A leftist group has publicly acknowledged setting fire to a German church office for being linked with the “conservative, Bible-believing wing” of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA).
The group identifying itself as “Anonymous” claimed responsibility for setting rubbish and bulk waste alight at a Free Church welfare office (Sozialwerk Der Freien Christengemeinde) in the city of Bremen on Dec. 15, according to the Vienna, Austria-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe). The attack caused 20,000 euros ($20,565 USD) worth of damage.
It also affected a section of the building used by city police, according to OIDAC Europe. The State Security Department of the Bremen Police was investigating the incident.
Anonymous on tumulte.org stated in a post that it targeted the Pentecostal church due to its connection with the WEA. In the post entitled, “Against men’s clubs. Whether in uniform or church robes!” the group stated that police were also targeted for “many other reasons.”
“Last night we equipped the rear of the building of the Bremen-Burg police station and the free Christian community with tires and a huge incendiary device made of 20 liters of gasoline, thus killing two birds with one stone,” stated the group (translated). ”We also accepted that the office of the social work of the free Christian community would catch fire.”
René Möller, spokesman for Interior Sen. Ulrich Mäurer, told German news site Das BLV that officials were taking “the letter of confession very seriously” and were monitoring the group, adding, “However, we also ask for your understanding that we will not comment publicly on possible investigation status, club bans and measures.”
Anonymous stated that it attacked the church office because it belonged to the Pentecostal church community in Bremen, part of the “largest evangelical social work in Germany.”
“These are organized worldwide together with the regional churches in the Evangelical Alliance (WEA),” stated Anonymous. “The Pentecostals belong to the conservative, Bible-believing wing of the WEA. Pentecostal churches comprise 350 million evangelicals with a focus on Africa, America and Korea.”
The group then endeavored to link prison sentences for homosexual acts in Nigeria to Christian social work in Germany “to promote their [presumably Pentecostals] growth and geographical expansion.”
“The Pentecostal churches live their faith in the word of the Bible and place this word above civil law,” added Anonymous.
The group reviled the biblical precept of biblical marriage as being between a man and woman, as supported by the “Theological Committee of the Federation of Free Church Pentecostal Congregations in 2013,” likely referring to the International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches.
“The evangelical Pentecostals are saying that there is no alternative to the conservative one with father, mother and children,” the group stated. “Between these lines it is also written that marriages must remain intact, even if one of the spouses uses violence. Abortions and homosexuality are also completely rejected.”
Anonymous asserted that evangelical Pentecostals oppose self-determination rights of FLINTAS, a German acronym for “women, lesbians, intersex, non-binary, trans and agender people [frauen, lesben, intergeschlechtliche, nichtbinäre, trans und agender personen].”
“An open attitude towards those who think differently does not exist for the Pentecostals,” the group stated. “They falsely assume that the rules given by God apply to everyone, and that people only need to be convinced of the ‘right’ faith in one way or another.”
The group then linked biblical beliefs by Pentecostal evangelicals to radical right groups and fascists, claiming the two demographics shared ideas on marriage, women and homosexuality.
“Both secular leaders and God are treated with obedience and submission. Political support is exchanged for religious privileges,” the group added, linking the notion for reasons unclear to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, president of the Republic of Türkiye “and his Islamist gangs.”
The left-wing group then singled out the German Evangelical Alliance for allegedly making comments in the right-wing Junge Freiheit newspaper.
“In Germany, the described solidarity is evident in the fact that representatives of the Evangelical Alliance regularly speak out in Junge Freiheit,” the group stated, before taking a broad swing at evangelical support of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
The post took particular aim at Pentecostal Christians in Bremen, claiming they had strong links with right-wing groups. Anonymous also linked the authoritarian character of Fascist leaders and right-wing groups with “radical implementation of biblical beliefs.” Districts voting for rightist political parties contained a “large number of evangelical institutions,” the group claimed.
“For the Pentecostals in Bremen-Burg, the main concern is the evangelization of those in their care and their loved ones,” Anonymous stated. “Pastors constantly provide pastoral care with the ulterior motive of conversion. This is disgusting. The evangelicals are a force in Bremen that should not be underestimated.”
The group claimed literal interpretations of the Bible cause “homophobia” that can even lead to injuries or deaths.
Anonymous appeared to tie the arson attack to an “International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Patriarchal Violence, namely ‘Orange Day,’” stating that the fire seemed “appropriate” since “the color orange stands for a future in which FLINTAS are no longer affected by violence.”
“For us, it is not a question of victory or defeat, but of how we can take responsibility in the fight against the reactionary forces and fascists,” it stated. “With our fire, we have channeled the anger in our stomachs and directed it against anyone who feeds this anger.”
The group linked the arson attack to solidarity with women unable to access abortion and “solidarity with all those who are exposed to patriarchal violence for a queer feminist militant practice.”
Members finished by expressing solidarity with protestors arrested for setting “the streets on fire” in Thessaloniki, Greece, in December 2008 after teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos was shot dead. The protests were influenced by the Communist Party of Greece and other factions.
“Alexis Grigoropoulos is not forgotten. We are on your side,” stated Anonymous.
