Fundamentalist US preacher shocked by Scandinavian secularism

Lack of belief in God or hate for gays confuses bible-belter

Pastor Marty McLain, a fundamentalist preacher from the US state of Georgia who took part in a Finnish documentary series called 'The Norden', had his religious convictions challenged by those he met on the cold streets of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. 

The secular Nordics refused to jump on McLain’s anti-gay, evolution-denying bandwagon, and many questioned how any concept of God fitted into their modern world.

One of the men McLain interviewed asked bluntly: “If there isn't a god, why should I believe in him?”

No gay hate in Danish church
McLain initially thought he had found a more kindred spirit among a number of Danish priests he met in full regalia, and he proceeded to go off on a rant about the recent parliamentary decision to allow gays to marry in church. 

But rather than back up McLain’s belief that gay lifestyle violates biblical imperatives, Reverend Lars Danner Madsen from Solbjerg Kirke in Copenhagen gently admonished the American. “I think that God has created love not to make new generations, but to unite people,” he told him.

READ MORE: Gay marriage legalised

McLain’s shock at the lack of support from his fellow Christian clergyman was visible.

“No, I’m a Muslim”
When the Georgia preacher finally met one man who professed a belief in God, McLain asked him gladly: “Are you a Christian?”

“No, I’m a Muslim,” the man replied.

During the programme, McLain explained his belief that the biblical description of the world being created in seven days is fact, and that believing in evolution is just another question of faith, because “there is no proof of evolution – you weren’t there”.

The program's producer, John Stark, has posted an excerpt on Youtube. The full program should be coming to a Danish channel soon.




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