The folks over at Liberty Unyielding have posted a story about Swedish Bishop Eva Brunne who has suggested removing crosses from church and replacing them with directions towards Mecca, in order to help Muslims know where to pray.

Brunne explains her controversial idea this way:

“Making a room available for people of other faiths does not mean that we are not defenders of our own faith. Priests are called to proclaim Christ. We do that every day and in every meeting with people. But that does not mean that we are stingy toward people of other faiths,”

Brunne was apparently inspired by the interfaith prayer room at Heathrow airport.

Read the entire story HERE

I have sense that there is much with which I would disagree with Bishop Brunne concerning the church and Christianity.  This suggestion seems the tip of a very large ice-berg of liberal reinterpretation of the Gospel. Then again, maybe my prejudice is speaking for me. It may be that Bishop Brunne is onto something.  So, I have a few questions for readers.

How important is the cross?  The Christian use of the cross as a symbol of the faith didn’t begin until the time of Constantine, 300 years after the death and resurrection of Christ.  Over the ensuing years, we have grown used to the cross as a symbol of the Christian church, but Christ never designated the cross as his sign.  Is it important for a church to have a cross?  There are several American churches that do not have crosses hanging and their membership does’t seem to mind. The cross doesn’t speak for the church, the members speak for the church, so how important is this symbol?

In addition to being a place of worship, the church is a place in which to teach and not just to teach Christians, but to teach all who want to know the love of Christ.  But the Church has also been charged with making more and better disciples of Christ.  So, perhaps Bishop Brunne has conceived of a church that not only provides a non threatening place in which Muslims can worship, and while they are there, they can learn about Jesus and the church can actively work to make them into disciples of Christ.

It’s very easy to simply dismiss this idea as more muddled Leftist thinking. But what if it is actually thinking that is controversial only because it is outside the box? Perhaps it is thinking that is exactly in line with the charge Christ left us before he ascended into heaven, to love our neighbors, preach the Gospel, and make disciples of all nations.