On holy ground, a hollow sound

This article by the a traditional media source, the Chicago Tribune, has some very thought provoking quotes. Here are my top quotes:

• “But the churches are mostly empty, and the only wonder to most Czechs is why anyone at all bothers to go.”
• “According to a European Union survey published last year, only 19 percent of Czechs said they believed in God; most of the rest proclaim themselves atheists.”
• In referring to churches: “I love to visit them,” he said. “But I see them as historical objects, not as religious places.”
• Mark Lilla, a professor of social thought at the University of Chicago, has described present-day Europe as “the closest thing to a godless civilization the world has ever known.”
• “When we bring up the subject [of faith], it’s like asking if you believe in UFOs. That’s what we’re up against here,” Gregory said. “In the States, you can assume most kids know why Christmas is celebrated. In the Czech Republic kids think baby Jesus is like Cinderella or Shrek. … They think it’s all a fairy tale.” [Lori Gregory was a Christian missionary with Young Life in the Czech Republic]
• Church missed a chance [referring to the time immediately after the fall of communism]
• Dusan Trestik, a historian at the Center for Medieval Studies in Prague, agreed.

  “I think you have to say the church failed in the needs of modernization,” he said. “The church was offering traditional Christianity for grannies.”

• “They are looking for something, for guidance, and in the pure sense, it’s religious,” [referring to Czechs who say they are aethists]
• “I go to church infrequently. It’s boring. It gives me nothing,”
• “Yes, it’s a failure of the churches. But this is something that is characteristic for the whole of Europe,”

This is why Europe is the mission field we are called to. Pray that our final 30% of monthly support will come in so that we can make the move to make a difference in the lives of Europeans. Thank you.