Terrible Times
People love themselves
People love money
Many are boasters and Proud
Abusive Disobedient to parents

Without love
Unforgiving
Slanderous
Lacking in self-control
Not loving God . . .

Amazingly, this list of biblical characteristics of the last days is also a good description of the godlessness reflected in Spain today. The birth rate is only 1.3 per family making it possibly the lowest in the world. 60% of the girls surveyed lost their virginity between the ages of 13 and 15. Drug addiction is rampant. Depression is an epidemic but Spanish "merrymaking" is famous the world over.

This country ranks among the least evangelized in the world. Less than 1/10 of one percent is evangelical. While the inside rots, on the outside, the business magazines of Europe speak of the Spanish "miracle". Prosperity abounds while the heart and soul are torn out and left spiritually hungry.

Spaniards are not satisfied with easy answers. Though evangelicals now have religious freedom, they continue to face open and subtle persecution at home and work. Believers must be well grounded and able to clearly articulate what they believe.

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The Gospel in Spanish History

Spain's history is religious, diverse and rocky.

The Iberian population came from North Africa, and the Celtic tribes came from the north. By 1100 BC Phoenicians came, then Greeks. Finally the Romans made Hispania a vital part of the Roman empire, evident in the language.

History credits the Apostle Paul with taking the gospel to Spain. The Spanish Christians were faithful, but Rome diluted Christianity. In the 5th century northern barbarians crushed the Roman Empire in 419AD. Then, in 711AD Muslim armies crossed the Strait of Gibraltar bringing Moorish prosperity, science, knowledge and agriculture.

The Moorish culture began to disintegrate in the 11th century. Finally in 1469 the marriage of Isabel of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon united the two most important kingdoms. The Moors lost territory until they were finally expelled in 1492 - the same year that Columbus set out for the New World.

Embroiled in the efforts of Ferdinand and Isabela to "re-Christianize," Spain began the Spanish Inquisitioin. Thousands of Jews and Moors who didn't convert to Christianity were expelled or killed. Spain withdrew into its own religious cloister.

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So what does Spain's history mean to me?

"Perhaps a good starting point for understanding the history of Spain is to note that the Bible has been a prohibited book for about the last 500 years, with only 25 years of religious freedom. Spain, more than any other one country has been the 'defender of the Faith'. From the religious wars of Fernando and Isabel, to Philip the Second, to the dictatorship of Franco, Spain has been at the forefront as the one country the Catholic Church could depend on.

Many today view the state's defense of religious intolerance has been precisely what has held Spain back from growing as a world power. Only now, with democracy and religous freedom , has Spain grown, participated in world events, and the European Union with its soon to be initiated common currency, the Euro.

Unfortunately, it seems that the average Spaniard has thrown the baby out with the bathwater. If Christianity was the cause of the Inquisition, General Franco, and the lack of progress, it should be jettisoned with the rest. Attendance at Mass is at all-time lows, and even the Roman Catholic Church is calling for a new evangelization of Spain.

We SEND missionaries concur. Humanism is one hope. Even the New Age has its followers. Some are still hoping in democratic processes, while others just 'pass' to translate the Spanish word literally. They live, do their business, and enjoy life as it is. There is nothing else.

Our job is to get over these barriers, and show that there is a real live Christianity that they have not seen or heard of yet, and that there is an absolute truth to which we will all have to answer someday."

By Mike Baker

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