letter from Spain
In the middle of November each year, the streets of Benidorm on Spain’s Costa Blanca are transformed by two very different fiestas. Benidorm loves a good fiesta.
Firstly, the Spanish enjoy a five day fiesta which is a strange mixture of the weird, wacky and wonderful. Each morning at 8am fireworks are set off in order ‘to awaken the sleeping spirits’. There are various cultural events but also rather sombre parades of statues of the Virgin Mary, accompanied by throngs of elegantly dressed young people and myriads of flowers. It is hard not to be moved by the solemnity of it all yet to feel, as Paul did in Athens, that this is nothing short of religious ignorance – certainly far removed from the liberating gospel of Christ.
Then, by total contrast, the next day the British take over. For twelve hours there is a raucous atmosphere on Benidorm’s famous 'Strip'. One Thursday each year a 12 hour extravaganza kicks off - the largest fancy dress party in all of Europe. Up to 25,000 visitors descend on Benidorm’s streets, thronging the passage ways and packing out the bars and cafes.
Every kind of decent and indecent costume imaginable is on display – some are elegant and impressive, others are downright tacky, rude and irreverent. For hours on end the music is loud and the atmosphere belligerent. At its centrepiece is the parade of floats through the town. Over the years in common with culture everywhere this parade has descended into a debauched and blasphemous display of outright sin and evil.
From elegance to evil
This year's was the worst ever. The opening float displayed satanic symbols, the second overtly portrayed sexual gestures, the third contained a blasphemous portrayal of our Lord Jesus Christ. Evil had truly come cleverly disguised as a fun time for all. It is certainly not a great advertisement for the British and contrasts wildly with the elegance and restraint of the Spanish fiesta in the previous days.
Into this complicated place, the light of the gospel is shone by The English Church. The church bears a witness to the gospel during the fiesta and throughout the year. Church members were on the streets during the parade and had opportunities to share the good news. One man, dressed as Satan himself, seemed baffled by the simple question 'Do you believe he exists?' and had no idea of the eternal danger he was in. Another young man, wearing an explicitly sexual sign around his neck, was equally confused that anyone would even talk about a loving Christ on Benidorm’s streets.
Such is where were are today in culture. Yet it is still true, as the apostle Paul said, that 'the gospel is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes' (Rom. 1:16).
