PARIS – Millions of people around the globe stared in disbelief as they watched the Cathedral of Notre Dame ravaged by a massive fire. I couldn’t help but think about the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Although initial reports lean toward the fire having been accidental,  it is interesting to note that criminal investigators from the Paris Prosecutor’s Office are interviewing dozens of workers and witnesses.

CNN reported that officials “have not ruled out other scenarios at this stage.” More than 50 investigators are working on the case.

Missions Box does not in any way purport that we know or suspect what the cause of the fire may have been. However, there is a disturbing and largely unreported trend of increasing hostilities against Christians and places of worship across Europe.

France is the leading “hot spot” for the desecration of worship venues. A report by the Middle East Forum revealed that, on average, two churches are desecrated in France every day.

PI News reported that 878 attacks against churches were registered in 2017. That number rose to 1,063 in 2018, a 17% increase. PI described the situation as “a creeping war against everything that symbolizes Christianity.”

Yet,

“Hardly anyone writes and speaks about increasing attacks on Christian symbols. There is an eloquent silence in both France and Germany about the scandal of the desecrations and the origin of the perpetrators.”

Underscoring the severity of the trend, in January 2017, Breitbart noted that The Observatoire de la Christianophobie had recorded a 38% increase in “Christianophobic” crimes over the previous year.

The attacks include destroying crosses and other symbols of Christianity, anti-Christian graffiti on walls, defecating on altars, painting Allah Akbar on church doors, and, interestingly, setting churches on fire.

Christianity is under increasing attack in Europe. Interestingly, some say that the increase parallels the increase of immigrants from Africa and the Middle East.

The Bible tells us that we are engaged in spiritual warfare, not in a battle with flesh and blood. Yet, history indicates that the spiritual battle against believers often manifests itself in the physical realm. We are witnessing that manifestation in France and the rest of Europe.

Food for thought – In September 2016, CBN News ran a story under this headline: ‘Race Against the Clock.’ Radical Islamists Caught in Notre Dame Bomb Plot.” Police had discovered a car loaded with gas canisters parked near the famed cathedral. Three women were eventually arrested in a violent struggle that sent one police officer to the hospital. A total of seven suspects with ties to radical Islam were eventually arrested in the plot.

To read more news on Christian Persecution on Missions Box, go here.