Save our faith

AS I watched a TV news item on the Iraq army fighting for Mosul, a section on the freeing of a village from ISIS fighters showed villagers, a Christian community, returning.

As they entered their church, their faces beamed when they realised the building, although desecrated, was still intact.

ISIS had used it for protection, knowing the allies who were providing air cover wouldn’t deliberately target a church.

As their spokesman said they would clear the church and resume Christian worship as soon as they could, people were already entering the church carrying wooden crosses.

Meanwhile, we’re told some of our rural and poorly attended urban churches will have to close except for Christmas and Easter worship.

we all know that once a church closes like this, it will never reopen because the worshippers, though small in number, will move to other churches.

Contrast that with what happened in Iraq, and you will see that for many the Christian faith is no longer important in their lives.

The Synod wanted a church fit for the 20th and 21st centuries — and now they have it, shoehorning our lives as Christians into the secular world they often so complain about.

Christianity is being phased out in this country, and due to poor leadership, beliefs are not only being watered down, but diminished.

It is time we examined why this has happened because if Christianity is not saved, countries become ungovernable. with humanism and atheism growing, secularism is taking over, and it won’t be long before paganism returns and we are back where we started. JoHn W. HUtCHInSon, Whickham, tyne and Wear.