Swiss rules...

Reaction to the referendum result in Switzerland yesterday, banning the building of minarets on mosques has predictably been mixed (see here for the story on the BBC). It all seems a bit unlikely in Switzerland of all places, but, then, I've never been there and wouldn't know. What is interesting is how quick some have been to condemn the Swiss decision who you don't hear saying anything very much about regimes which actively discriminate against and persecute Christians (or if they do say anything it's not reported). On the other hand I fear that there are some Christians in the UK who could be alarmingly envious of what has happened in Switzerland, who seem to live in almost perpetual fear of Islam, and regret that we as Christians aren't accorded more special treatment from the powers that be by virtue of the church's role in Britain's heritage. The question such good folk are asking it seems to me is, "What kind of country we want to live in?". And it's a fair question. But I'm not sure it should be the first question we should ask if we're serious about living as followers of Jesus. Maybe that should be something more like, "What kind of church do we want to be part of?". And the answer, for me at least, would include something about being part of a church that's sufficiently confident in the message of God becoming human with all the vulnerability of a baby - a baby, who grew up to die in a uniquely sacrificial way and ultimately defy death itself; sufficiently confident in this message and its intrinsic power that we don't need state support, aren't always after the government fighting our corner and aren't unduly threatened by any other belief system, however belligerent some of its adherents might be. In other words, we shouldn't be after anyone legislating against other beliefs or even in favour of Christian beliefs, as if that somehow proved something - either about us as believers or about the rest of the society in which we live.

One final thought: can you believe they actually had a referendum on this in Switzerland, when we didn't even get one on the EU constitution? Maybe not much else happens in Swiss politics or something...