In July, a French priest was murdered by members of ISIS, during a morning service. In the aftermath, plenty of people expressed their opinions about ISIS, Islam and the West. While some commentary was interesting, predictably, most of it was politically correct nonsense designed to shelter Islam from any criticism. For example, Pope Francis acted the fool once again, saying “The world is at war” but clarifying that while “Some might think it is war of religion. It is not. All religions want peace. Others want war.” Apparently, he wasn’t feeling the least bit guilty that his promotion of open borders likely played a role in the death of one of his employees.
Regardless, there’s one angle that nobody has explored about Islamic terrorism and the West: it’s unintentionally making Christianity relevant again in places where it has long been ignored or despised. How’s that for backfiring? Make no mistake, for some reason ISIS views the West as Christian. After Britain voted to leave the European Union, the Islamic terror group cheered that the event “threatens the unity of Crusader Europe.” The murderers of the French priest, according to ISIS, “executed the operation in response to calls to target countries belonging to the crusader coalition.”
Now, obviously, Europe isn’t Christian in any meaningful way. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán summarized this well when he asked “Is it not worrying in itself that European Christianity is now barely able to keep Europe Christian?” Perhaps more troubling is that instead of Charles Martel, Christendom today has the likes of Pope Francis. What an embarrassment.
Still, ISIS considers Europe to be Christian, and it’s already making some Europeans question their secular identity. Even CNN noted after the attack in France that “Although attendance numbers are down, Catholicism is still deeply entwined in the national fabric of France, and the attack has already led to outrage across the country.” Don’t be surprised if Islamic terrorists drive the rest of Europe to embrace traditionalism and vote in far-right, anti-Islam political parties that will aggressively deal with the Islam problem. ISIS wants to party like it’s the Middle Ages, pitting the ‘caliphate’ against the ‘crusaders.’ They just might get their wish.
Sadly, any revival of interest in traditional European values and its wonderful Christian heritage will be largely cultural. The recent reemergence of the Orthodox Church in Russia and the Roman Catholic Church in Poland are clear examples of what this looks like in action. Of course, this simply won’t do, because following Jesus is much more than a cultural matter. Christ commanded “If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). Jesus died for us so we could live for Him (2 Corinthians 5:15). There’s no fence-sitting and there’s nothing more important than Him. You’re either all about His business, or you’re against Him (Matthew 12:30). He is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). Follow Him.