Yesterday on Facebook I took the test that is given to new immigrants before they are granted American citizenship. I got 100%. But one of the questions got me thinking. It asked, "Why did the Pilgrims come to America?" The correct answer was, "For religious freedom." We all know this to be true. The Pilgrims were being persecuted for their Christian faith, and so they fled. We have all (hopefully) learned that our country was founded by people of God who desired to live according to the ways of the Bible. What I hadn't ever thought about before was this: The continent from which the Pilgrims fled was Europe! In other words, in the 1700s Christians were making a mass exodus FROM European countries such as England, France, and Germany TO the New World. Most believers left Europe--pushed out by humanism, rationalism, and post-modernism. No wonder France is so secular! Now I am not saying that the Pilgrims should have stuck it out. I believe that God allows persecution sometimes to get His people to move, and I am thankful for this country and the blessings we are still enjoying because of the faithfulness of our founding fathers. But I am seeing a cause and effect for why Europe--filled with catherdrals and birthplace of Christian giants like Martin Luther, John Wesley, and Blaise Pascal--is now a spiritual wasteland.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Citizenship Test
Yesterday on Facebook I took the test that is given to new immigrants before they are granted American citizenship. I got 100%. But one of the questions got me thinking. It asked, "Why did the Pilgrims come to America?" The correct answer was, "For religious freedom." We all know this to be true. The Pilgrims were being persecuted for their Christian faith, and so they fled. We have all (hopefully) learned that our country was founded by people of God who desired to live according to the ways of the Bible. What I hadn't ever thought about before was this: The continent from which the Pilgrims fled was Europe! In other words, in the 1700s Christians were making a mass exodus FROM European countries such as England, France, and Germany TO the New World. Most believers left Europe--pushed out by humanism, rationalism, and post-modernism. No wonder France is so secular! Now I am not saying that the Pilgrims should have stuck it out. I believe that God allows persecution sometimes to get His people to move, and I am thankful for this country and the blessings we are still enjoying because of the faithfulness of our founding fathers. But I am seeing a cause and effect for why Europe--filled with catherdrals and birthplace of Christian giants like Martin Luther, John Wesley, and Blaise Pascal--is now a spiritual wasteland.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment