You may never attend a christian church service, and it should be totally your free choice as to whether you do or not. It would be nice to know, however, that if you did want to go to one, then you could actually do so. In Australia we have great freedom of worship. I can attend any church, mosque, synagogue or temple I choose without fear of being shot, blown up, burned alive or marked for arrest by the officials. In Kaduna, Nigeria, this week, Catholics were shot as they worshipped. In China Christians gather knowing that they risk arrest and imprisonment. In countries like Sudan and some provinces in Indonesia your church may be bombed and burned while you are in it. In Iraq all Christians are reported to have abandoned the city they have called home for thousands of years, Mosul, because the newly established Islamic State there decreed they must convert or die. Many were relieved of what possessions they could carry as they fled. In western democracies we have a principle called the separation of church and state, properly meaning that the state should not force its people to comply with any specific religion, but should actively ensure the freedom of its citizens to worship as they please, or not at all if they please. Religious freedom does not just mean that I am free to go to my church, but also that you are free from fanatics who want to convert you at gunpoint. Its worth defending.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 00:51:31 +0000
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