Saturday January 13, 2018 was the "Sabbat de l'Union" for the Franco-Belgian Union and marked the first official broadcasting of Hope Channel France. For this "Saturday of the Union", five pastors spoke about their vocation for how they think and live it.
The program was followed by members of the Franco-Belgian church and by those connected for the occasion.
The Secretary General of the Franco-Belgian Union, Jean-Paul Barquon, explains the reasons for the birth of the new Adventist channel.
HCF is one of the 43 branches of Hope Channel transmitted around the world in 39 languages. HCF broadcasts in French under the direction of Jethro Camille. The mission is to share the good news of the gospel and to understand the different biblical messages. The programs inspire the Christian faith, man with spirituality and religion, health, family, the Church and the questions which one poses within Christianity.
The programs of the 43 branches around the world are adapted to the local culture and broadcast in many languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, German, Romanian, Mandarin, Russian, Tamil, Hindi. Ukrainian, Arabic, Farsi and Telugu. There are many ways to watch Hope Channel programmes!
The French-speaking West is not a religious society because, apart from believers in traditional religions, there is a very strong rise in religious indifference.
If 20% of the population in France say they are atheists, then it is by far the country in Europe where this rate count is the strongest. Much stronger than in other European countries except the Czech Republic and the former East Germany.
Confirmed atheism is the person who does not believe in God, and even thinks that religion is evil and therefore must be eliminated. Some have gone so far as to copy religious rites to create forms of religion without God: this is the case of the Sunday Assembly, started in London, and which exists in a number of large cities, including Paris. Hundreds of people assemble on Sundays: we sing, we meet, we read philosophical texts. Atheism then, becomes a form of religion. In some countries, it is equivalently recognized as a religion: in Belgium, for example, where religions are subsidized by the state, so does organized atheism, it benefits from state aid and status.
In France, atheism is not necessarily on the rise, but it is the religious indifference that is gaining momentum. This kind of evolution does not systematically condemn religion which can appear at a moment in life and disappear again later.
In France we have two minority groups, the atheists (15%) and the practicing believers (10%). In between the two, there is an ever growing undetermined space according to the experts.
It is for those people indifferent to religion that some Hope Channel-France programmes are organized according to Jean-Paul Barquon, responsible for the French-Belgian Union Communications Department.
Hope channel France can be seen on: hopechannel.fr
