Portfolio File 3: Is the Netherlands a Christian Society

1. Reflection Assignment
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2a. Observations
- (on-going observation) My house-mate lives and breathes Christianity. For every problem, God is the solution. We’ve had discussions about religion. She has Muslim friends that are living here in the Netherlands, so it is very apparent that Christianity is not the dominant surviving religion in this small country. However, politically speaking, the CDA (Christian party) holds the most number of chairs in parliament, (keep in mind that “the most” is still under 25 percent of parliament.) She voted CU (Christian Union). Because I have been struggling with my faith, it is easy for me to generalize Christianity as ignorant bliss. So often I feel like Christians credit God for things that (in my head) are normal life occurrences and God doesn’t make a difference, OR, they praise God for things that simply are life. I can see the “foolishness” of Christian belief and understand why many people disregard this faith. It’s something that I have disregarded for years and it is still something that I continually struggle with. Am I CHEESY or what?! Asking God for peace of mind, asking God to rid me of my will so that I might follow His, asking God to step in and interfere with my convictions, asking God to reveal Himself and to help me feel His love for me so that I might be able to draw near to Him, telling God I’ve fallen short of myself, of Him, and of others around me. It’s poppycock really. I get so annoyed with all this “romanticism”. It seems too surreal, too easy! Anyways, as a Christian, it is not right to judge/make judgements. I feel so strange writing this all because I feel like I am decided what is and what is NOT Christian and that is NOT for me to decide. Even at home, that is not for me to decided. This file really grinds my gears. I don’t want to make comparisons between how Christian is here or there. It isn’t important HOW we are, it’s what we are and what we personally believe. I’m on the outside. I’m looking in. I can see the same God working here as there. Must there really be a difference? Then again, I do notice something I value more about the Dutch Christianity. Where I grew up Christianity was about rules, tradition, religion. Here, or at least with the de Jong family, Christianity is about personal relationship with God (as it is at the church I attend back home now.) Christianity here is not about the “do not”, “cannot”, “should not”, “you must” etc. It’s about the “do I”, “can I”, “should I”, “may I”, etc. It’s about how God speaks to YOU personally, not how God speaks to the church, the organization of believers.
- The neighborhood. How should I say this? It’s definitely a neighborhood of minorities. I wouldn’t dare say that 25% of the neighborhood is a professed believer, then again, I do not know the neighbors on such a personal basis, so I cannot justify this observation as fact. I know that there are Muslims living in the flats nearby and that I rarely even see my neighbors because their lives are very busy, however, I can say that I have not once seen my neighbors leave for an early morning church service. The neighborhood is dead for a flat residence. The only time I see them is when they are smoking on their balconies.
- During the GH celebration we viewed a filmed interview of residents from Zwolle and in this interview a mere 7% of those interviewed declared being a born-again believer. This is pretty sad. Students attending the GH are definitely a minority here in Zwolle where Christianity appears to be a dominant religion. It’s hard to say, though, because it is not necessary to be a believer to have Christian moral. When I look out at Zwolle, I see a town like any other town–churches, shops, houses, old buildings and new, a fast-paced society. Conclusions based on norms is ridiculous. Certainly all Christians vary, I cannot judge any one based on my own understanding. Maybe I have a wrong idea of what is Christian.

2b. Interview
1. Do you think that the Netherlands is a Christian society? Give examples, reasons to back your opinion.- No, well, in a way. Christian’s now-a-days are a minority. The laws are not necessarily Christian—based on thoughts from the bible. There are so many different religions in the Netherlands so you cannot say that the Dutch are Christian, BUT you can still sense that we have a Christian background, but I wouldn’t consider the Netherlands as a Christian society.
- Not at ALL. We have Christian communities within the Netherlands, but the Netherlands SOCIETY is not Christian. Our government has Christian parties, but it is not founded on Christian disciplines. For example, there are the liberals, the Catholics, the Protestants, and there are Muslims all living in the Netherlands freely. The Christians are only a small part of the Netherlands so that cannot be possible. Definitely not.- A Christian society? No. I’m a liberal. My friends and I all voted VVD. It’s one of the largest political parties in the Netherlands and it is NOT Christian. Plus, even if the “Christian” party is elected into government, it alone cannot fill the seats of parliament, so it can never be our government. It simply cannot happen. The Netherlands will never be a Christian society.
-That’s a tough question. Ummm… The Netherlands is not a Christian society. There are a lot of church members, but a lot less confessed believers. When you are a Christian society, would there be gay marriages and prostitution? I feel that everyone is looking towards their own well-being and in that way there is no Christian society. There small groups of Christians cannot possibly represent the Netherlands society.

2c. Conclusion
a) To what extent is the Netherlands a Christian society? To what extent is America a Christian society? This question is illogical. In my opinion, the Netherlands is only as Christian as it’s citizens—but what constitutes Christian? This goes for every country. A society can only be as Christian as its dwellers. Because the Netherlands is such a country of minorities and such a small fraction of the citizens actually proclaim to be Christian, you cannot have a Christian society. But then, could you go on to argue, that even though they are not proclaimed Christians, EVERYBODY has a Christian moral sense, planted in them by God, thus all persons have a Christian-ness to them? Besides, is it a Christian society based on Christian standardized teachings (the laws and the doctrines) or is it a Christian society based on the values and behaviors of the citizens? I will deviate from this last suggestion for it is irrelevant.
b/c) American Society vs Dutch Society: Supposedly America is founded on Christian moral. Much of the Constitution is considered “Christian” in the sense that if protects the freedoms of it’s citizens and God created us free. It also suggests certain moral behavior, taking action against uncivilized actions, such as murder and theft. However, America is NOT a Christian society. So many Americans are prejudice and proud. So many citizens are liberals or from other religious backgrounds. In a sense, religiously speaking, the Netherlands and American are somewhat the same. Many religions survive within the borders, for freedom of religion is supported by both governments, but America only seems to be more Christian in the sense that our government protects against prostitution, homosexual marriage, drug use, etc.
d) Conclusion: Religious-wise, these two societies are comparably similar. American and Nederland both have a number of surviving religions within the boarders of their land; however, because the American constitution is somewhat founded on Christian morale, America tends to be a bit more “Christian oriented” in the sense that you kill someone, you either spend life in prison or serve a death sentence–you go against moral behavior and you serve the consequence with equal or similar punishment. I dare not say that it is the Christian moral of the US Constitution that prohibits such things as drugs and prostitution as it is more the concept of health and protection—or—it could also be the moral of society itself; what is accepted culturally is accepted personally.

3. Your Mental Model
- I’ve realized that there are different approaches to defining what makes a society Christian. Everyone has his or her own concept of what is and what is not Christian. Do you argue for church law being the fundamental basis for Christian society or do you argue for moral behavior and Christ-like attitude of the residents of the society? I suppose persons generalize Christian societies as communities based on the Christian religion (not faith, personalization). So, that stated, a Christian society is full of judgmental persons--persons who are disinclined to accept persons who fall beyond the borders of ideal Christian behavior. Christian societies are supported by the church and by the organization of the church and it’s laws. But I don’t necessarily believe this either. An ideal Christian society cannot exist. For with all the differing views and opinions that are even amongst believers, no place can adapt a Christian identity, for what, may I ask, is Christian? Is it the mannerisms of the congregation (the people/the believers) or is it the function and role of the organized church (the religion)?

4. Reflection of Study-trips and Excursions
- The Jewish Synagogue was basically identical to the last Jewish synagogue I visited, only with a bit more lamentation for those that lost their lives in the war.

5. Personal Plan of Development
- God is revealed to me in strange ways.
- My Dutch speaking skills, I think, have improved some since I have been on the program.
- I haven't been able to meet any Dutch students yet. They all seem to be far busier than I am and do not have the time to hang out and spend time with a silly American woman like myself, though I do have plans to meet with a couple of the N-SPICE buddies, so...we will see how everything goes.

6. Asking for Feedback
- Christianity and the Netherlands. That is the question. Well, I would like to start by saying that BECAUSE the Netherlands was once founded on Christian doctrine it is hard to disregard Christian-ness 100% in the Netherlands. I believe that, theoretically, one can argue that the pluralistic society of the Netherlands is Christian in a sense. Why? Because God gave us a freedom of choice and to have a unified nation is a violation of our God-given right! But that supports, more so, the idea of Christian-like behavior rather than Christian traditionalistic stature. So, Christianity as the religion, as the organization, cannot be associated with the Dutch society. Why? Because Christian law and doctrine no longer cooperates with the state (government) and the Netherlands is certainly a liberal country.