Europe’s Christian Comeback

[Said1]

Rediscovering their Christian roots? Mmmkay.

Europe’s Christian Comeback

By Philip Jenkins

Posted June 2007

Alarmist pundits prophesy that a secular Europe risks being overcome by its fast-growing Muslim population. Yet for all we hear about Islam, Europe remains a stronger Christian fortress than people realize.



The ruins of faith: European Christianity may be down, but it’s certainly not out.The West is awash with fear of the Islamization of Europe. The rise of Islam, many warn, could transform the continent into “Eurabia,” a term popularized by Harvard historian Niall Ferguson and other pundits. “A youthful Muslim society to the south and east of the Mediterranean is poised to colonize—the term is not too strong—a senescent Europe,” Ferguson has predicted. Such grim prophecies may sell books, but they ignore reality. For all we hear about Islam, Europe remains a stronger Christian fortress than people realize. What’s more, it is showing little sign of giving ground to Islam or any other faith for that matter.

To be fair, the trend is counterintuitive. Europe has long been a malarial swamp for any traditional or orthodox faith. Compared with the rest of the world, religious adherence in Europe is painfully weak. And it is easy to find evidence of the decay. Any traveler to the continent has seen Christianity’s abandoned and secularized churches, many now transformed into little more than museums. But this does not mean that European Christianity is nearing extinction. Rather, among the ruins of faith, European Christianity is adapting to a world in which its convinced adherents represent a small but vigorous minority.

rest here: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/c...?story_id=3881

 

[scratch]

Rediscovering their Christian roots? Mmmkay.



rest here: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/c...?story_id=3881

Mmmkay right back at you!

 

[Said1]

Mmmkay right back at you!

Are you one of them Christians?

 

[scratch]

Are you one of them Christians?

The one in the middle.

 

[Said1]

The one in the middle.

I get it. You're a troll.

 

[Vereya]

I never thought that I'd say so, but I'd rather Europe was Christian :lol:
The thing is, one of my very, very, very good friends is in the process of turning Muslim. He comes from a mixed family, he's father is Tatar, and his mother's Russian. And Tatars are traditionally mostly Muslims. So he had a kind of a Muslim-tradition upbringing, and he's been interested in this religion since the time he actually started to think of such things. And some time ago he visited a fundamental Islam country, and that was it... He came back abolutely changed. I've been shouting my head off in some threads on this forum about how significant religions are, but it's the first time in my life that I witness a religion seizing a person and changing him. It would've been fascinating to watch the process, had the person not been one of my dearest friends. There are times when he forgets about being Muslim, slips back, so to say, and he is once again the person I first got to know - he is very clever, very erudite, very interesting, he is fun to be with, he is kind and caring, and very considerate. But the moment he remembers all that goes out the window, and I see a fanatic, a brain-washed zombie. His views, his attitudes, his actions change completely. It's just like two people in one. And this really frightens me. And the Muslim religion begans to look very ominous...

 

[scratch]

I never thought that I'd say so, but I'd rather Europe was Christian :lol:
The thing is, one of my very, very, very good friends is in the process of turning Muslim. He comes from a mixed family, he's father is Tatar, and his mother's Russian. And Tatars are traditionally mostly Muslims. So he had a kind of a Muslim-tradition upbringing, and he's been interested in this religion since the time he actually started to think of such things. And some time ago he visited a fundamental Islam country, and that was it... He came back abolutely changed. I've been shouting my head off in some threads on this forum about how significant religions are, but it's the first time in my life that I witness a religion seizing a person and changing him. It would've been fascinating to watch the process, had the person not been one of my dearest friends. There are times when he forgets about being Muslim, slips back, so to say, and he is once again the person I first got to know - he is very clever, very erudite, very interesting, he is fun to be with, he is kind and caring, and very considerate. But the moment he remembers all that goes out the window, and I see a fanatic, a brain-washed zombie. His views, his attitudes, his actions change completely. It's just like two people in one. And this really frightens me. And the Muslim religion begans to look very ominous...

From what you have written...ominous indeed.
Are you or were you involved with this individual (not really for me to ask)?
But if you are or were this must be extremely frustrating for you.

Sincere Regards,
scratch

 

[Said1]

I never thought that I'd say so, but I'd rather Europe was Christian :lol:
The thing is, one of my very, very, very good friends is in the process of turning Muslim. He comes from a mixed family, he's father is Tatar, and his mother's Russian. And Tatars are traditionally mostly Muslims. So he had a kind of a Muslim-tradition upbringing, and he's been interested in this religion since the time he actually started to think of such things. And some time ago he visited a fundamental Islam country, and that was it... He came back abolutely changed. I've been shouting my head off in some threads on this forum about how significant religions are, but it's the first time in my life that I witness a religion seizing a person and changing him. It would've been fascinating to watch the process, had the person not been one of my dearest friends. There are times when he forgets about being Muslim, slips back, so to say, and he is once again the person I first got to know - he is very clever, very erudite, very interesting, he is fun to be with, he is kind and caring, and very considerate. But the moment he remembers all that goes out the window, and I see a fanatic, a brain-washed zombie. His views, his attitudes, his actions change completely. It's just like two people in one. And this really frightens me. And the Muslim religion begans to look very ominous...

If I was in your shoes, I would not have a problem with his conversion, but with his fanaticism. The same can be said for Christian converts.

 

[Vereya]

From what you have written...ominous indeed.
Are you or were you involved with this individual (not really for me to ask)?
But if you are or were this must be extremely frustrating for you.

Not romantically, if that's what you mean :smile: But we work together, I am tutoring his daughter in English right now, and we do have a nice friendship, it's something that makes work more enjoyable :smile:
But this change is frustrating, indeed.

 

[Vereya]

If I was in your shoes, I would not have a problem with his conversion, but with his fanaticism. The same can be said for Christian converts.

Actually, I did notice that all the "newly-converted" are a bit fanatical, no matter what the religion is. But this time that I see it actually happening, it's just too upsetting.

 

[Said1]

Actually, I did notice that all the "newly-converted" are a bit fanatical, no matter what the religion is. But this time that I see it actually happening, it's just too upsetting.

I know what you mean. I have a friend who is a recovering alcoholic - joined AA, found God and now won't shut up about leading a porper Christian life. I'm glad he stopped drinking but he can't talk about anything other than how bad he was in the past and how God saved him.

 

[scratch]

I know what you mean. I have a friend who is a recovering alcoholic - joined AA, found God and now won't shut up about leading a porper Christian life. I'm glad he stopped drinking but he can't talk about anything other than how bad he was in the past and how God saved him.

Sometimes you just cannot win.

 

[shadowshiv]

Not romantically, if that's what you mean :smile: But we work together, I am tutoring his daughter in English right now, and we do have a nice friendship, it's something that makes work more enjoyable :smile:
But this change is frustrating, indeed.

I am sorry to hear about your friend, Vereya. Hopefully as some time goes by he will be less "fanatical" about his new faith and become more like the friend you knew before.:-(