applications.

At Trinity church in the Berlin suburb of Steglitz, the congregation has grown from 150 two years ago to almost 700, swollen by Muslim converts, according to Pastor Gottfried Martens. Earlier this year, churches in Berlin and Hamburg reportedly held mass conversions for asylum seekers at municipal swimming pools.

Well, you can't blame them, especially the women, and I'd imagine Christianity would be liberating after Mohammedanism. But perhaps there's an element of divine irony at work here, with the very people you'd most expect to destroy and supplant the Church riding, against all the odds, to its rescue.

No one, either on the right or the left of the Christianity v. Islam debate, has predicted this or would even dare to; it seems too implausible and upside down. But so does the Gospel, in  which death is overcome by death and the last are first.

Let's Have This Back

There would be a kind of divine justice, perhaps humor, in Christianity's perennial enemy, Islam, turning out in the end to be its lifeline, at least in the enfeebled churches of the West.

I hope this encouraging trend continues and let the reader understand, Muslim converts are known for the fervency of their faith. I'll resist the temptation to comment of the Church of England's Bench of Bishops.

God bless,

LSP

Jesus Isn't Your Imaginary Friend

Here's a helpful message for Advent. Maybe you think Jesus is some kind of imaginary buddy, in your mind. Well He's not.

At some point in our history, we began to attribute a merely mental reality to anything that was not an object and reduced the importance of objects to what they could contribute to our mental reality. We live in a sea of psychology. Things, we believe, are only what we think they are. My “relationship” with you means nothing more than the set of inner experiences and dispositions I have towards you. In many ways, a very good version of “virtual reality” is just as good as “reality” itself.

You can read the whole thing here. And while we're at it, let's have Hagia Sophia back.

Maybe you think I'm kidding about that last bit.

LSP