Posted on 04/03/2011 3:15:42 PM PDT by WesternCulture
The Church of Sweden has advised pastors to avoid christening asylum seekers that have converted to Christianity due to the risk of reprisals in the case of repatriation, reported news agency TT.
One of the reasons for the recommendation is because it can cause danger and increase risks if a person who has converted to Christianity is later sent back to their home country.
Another reason is that the motive for the christening can be questioned by some who suggest that asylum seekers convert to Christianity to increase their chances of staying in Sweden.
The issue is being addressed in a bishops letter titled, ”The Church's handling of meetings with people from other religious traditions.”
“There are both pastoral and ethical reasons for the advice,” Helene Egnell of the Center for Religious Dialogue, told newspaper Kyrkans Tidning.
“Asylum seekers are in a vulnerable and exposed situation. A christening doesn't have any affect on the asylum seeking process and brings instead a big risk for persecution if someone is sent home.”
“A christening doesn't have any affect on the asylum seeking process (..)”.
As long as they understand this, why not?
Another question is this: what should we Christians in the West do in order to support Christianity in predominantly Muslim countries?
For how long should we accept Saudi Arabia's ban on Christianity on their soil while, simultaneously, aiding them in promoting Islam on our own?
“For how long should we accept Saudi Arabia’s ban on Christianity on their soil while, simultaneously, aiding them in promoting Islam on our own? “
No mosques should be built here until we can build (or repair) churches in moslem lands.
“No mosques should be built here until we can build (or repair) churches in moslem lands.”
- Couldn’t agree more.
Another victory for the terrorists.
An easy solution is to just not keep records that could endanger the convert. The convert would only be in danger if somebody tells authorities in his country of origin. Somebody comes in, he's baptized, he leaves, he should not need to show ID or leave his full name.
“For how long should we accept Saudi Arabia’s ban on Christianity on their soil while, simultaneously, aiding them in promoting Islam on our own?”
Very good question.
If it’s a genuine conversion, and they know that it doesn’t aid their ‘asylum’ request, I can’t see a valid reason for ministers not to christen them. Granted, we in the West have functionally abandoned the Christians of Iraq and Egypt in preference of a (supposed) multicultural deference to Mohammadans, and many so-called Christians even on this site would seem to favor Israeli Jewish interests over Palestinian and Lebanese Christian ones, if they are even acknowledged, should they ever be in conflict. But if we’re going to be fair-minded, we can’t just do it when it’s convenient or easy, or not do something we think is right just because someone somewhere isn’t going to like it or threatens to do harm.
Only if we claim no one else but us has agency can we absolve others of responsibility for the things they do. And those who do absolve all others outside the West of responsibility for their actions, and who particularly absolve all those beyond heterosexual men of European descent and Christian heritage, claiming that the bad things they do are only due to the things we do - how can they defend this position in light of its conformity with what they would deride as racist thinking? And is then the counterpart to that line of thought also something they claim - that the good things other peoples do are due to the things we do?
We have to stand up and speak the truth in love to Muslims. Christ is not merely a prophet, but the Son of God. Christ is the only way by which humans can be saved. We should not start a religious war with Muslims, but we must be ready to defend ourselves and the innocent from Muslim attacks. That includes Christian minorities and converts to Christianity from Islam.
We stand firm, say “No”, and if someone comes after us with a knife, we meet them with Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson.
We must try to understand that the Church of Sweden is a “state church”; therefore Church records are considered public documents and legal records.
A refugee might request to be Baptized not so much out of profession of faith in Jesus Christ but as method of proving himself to be a bonafide Swede. And that record would be open for those in his homeland to access, should he be deported.
It is not as though Christian Baptism leaves an indelible visible mark like circumcision.
Genuine Christian converts from Islam know that they could likely receive the “baptism of blood” (martyrdom)—and that does not stop them.
Ping.
“If it’s a genuine conversion, and they know that it doesn’t aid their ‘asylum’ request, I can’t see a valid reason for ministers not to christen them.”
- Totally agree. We shouldn't hesitate to spread Christianity.
The World needs more of it.
Thanks for contributing and the usual hearty greetings from Gothenburg!
Thanks, and likewise. Tack, det samma. Hur är vår i Göteborg - är det där ännu? Does it feel like Spring there yet?
It’s bizarre listening to Mohammadans, when speaking to a group of Christians genuinely interested in dialogue, talk about how much they revere Jesus, Issa to them, but not mention how in many places death will be applied to one of their own who becomes a Christian, even with what seems to be spurious interpretation of the part of the Koran where it’s mentioned that apostasy is as death - that if having once learned the truth someone turns away from it, it’s like dying. To be fair, that’s in Christian belief and most other faiths as well. Even Buddhists, maybe the favorite religion of multicultural advocates, find or invent justification to kill using similarly twisted logic, selective interpretation, and misinterpretation.
- In fact, it is no longer, but after hundreds of years of aiding the national project of expanding/defending the domain of the Nordic (read Swedish) cultural sphere, it still is subject to intrinsic Scandinavian interests on the regional as well as the global scene.
The bottom line of any message coming from the Church of Sweden will probably, forever, resemble the PC voices of our Riksdag (parliament) and major political organizations.
For better or for worse.
Today, Sweden is a well ordered and utmost productive society. Just like we've always been - except the high tax fiasco model of the 1970s-1990s.
In WWII, Finnish soldiers equipped by what Swedish industrial plants churned out week after week defeated Stalin. Today, the Nordic Countries are free and prosperous and Russia is in chaos.
No change there.
Agreed. And given how ridiculously unbiblical the Church of Sweden is (like all State churches), it's hard to see a Christian refugee going to them (except out of naivity) to be baptized anyway. There are a number of Christian church bodies in Sweden, hopefully the refugees can be reached by them.
The Saudis have major investments in joint ventures/deals with all 6 TV networks in the USA which own most of the channels.
TV is used to control the masses and to tell Americans 24x7 how great the muslim from Kenya is including Fox Al Waleed.
“The Saudis have major investments in joint ventures/deals with all 6 TV networks in the USA which own most of the channels.”
- Highly informative.
An even easier solution is for Sweden to not allow in any asylum seekers.
Sweden for the Swedish - it doesn't get any easier than that.
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