American Pastor visits the Nordic countries

[Kalevalatar]

I apologize for the snarky remark, Oafman. But I do think Sweden is on the way to dhimmitude.

Now that is nothing but racist nonsense.

The fact is that our indigenous Muslim community has been with us for centuries and is wholly integrated into our Nordic welfare society and in a privileged position to help new immigrants to acculturate.

And the new immigrants, on their part, are exactly the kind of population resource we need and are looking for, namely competent and well educated. In fact, our immigrants are actually better educated than the Finns in general, and that's quite something considering that Finland is one of the best educated nations. While "only" 70% of native Finns have upper secondary education, a whopping 90% of our immigrants have that. They also beat native Finns in academic degrees. They are lawyers, doctors, engineers, academics who flee the oppression of their native countries and seek to Finland precisely because they prefer our free and democratic and just society and want to be a constructive part of it.

 

[ranunculus]

Now that is nothing but racist nonsense.

The fact is that our indigenous Muslim community has been with us for centuries and is wholly integrated into our Nordic welfare society and in a privileged position to help new immigrants to acculturate.

And the new immigrants, on their part, are exactly the kind of population resource we need and are looking for, namely competent and well educated. In fact, our immigrants are actually better educated than the Finns in general, and that's quite something considering that Finland is one of the best educated nations. While "only" 70% of native Finns have upper secondary education, a whopping 90% of our immigrants have that. They also beat native Finns in academic degrees. They are lawyers, doctors, engineers, academics who flee the oppression of their native countries and seek to Finland precisely because they prefer our free and democratic and just society and want to be a constructive part of it.

I looked up 'muslim no go zones sweden' in google. I couldn't find a single hit that wasn't a either a right wing site or a conspiracy site. Or, you know, stormfront. The police report this story is purportedly based on talks about crime areas and doesn't mention the word muslim or islam at all.

I could be completely wrong as I don't live in Sweden or speak Swedish. Here's the report. (pdf)
http://tinyurl.com/o8c7fcc

But I'm highly hesitant to believe the stories you can only find on Worldnetdaily, dailycaller, abovetopsecret or moonbattery.

 

[Kalevalatar]

I looked up 'muslim no go zones sweden' in google. I couldn't find a single hit that wasn't a either a right wing site or a conspiracy site. Or, you know, stormfront. The police report this story is purportedly based on talks about crime areas and doesn't mention the word muslim or islam at all.

I could be completely wrong as I don't live in Sweden or speak Swedish. Here's the report. (pdf)
http://tinyurl.com/o8c7fcc

But I'm highly hesitant to believe the stories you can only find on Worldnetdaily, dailycaller, abovetopsecret or moonbattery.

Well, you know, Muslimhass is the new Judenhass for the undereducated, underprivileged loafers looking for a scapegoat for their own inability to make something of themselves. Europe has had enough of that racist nonsense and does not need more.

The vast majority of European Muslim immigrants embrace our liberal democratic European values and are perfectly capable of reconciling their faith with our common values. Just as I am. I'm a Lutheran Christian believer and politically a Christian Democrat, and my faith, my politics, and the Nordic social democratic welfare state are perfectly compatible. Muslim believers, people of faith, are on the same side with us Christian believers like me against Mammon and the secularisation and commercialisation of our society where market value threatens to overpower human value.

 

[nightflight]

not even worth it.

 

[AceHero]

I'm just assuming there aren't a lot of Christian churches in Scandinavia. I could certainly be wrong though.

Yes, you would be wrong. There's a church in every valley and in every hill, both literally and figuratively. Lutheranism and the Nordic social democratic welfare state go hand in hand. Christian religion is everywhere, just that it is not of the "standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others" variety. The "American Pastor" Mclain, to his credit, sees this when he concludes that "God is here."

Yeah, I quickly realized I misspoke. Christianity isn't ingrained into every piece of society like it is in America. It would be something I'd have to adjust to, but it's also the kind of society I'd like to live in. I like the idea of faith being much more of a personal experience than something you shout to passersby on the street corner.

Perhaps I had a biased experience, since when I was visiting Britain every other place I visited was an old cathedral, but in Scandinavia I opted to hang around Viking sites.

 

[Supreme]

Well, you know, Muslimhass is the new Judenhass for the undereducated, underprivileged loafers looking for a scapegoat for their own inability to make something of themselves. Europe has had enough of that racist nonsense and does not need more.

The vast majority of European Muslim immigrants embrace our liberal democratic European values and are perfectly capable of reconciling their faith with our common values. Just as I am. I'm a Lutheran Christian believer and politically a Christian Democrat, and my faith, my politics, and the Nordic social democratic welfare state are perfectly compatible. Muslim believers, people of faith, are on the same side with us Christian believers like me against Mammon and the secularisation and commercialisation of our society where market value threatens to overpower human value.

Indeed, and one has to wonder if the rise of aggressive secularism and more militant atheism isn't at least partly to blame for Islamophobia in Europe.

 

[Nithavela]

Indeed, and one has to wonder if the rise of aggressive secularism and more militant atheism isn't at least partly to blame for Islamophobia in Europe.

One would be wrong in that. People have hated other people with a different culture for as long as history has been written, propably far longer.

 

[SoldierOfTheKing]

Nighflight is inferring that Muslim immigrants to Scandinavia, the vast majority of whom come to escape the oppressive societies of their birth, are in fact some sort of concerted sleeper cell strategy to take control and form the much prophesied Nordic Khalifa.

Societies are created by the people who live in them. Ergo, immigrants, if they are allowed to, will recreate the very societies they left behind. Islam creates oppressive societies.

I looked up 'muslim no go zones sweden' in google. I couldn't find a single hit that wasn't a either a right wing site or a conspiracy site. Or, you know, stormfront. The police report this story is purportedly based on talks about crime areas and doesn't mention the word muslim or islam at all.

The mainstream Western press is very reluctant to talk about immigrant crime, particularly as mindlessly egalitarian a country as Sweden. Why do suppose the immigrant sex grooming ring in Rotherham was covered up as long as it was?

Well, you know, Muslimhass is the new Judenhass for the undereducated, underprivileged loafers looking for a scapegoat for their own inability to make something of themselves. Europe has had enough of that racist nonsense and does not need more.

Are you really going to tell me that the reason Sweden has the highest rape rate in Europe has anything to do with behavior of Swedes? Muslims are quite capable of bringing hatred on themselves by their own conduct. The nonsense that Europe doesn't need more of is Islam itself.

Indeed, and one has to wonder if the rise of aggressive secularism and more militant atheism isn't at least partly to blame for Islamophobia in Europe.

Doesn't make a whole lot of difference, at least not in the short run. Christianity > Secularism > Islam.

 

[EvangelCatholic]

Yes, the St Thomas Mass is well-attended

 

[EvangelCatholic]

Originally Posted by Kalevalatar
"Another episode of The Norden featured a US prison CEO getting a crash course to Nordic correctional system and it really highlighted the absolute Atlantic-wide gap in our deepest societal values. The US-Americans really are a breed apart from the Lutheran Nordic social democratic welfare states".

An interesting anecdote is that north American Lutheranism promotes Nordic values; our synods/diocese strongly oppose self-serving "republican" capitalism and urge government to provide full medical care/ social supports. These synods [ELCA\ ELCC] are in full communion with the LWF and Episcopal/ Church of England.

 

[stellalunaCW]

I watched the religion episode and the prison episode. Obviously I didn't understand everything, but both were still fascinating.

 

[FreedByte]

Obviously I didn't understand everything

Which parts didn't you understand?

 

[stellalunaCW]

Which parts didn't you understand?

The parts that weren't in English.

 

[FreedByte]

The parts that weren't in English.

Oh right

 

[stellalunaCW]

 

[Kalevalatar]

Are you really going to tell me that the reason Sweden has the highest rape rate in Europe has anything to do with behavior of Swedes? Muslims are quite capable of bringing hatred on themselves by their own conduct. The nonsense that Europe doesn't need more of is Islam itself.

I'm going tell you what the hate-worshipping neo-nazis, conveniently, always leave out of their copy-paste internet memes. The reason Sweden seems to have the highest rape rate has everything to do with the Swedes, namely the fact that Sweden, unlike other countries, counts every act of rape seperately while other countries count one victim = one rape crime, regardles how many times the victim was raped.

So when an abusive Swedish husband keeps raping his wife on weekly bases for five years, that makes 52 x 5 = 260 rape crimes in the Swedish statistic, not one rape crime as counted by other countries. And when a Swedish hockey team gang rapes a girl, that makes x number of players = number of rape crimes, instead of one victim, one rape crime, as counted in other countries.

See, this is what happens when you buy the neo-nazi Muslimhass propaganda hook line and sinker. That neo-nazi loser crowd cannot even spell the word "fact". Undereducated, as I said, and have only themselves to blame.

An interesting anecdote is that north American Lutheranism promotes Nordic values; our synods/diocese strongly oppose self-serving "republican" capitalism and urge government to provide full medical care/ social supports. These synods [ELCA\ ELCC] are in full communion with the LWF and Episcopal/ Church of England.

Indeed, we Lutherans take Scripture and the Golden Rule advocated by our Lord Jesus Christ seriously.

 

[JackofSpades]

I only now watched this documentary, and I think reporters were kinda trying to troll the pastor, showing him rather extreme ends of things. Only thing that was missing was to make him go to church at gay-weddings.

Despite the differencies, there actually are denominations in Finland (assumably in other nordic countries too) where he would likely have felt right at home.

I felt bad at point where danish pastor laughed at him(unless it was intentional trick with cutting, which is always possiblity), I think that was somewhat jerkish behavior.

I found it somewhat funny that people whom he got to confess their faith in god, were not actually swedish. Doh!

 

[essentialsaltes]

I only now watched this documentary, and I think reporters were kinda trying to troll the pastor, showing him rather extreme ends of things.

Absolutely. It's certainly more a 'reality TV' show than a serious documentary. The extreme and sensational makes for better TV.

 

[SuperCloud]

Frankly, while I've never been to Scandinavia, I think I'd prefer their weather over the weather in the southern US. I think I live about as far south as I care to go. I do not handle the heat well. One can always put on another layer of clothing, but you can only get so naked.

Human beings as a species are essentially tropical animals. Humans are born naked and can't survive naked in cold climates.

It's the intellect of humans which have made it possible for humanity to spread out across the planet and thrive. As you point out... in part by constructing and wearing clothing.

I can handle the heat much better than the cold. I can take the dry heat of California or Nevada just as well as the dry heat of Florida. Although, humidity can be difficult at times. Milwaukee tends to have cold winters and very humid summers.

My own body is better suited for tropical environments like Rio and Salvador in Brazil though I think. I also like lots of sunshine and blue skies. I don't like regions where its often gray skies.

The Gulf region of the deep South like Mississippi can be quite beautiful too.

 

[JackofSpades]

Human beings as a species are essentially tropical animals. Humans are born naked and can't survive naked in cold climates.

We, the nordic race, are superhumans and have no probs sleeping naked in snow or killing polar bears for food with our bare teeth. We actually build houses only to show off.