USA (MNN) — The world continues to grieve for the country of Norway after a bombing in Oslo's City Center and subsequent shooting that left 92 dead Friday.
32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik of Oslo is in custody after allegedly detonating a bomb which targeted government buildings, including the office of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. Seven people were killed there.
Breivik then traveled to the Island of Utoya to attack a youth summer camp. Oslo police say more than 80 people were killed at the camp organized by the governing Norwegian Labor party. Most of those killed were youth.
RK Ulrich, founder of The Bridge International based in Florida, was born and raised in Norway, and she says the church has responded. "There was an immediate response from all church levels, from all Christian levels. They just all poured in with their compassion."
While the majority of Norwegians claim to be Christians because the state-sponsored church is Lutheran, Ulrich says many may not have a relationship with Christ. "When you're born, you're born into the church automatically. You get baptized. You go for confirmation, and all those things are part of your Christian heritage." Ulrich continues, "A lot of people are defined as Christians in Norway, but they may never have seriously read the Bible or have a relationship with God."
That should help you understand why Breivik claims to be a conservative Christian. Ulrich spent much of the weekend looking through Breivik's Facebook and other blogs, including his 1500-page manifesto.
Ulrich says Breivik had been planning this attack for nine years, wanting to punish his national leadership for being so multicultural and Muslim-friendly. She says, "He states he wants to support the Christian principles culturally, but there's nothing in his blog that even indicated that he even has any personal relationship with Jesus or understands salvation or leading a Christian life."
In his manifesto, Breivik says he's not religious, has doubts about God's existence, and does not pray. But he does assert the primacy of Europe's "Christian culture" as well as his own pagan Nordic culture. Breivik instead hails Charles Darwin whose evolutionary theories stand in contrast to the claims of the Bible. Breivik affirms: "As for the Church and science, it is essential that science takes an undisputed precedence over biblical teachings. Europe has always been the cradle of science, and it must always continue to be that way. Regarding my personal relationship with God, I guess I'm not an excessively religious man. I am first and foremost a man of logic. However, I am a supporter of a monocultural Christian Europe."
The international news media continues to call Breivik a Christian fundamentalist. Ulrich says that could fuel anti-Christian propaganda around the world. "It's such a great opportunity for someone in opposition to the whole Judeo-Christian worldview to say, 'Look, these are crazy people. To become a Christian, you become like him.'"
Ulrich is asking Christians worldwide to pray that this does not happen. She is also asking Christians to "pray for the Norwegian people, that the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ will be echoed through the country for many, many who perhaps never have heard it clearly. [Pray that they] will hear the clear biblical Gospel."
