Former 'Israel of the West' Now Far from God, Says Dutch Journalist
by Chad Groening
February 9, 2005
(AgapePress) - The editor of a Dutch Christian newspaper says his country has moved a long way from the Christian principles that once earned it the title "Israel of the West."Wim Kranendonk is editor of the Reformatorisch Dagblad (Reformed Daily), which has about 60,000 subscribers. The paper is one of two daily Christian newspapers in the Netherlands. Kranendonk says his country is "far away" from the Word of God. "All things which are against the Bible you can find them in the Netherlands," he says.
The journalist calls the situation "very distressing," considering how things used to be in the Netherlands. "A few hundred years [ago], Holland was known as the 'Israel of the West' -- and now we have the highest standard of secularization in the Netherlands," he says. "That's a difficult situation."
But Kranendonk says there is hope. "We have half a million people or a little bit more going to church every Sunday [in Holland]," he shares. "I belong to a congregation with 2,200 in attendance each Sunday morning and afternoon. So in many towns and villages, [there are] signs that the Lord is doing His work."
Kranendonk says the Reformatorisch Dagblad was started in 1971 in order to stem the tide of spiritual decay in the Netherlands. But despite the publication's success over the past three decades, he says there remains a great deal of skepticism among the nation's media elites about the credibility of a Christian newspaper.
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
