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Ardmore, Armagh City, Co Armagh, Northern Ireland.
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The French and Religion.

Important News

This is a copy of an article written by Ronnie Skene, which was recently published in Echoes of Service missionary magazine.

Why the average French-man doesn't want to hear about 'religion'.

Ezekiel 37. The valley of Dry bones.

This passage has led many to pray for France. These dry bones are a reminder that once in this valley stood a great army - an army which is now dead. Ezekiel probably asked himself the question: "What on earth am I doing here among all these dry bones?" "There's nothing left!"

But a great resurrection was going to take place! God had brought Ezekiel to this spot so that he could use him. Hidden in the ground for generations, like seed buried in the soil, these dry bones were waiting the appointed time. Could that time have come for France?

Over the centuries, tremendous efforts have been made in France to turn Christian witness into a heap of dry bones. It is estimated that half a million believers have been killed in France for their faith, as the spiritual forces of evil have sought to eliminate God's army.

The church in France is built on a foundation of martyrdom. As early as 117 AD what is now the well known Mont Martre in Paris, was the scene of a mass execution of hundreds of Parisians converted through the preaching of Denis, the Bishop of Paris, who, according to history, was none other than Dionysius, member of the Areopagus, mentioned in Acts 17:34.

Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, was beheaded in 202 for the stand he took in defending Biblical principles, notably against Gnosticism which threatened the church's existence.

During the Middle Ages, late 12th century, a revival of true biblical faith spread across France but was met with fierce opposition. The Waldenses & the Albigenses (not to be confused with the heretical Cathars) preached the gospel message and denounced the corrupt state of the traditional church at the time - almost in the same way as Luther did some centuries later. Pope Innocent III, (who was by no means innocent!) was the most powerful man in the world at that time. He reacted against the translation of the Bible into a 'vulgar tongue' and of course against the criticism of the established church, by sending a powerful army, led by bishops & nobles, to wipe out these believers. Fox's Book of Martyrs contains much information about the massacres which occurred - entire towns were wiped out in the Toulouse area, with no distinction being made between the Albigenes & the rest of the population. One bishop is recorded as saying "Kill them all, man, woman & child, for when they are dead, the Lord will recognise his own!"

Things were not going quickly enough for Pope Innocent, so he decided to introduce what became known as The Inquisition. Religious 'courts' were set up for the trial of 'heretics'. The first of these was at Toulouse in 1231 with Dominic, the founder of the Dominicans (Black Friars), as the Inquisitor general. The idea spread quickly & the Spanish Inquisition followed & became the better known. Those Christians who denied their faith got off with a long prison sentence, those who refused to recant were executed. The Inquisition, which lasted 200 years, 'succeeded' where the crusades 'failed'. Believers who managed to escape, fled to Italy or Switzerland.

And of course you have heard about the Huguenots (French Protestants). Martin Luther's protest in 1517 when he made a list of 95 points of official church dogma which, in his opinion, contradicted the teaching of the Bible, sparked off The Reformation. In 1523 a member of the newly formed 'protesting' or Protestant church was burned at the stake in Paris. But persecution has always strengthened the church, and soon there were over 2000 Protestant churches in France, with 3 million members, 20% of the population! At one stage, a Roman catholic cardinal estimated that half of the French population were Huguenots! New churches opened every week, thousands were truly converted, but of course, many others joined in for the politics - a phenomena not unknown even today in certain countries!

The persecution continued and in 1562, 1200 people attending a service in a barn were massacred by 200 armed men, led by the Duke of Guise, and shouting "Death to God & to all Huguenots!" This 'Massacre de Wassy' in the Ardennes, 200 kms East of Paris, sparked off the Wars of Religion which lasted 38 years. Among the atrocities committed by both Catholics & Huguenots, was the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre when 3000 Huguenots were invited to attend the wedding in Paris of the King's daughter. The invitation was considered as a genuine effort to reconcile the two parties but it was in fact a plot. Before dawn on 24th August 1572 the church bell of St Germain-l'Auxerrois began to toll, a pre-arranged signal for the beginning of the massacre. Before long, the uprising spread throughout the country & estimates of the number of those killed in a 6 week period range from 30,000 to 50,000. Another attempt to silence God's army, to turn Christian witness into a heap of dry bones! The Pope, delighted with the 'success' of the campaign, ordered a medal to be struck to celebrate the victory'.

In 1598 the Edit of Nantes was introduced by King Henri de Navarre (Henri IV) who had been a Huguenot, but later 'turned his coat' as we would say! This brought to an end the Wars of Religion, by allowing Protestants the freedom to hold religious services, but no new churches could be started. The "Sun King", Louis XIV, who reigned for 72 years (1643-1715), saw himself as God's representative. He felt that a strong France required "Un roi, une foi, une loi." (One king, one faith, one law). So he closed down, & even pulled down, two thirds of the Protestant churches. Protestant schools & hospitals were also closed.

However, all this didn't eradicate the Huguenots so Louis XIV arranged for his dragoons to be billeted in Huguenot homes throughout the country. These soldiers were instructed to torture & terrorise these families in order to seek 'conversions' to the Catholic religion. 22,000 such 'conversions' were obtained in a few weeks.

In 1685, the Edit of Nantes was revoked. Huguenots had no longer any rights and it was in fact illegal to be a Protestant! Pastors were given 2 weeks to flee the country, obliged to leave behind their children under 7 years old. For others, emigration was illegal & men caught trying to flee the country were condemned to the galleys, huge warships into which they were chained & forced to row night & day. Women were imprisoned & not far from where we used to live, is the infamous Tower of Constance at Aigues Mortes where Marie Durand was imprisoned for 38 years along with hundreds of other woman of faith. Children were taken from their parents & placed in monasteries for 're-education' into the Catholic religion. Protestant weddings were not recognised so children born from such unions were considered illegitimate, and as such they had no rights to education nor to jobs.

400,000 Huguenots managed to leave the country up until the French Revolution - among them many of France's best craftsmen who took their skills with them. The Swiss clock & watch industry owes much to Huguenot investment. During this period of persecution, services were held in the open air with guards posted on nearby hills to warn of coming danger. Such meetings were referred to as the church of the desert, and there were many around Nimes & the area known as the Cevennes. A museum in one of the Huguenot leader's houses keeps alive the memory of those who held firmly to the their Christian belief.

So you can understand that with such a background of religious conflict, many French people today don't want to hear anything about religion! All religion has done, they will tell you, is to cause bloodshed & war - we want a civilised society!

But there is another problem! Louis XIV's policy of pitiless persecution gave birth to a national mood of dissatisfaction & was a factor in the introduction of the Age of Enlightenment - le Siècle de Lumières. It was a movement about human reason. It proclaimed that man had come of age! He no longer needed God or religion, looked on as ancient superstition. Numerous philosophers like René Descartes for example, profoundly influenced the French way of thinking. Some of these philosophers were perhaps genuinely seeking a way of finding truth & their teaching on scepticism is in a sense a way of avoiding error, by not just accepting everything you hear as the truth. But of course it has led people to 'throw out the baby with the bath water' as we say!

But this philosophical enlightenment didn't bring satisfaction either & so France entered into The Revolution, with it's Reign of Terror. Other countries were of course also affected by this Age of Enlightenment and this philosophical approach to life which excluded all thought of God. But the effect in many other countries was lessened by religious revivals, especially in Britain & Germany. Many people found a personal faith in God, unshaken by the pressure of philosophy & humanism. France didn't have a revival at that time! Many of us are praying that it will still come, that the dead bones will walk again!

The Revolution in 1789 was centred around the famous "Declaration of the Rights of Man." "All men are born free and remain free & equal in rights." The motto of the Revolution was "Libérté, Egalité, Fraternité." (Liberty, Equality, Brother-hood) Over 200 years later, these ideals haven't really been achieved. For the Christian, these needs are only met in Jesus-Christ!

Although there were positive consequences of the Revolution, it brought to the fore a strong anti-Christian element. The Catholic clergy were forced to submit to civil control & 3 bishops & 220 priests who refused to do so, were executed. 30-40,000 priests fled to Spain, England and Italy. A policy of de-christianisation went as far as to change the calendar so that dates were counted from the Revolution in stead as from the birth of Christ. A 10 day week was introduced in order to remove Sunday. The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris was renamed "The Temple of Reason".

Freemasonry began to show it's head. Some would say that it's origin is in the guilds of craftsmen who worked on Europe's great cathedrals, some even go back to Solomon's temple! But modern freemasonry began with the founding of the first Grand Lodge in London in 1717. John Desaguliers is often referred to as the "Father of new Masonry." He transformed a dying order of stonemasons into an influential world-wide movement. He was born at La Rochelle, France, in 1683, the son of a Huguenot minister who was forced to flee from France to England during the religious persecution. In 1719 John Desaguliers became Grand Master of the London lodge & it was he who gave the Masonic Order it's concept of God as "The Great Architect." The number of lodges grew extremely quickly & by 1793 there were over 900 in France, all greatly influenced by the philosophy of the "Enlightenment." Many of their leaders became the prime movers in the French Revolution of 1789 - for example Lafayette. Voltaire was also a Free mason. Many of today's government ministers are Free masons.

Then came Napoleon in 1799! Much could be said about him, but in the context of our study, perhaps the most important thing to remark is that he recognised Roman Catholicism as the main religion of France.

In 1905 Religion & State were constitutionally separated. Since that date, religious teaching was no longer permitted in state schools & universities.

Two world wars did much to shake people's confidence in God & religion. The phrase "If there's a God, why all this" became a popular excuse for dropping any faint belief that existed.

May 1968. The Students' Revolution. Many moral & religious principles were abandoned.

Today in France, Evangelical churches are growing - they are the only ones that are! There are over 2300 evangelical assemblies, representing about 50 denominations!

Although 70% of the population call themselves 'Catholic', in reality less than 10% practise regularly. This includes an estimated 300,000 Charismatic Catholics, many of whom are in disagreement with the Catholic 'system.' Islam makes up 8% of the population while Jews account for just over 1%. The Protestant community in France would total about 1,8% of the population, with 0,6% being evangelical.

Of France's 38,000 towns & villages, almost 35,000 have no regular evangelical witness. In the Centre & Southwest, evangelical churches are really 'few & far between'. It is not uncommon to have to travel 80 kms (50 miles) or even further, to find fellowship on a Sunday!

Can these 'dry bones' live? Is there hope for France - is there hope for the French?

Click here to return to Ronnie & Heather Skenes Page.

 

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