I wouldn't argue the numbers in the video at all. Without looking anything up, they sound about right. But the whole video troubles me. There's so much emphasis on keeping a culture, as if the West is God's culture. Christianity is not a culture. Yes, it should impact and influence culture, but the culture of the Old Testament was VERY different than the culture of Jesus day, which is even more different than today's Western culture. In fact, most Muslim cultures are closer to that of Jesus time than our American or European cultures.
The statistics in this video should not be threatening. They should be exciting! What does all of this really mean? We live in a segregated world with hostility towards those that are different than us. Even this video conveys hostility in some sense. It seems to say that Christianity needs to conquer Islam. The same is true on the other side of the fence. There are Islamic states that are hostile towards the West (mainly because they falsely associate Christianity with the West). Followers of Jesus cannot enter these countries without fear for their life. But look what God is doing. We don't have to go into those countries because the people from those parts of the world are coming to us. We have an AMAZING opportunity to share true hope, true love with people who otherwise may never have an opportunity to hear, simply because they are moving into Western Europe!
As Americans who follow Jesus, we MUST stop viewing the world through our cultural lenses and find the heart of God. There is no place on earth even remotely like the US. There is currently NO culture as rooted and close to Christian morality and rhetoric. In the video he compares population growth in Southern France, "traditionally one of the most populated church regions in the world" with the growth of Islam. But it isn't said that Christianity is NOT the majority faith in France and has not been for some time. That's not because other faiths are growing so rapidly, it's because Christianity is dying off. I have been told by people who would know that less than 2% of the French population are followers of Jesus. The predominant worldview in both France and Britain is secularism - NOT CHRISTIANITY!
A friend of mine said something profound yesterday, "Ignorance breeds hatred." The vast majority of Americans are ignorant about the rest of the world. I was walking down the street in London yesterday with some American university students who thought these men we passed were Muslim but in reality they are Sikh, a completely different faith (and nothing against these friends. It's simply a lack of exposure). American media lumps all Muslims into one category, but in reality, the Muslim faith hinges around the culture of the nation. In 1987 the Turkish, Muslim government issued a regulation forbidding female university students from covering their head in class. Somali's from the north of the country consider themselves African before they are Muslim. I have heard an Imam (Muslim priest) say that he believes Christians and Jews to be his brothers in faith more so than some other Muslim sects. I would venture to say that there are more divisions within Islam than there are Christian denominations, and they vary much more drastically.
The American church so often speaks out of ignorance rather than love, and it doesn't do any good for those of us trying to help people find their way to Jesus. Followers of Jesus MUST stop speaking from an American, conquering worldview and have broken hearts for the souls of men. "For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died" (2 Cor 5:14). Jesus said that I have to lose my life in order to gain it. That means that my own perspective on the world has to die.
Yesterday I stood in a Hindu temple while 100 people worshiped their idols, and I prayed for them, and I had a conversation with one man about Jesus. In a mosque with 50 boys studying the Koran, I sat next to a Muslim man and we talked about Jesus. Two weeks ago, a lady dared to step into a Sikh Gurdwara, out of her comfort zone, and found herself in conversation with a Sikh woman talking about Jesus. This woman put her faith in the one true God that day.
I would encourage followers of Jesus in the US to stop fighting against trends like those presented in this video and start loving people. Stop focusing on other religious groups and be in lives. Stop talking about things that we haven't experienced and share what we have experienced - God's amazing love! Go to a Hindu Temple, Sikh Gurdwara, Islamic Mosque and talk to people because "Christ's LOVE compels us", not because we are going to conquer these people. The vast majority of the American population would have to travel up to several hours to get to their nearest place of worship from one of these faiths, but isn't the story of God's love for people worth it?
If you can't tell, this hits one of my buttons. I could go on and on, but I'll stop for now. Maybe you can help to create change in your part of the world.
