Those of you who read Alive magazine might have read the section under news (page 32) and I quote:

“Europe is a spiritually distressed area where people have cut themselves off from their Christian roots to indulge in materialism and individualism, according to Dettlef Blocher, director of the German Missionary Fellowship. Bible believing Christians account for 3.2% of the population in Germany with lower percentages in Spain (0.8) France (0.6) Austria (0.5) and Belgium (0.3). Only strict Islamic Natians and some asian nations have fewer Christians. The percentage of Christians is higher, however, in classical mission fields like Kenya (34%), Chile (27%), Uganda (25%), Guatemala (23%), Papua New Guinea (22%), and Brazil (18%). The conclusion says Mr Bloecher is that Europe needs African evangelists, Korean bible teachers, and American church planters.

I must say, speaking as one who visits Europe several times a year, and as one who regularly watches European movies on World Movies (Foxtel), I have found that Europe is a depressingly pagan place. A region of chain smoking selfish hedonists that make me despair for the future of the human race. Try the Paris Metro at 6AM on a Sunday morning, or the Munich central railway any day of the week, or downtown Bruxelles on a Sunday. It is always a great relief to visit America (north, central, or south), Asia, or Africa, where selfishness is well and truly eclipsed by spiritual maturity and concern for others. I must point out that I have a large number of good Christian friends in Europe, especially the UK and even a few in Germany. Remember, given that the EU nations comprise 450 million people, 2% is still a lot of people, about 9 million to be precise, but that is less than the number of Christians in tiny Australia.

I read a recent article that showed that about 2 billion people in the world today are Christians, mostly in Africa Asia and America. What has gone wrong in Europe? What can we do to help them?

A netfriend, 12/2002