The offence of the cross: Why extremists attack churches at Easter
from Barnabas Fund:
On Palm Sunday jihadists attacked Churches in the Egyptian cities of Alexandria and Tanta killing at least 49 and injuring many others. In India Christians were targeted by Hindu extremists in at least five separate locations on the same day.
These incidents all illustrate a sad fact that Barnabas Fund has seen far too many times over the years. Christian festivals such as Christmas and Easter are times when Christians are particularly vulnerable to attack. In the past, this has been in countries dominated by another religion such as Islam or Hinduism where Christians are a minority. However, as we saw with the planned attack on Melbourne Cathedral last Christmas, jihadists are now extending their attacks to threaten churches in the West too, and church leaders need to be aware of this threat over the Easter period and take sensible precautions.
Christmas is when we celebrate the incarnation, how God himself visited the earth, not merely as a local manifestation of His presence as He did at the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-6) or when He came down on Sinai (Exodus 19:11-24), but by adding human nature to Himself and becoming man (John 1:1-14). Easter is when we celebrate His atoning death on the cross that paid for the price for our sin and enabled us to be reconciled to God. Both of these – Christ’s divinity and His atoning death on the cross – are explicitly denied in the Quran.
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