Churchmarketingsucks.com (who came up with that domain?) reports how in the Netherlands they are trying to pitch Lent by comparing it to the Islamic month of Ramadan, because apparently young people there are more familiar Islam than with Christianity.
The big disappointment (and surprise) here is that Dutch youth are more familiar with Islam than with Christianity. I guess it wouldn't be surprising that they aren't familiar with Christianity as it is largely a secular country, at least last I checked. The question is where is this interest in Islam coming from them? Is there a large immigrant population that they rub elbows with? Or are they just interested? Maybe there is a small but effective Muslim contingent evangelizing them? Obviously what we have here is a gross failure to evangelize on the part of the Christians. The Netherlands has been under the sway of liberal Christianity for many years so this should not be surprising. Now we're reaping the fruits of it.
I knew that Europe was seeing an influx of Muslims but I didn't realize the extent of their effect on the society there. We're seeing an influx as well; will the results be similar? Will we become so politically correct and tolerant that we allow our culture and religion to be effaced from society and perhaps from most of the earth? I think that's what we're facing, what with falling birth rates and a militant Islam. Perhaps they'll compete the conquest of Europe they failed to accomplish in the Middle Ages. Just so you know what we are up against.
(From my friend Caleb from the Hail2Pitt blog who read this on ChurchMarketing sucks who read it on Cheaperstising which highlighted the Got Religion blog that covered this story in the Telegraph.)
