Ken Ham | December 13, 2015
(Answers in Genesis) — Religious liberties aren’t just being stripped away here in America—it’s happening all around the world in nations that once held firmly to religious liberty. The latest attack on religious freedom comes out of Norway. According to a story being reported in reputable news sources, a Norwegian Christian family, the Bodnarius, had their five young children seized by Norway’s child services on charges including “Christian radicalization and indoctrination.” Child services took the two oldest from school without any parental notice and then later arrested both parents and seized the remaining three children. The parents are being accused of being “radical Christians who were indoctrinating their children.” (A friend of the ministry who is of Norwegian descent, who lives in America and travels to Norway frequently, informs us that this was not the first such case involving a Christian family in Norway.)
It seems these parents have had their five children seized simply because they are teaching them Christian values. As we see the increasing secularization of our Western world, we can only expect incidents like this to be on the rise. Our Western culture as a whole has turned away from biblical values and now punishes those who choose to pattern their lives and beliefs according to Scripture. This is happening more and more in America and around the world.
As Christians we need to be bold in proclaiming the gospel and standing firmly on God’s Word. We need to be salt and light to this dying world as we give them the only message that will change hearts and lives for now and eternity—the gospel of Jesus Christ. There’s a spiritual battle raging right now (Ephesians 6:12) and we need to fight this battle with the proclamation of God’s Word and the gospel!