As you may know, in Islamic countries such as Afghanistan, converting from Islam to Christianity is a crime punishable by death. While they don\u2019t go that far, certain Indian states and Nepal erect formidable hurdles for would-be converts to Christianity.<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
In 2007, a 16-year-old girl was placed into foster care after being assaulted by a family member. Her foster mother had taken care of 80 foster kids over 10 years. She rented a farmhouse and was, by all accounts, completely committed to the well-being of the children placed under her care.<\/p>\n
She is also a practicing Anglican Christian. This hadn\u2019t been a problem. No one had ever accused her of taking advantage of her relationship to the girls for proselytizing.<\/p>\n
The same is true of the 16-year-old in question. Still, the girl became interested in Christianity on her own; said that she wanted to attend church; and expressed a desire to be baptized. For the girl, baptism was a \u201cwashing away of the horrible things she had been through and a symbol of a new start.\u201d<\/p>\n
Well, that\u2019s when the fur flew. You see, the girl was born a Muslim, and her baptism is regarded by Muslims as apostasy. If you\u2019re thinking \u201cso what? It\u2019s not Afghanistan,\u201d think again. But this is Britain, where a Christian nurse was recently suspended for offering to pray for her patients.<\/p>\n
Thus, when the girl\u2019s case manager learned about her baptism, she \u201cflew into a rage.\u201d Even though the foster mother hadn\u2019t encouraged the girl\u2019s interest in Christianity, she was removed from the list of foster care providers. A child who was in her custody was removed and she \u201clost the farmhouse she rented to look after vulnerable teenagers, due to the loss of income.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even more outrageously, government officials told the girl to stay way from church for six months!<\/p>\n
To their credit, neither the foster mother nor the girl passively accepted the rulings. The foster mother has, with the assistance of Britain\u2019s Christian Institute, challenged her removal, and the girl is supporting her efforts.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for the Institute called the right to \u201cto change or modify [one\u2019s] religious beliefs\u201d a \u201ccore human right in any free society.\u201d He added that he couldn\u2019t imagine an atheist foster parent being removed if \u201ca Christian child in her care stopped believing in God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond the double standard, there\u2019s a tragic irony at work here. As journalist Peter Glover wrote in First Things, Britain\u2019s \u201cgrowing crime rate and out-of-control teenage pregnancies\u201d has created \u201cnational anxiety\u201d among Brits.<\/p>\n
At the same time, as these cases illustrate, government and media elites have instituted a \u201cdetermined program to abolish the influence of Christianity.\u201d Brits shouldn\u2019t be \u201castonished that a culture that set out to devalue its values should find itself awash in crime, sex, and social discord.\u201d<\/p>\n
And a country where government officials forbid a girl from going to church has clearly forgotten what makes social accord possible in the first place.<\/p>\n
________<\/p>\n
Copyright (c) 2009 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. “BreakPoint with Chuck Colson” is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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