I have been thinking of lately on the topic of the growing religious intolerance against Christians here in North America. It is quite disturbing to read how many people in today's society are so "open' to every other religion, some even dangerous, and yet such people are so opposed against the Christian faith. Even children in schools have been targeted with antichristian opposition. One story I read recently was about a little girl who just mentioned "God" or "Jesus" in her prayer in honor of her grandfather and other veteran soldiers who had fought in the war. Sadly, she was reprimanded for using the name "God" or "Jesus" in her speach. This is in no way an isolated incident either. There are many other example that could be given. The growing intolerance towards Christianity is a very real threat against Christians practicing there faith. This should be a growing concern for Christians in general. Here are a few examples that I came across in the growing opposition and discrimination against Christians.
March 26, 2011|7:40 pm
"In
a world of political correctness devoid of the rule of law, tolerance
has come to mean total rejection of Christianity and moral standards.
Modern tolerance redefines words like 'marriage,'
'discrimination,' 'equality,' 'morality,' and even 'absolutes.' The
word 'tolerance' as it is used today never includes opposing arguments
or competing worldviews. Tolerance has become Orwellian and decidedly
intolerant." – Matthew Staver, Dean and Professor of Law at Liberty
University School of Law.
A few examples of recent intolerance for Christianity:
•
The Supreme court determining to exclude anyone who prays in Jesus name
from a rotation of officials who open city business meetings
• The removal of US military Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt, over the issue of praying in Jesus Name
• UCLA’s prohibiting a graduating student from thanking her “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” in her graduation speech
•
Colleges making special accommodations for foot baths and Muslim only
prayer rooms, while a Muslim group membership may be suspended or
revoked for 57 reasons including but not limited to: unbecoming
behavior, insubordination, or inactivity; but denying Christian groups
campus recognition “because it requires its officers and voting members
to agree with its Christian beliefs"
• A San Diego elementary school created an extra recess period to
allow 100 Muslim students to pray, while a federal judge upheld a
Knoxville, Ky., jury’s decision that a public school could prohibit its
5th grade Christian students from studying and discussing their Bibles
during recess
• Christians in America have to tolerate the
defamation of their holiest images in national museums, including
particularly provocative, offensive acts defined as "artwork," some
receiving taxpayer-funded grants from the National Endowment for the
Arts. On the other hand, several college editors who cited freedom of
speech when republishing anti-Muslim cartoons first published in a
Danish newspaper, were fired or disciplined because they were offensive
to Muslim students
• The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Los Angeles) requested an investigation of the desecration of a Quran,
Islam's revealed text, as a hate
crime.
Conversely, when Palestinians tore up Bibles for toilet paper (May 15,
2002, The Washington Times) there was no outrage, and after a church in
the U.S. saved and held fundraisers to afford the cost of buying and
shipping requested Bibles in the Pashto and Dari language to an American
sergeant in Afghanistan, the Bibles were confiscated, thrown away, and
burned. The only official comment about burning the Bibles was this one,
by a Defense Department spokesman, “Troops in war zones are required to
"burn their trash."
These incidents have raised several questions that Brannon Howse, author and founder of Worldview Weekend, agreed to answer:
CP: Would you consider these examples of intolerance shocking or unexpected?
Howse: Not at all. Jesus said all nations will hate you. If you are a Bible-minded believer such
persecution
should not be uncommon or a surprise,” he stated, quoting 2 Timothy
3:12 “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
CP: With 38,000 denominations
declared as Christian, why does the world’s intolerance seem focused on
the smaller percentage who claims a Biblical lifestyle faith?
Howse:
Many who have called themselves Christians were false converts. (II
Cor. 7:10) There’s lots of happy talk but many Christians are only
committed to a culture war, surveying unbelievers to see what they want
in a church, and creating feel good pop-
culture within the church. Many Americans are wimps who don’t want to suffer...don’t want to be uncomfortable.
CP: Isn’t that rather divisive thinking?
Howse:
I don’t mind being called divisive – I pray that I am divisive if that
means based on the Word of God – living and active, rightly dividing
truth and error. We should expect division – we need division to
recognize that truth is not subjective or emotional; truth is the
unchanging character and nature of God and His Word.
Americans
seem to long for commonality and unity. This American idea of
Christianity is not what goes on in countries like Cuba, China, or
Korea. Those
pastors have unity - the unity of all of them having been in prison for boldly living out their Christian faith.
Millions
have been and continue to be martyred for Christ. (45.5 million in the
last century per “The New Persecuted” by Antonio Socci). We need Martin
Niemöllers and John Wycliffes for this generation. However, too many are
only committed to a cotton candy Christianity, not the Christianity of
Niemöller and Wycliffe that required persecution.
Without a sound
theological foundation, when persecutions increase, and they will,
according to scripture, many who call themselves believers won’t want to
be marked as Christians. Those only committed to culture war will give
up with no hope.
CP: Are you saying everyday Christians,
students, business people, and homemakers as well as clergy should be
expecting bias, intolerance or hostility in all areas of life including
civil government, education, economics, public policy, and family?
Howse:
Actually, if an individual who claims to be a Christian is not
experiencing intolerance or persecution – being called names, belittled,
marginalized, or characterized because you stand for sound
theology
– you should examine yourself to make sure you are a Christian. (See 10
hallmarks of a Christian at:
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-tube/video.php?videoid=4383)
Our culture is doing what Scripture said – getting worse and worse. The
books
of James and 1 Peter tell us not to be surprised at fiery ordeals
...[when they come – not if] as though some strange (or foreign) thing
were happening to you. Suffering, intolerance and persecution are
building us up for the best part of life – which is yet to come.
CP: So what can Christians do when they find their faith under assault?
Howse:
We are in the world to be salt and light. We have to have contact with
the world to be salt and light, just as Jesus did. Keep standing for
righteousness or right living, for life of the unborn and of seniors and
keep going whether or not you win in the courtroom, the capitol, or
anywhere else in this world, because you are standing for Christ.
Remember
that it is impossible to find unity with the world without
compromising, and remember that we are God’s messengers. Take all
opportunity to proclaim the gospel (Galatians 4:16), and ask yourself,
“What am I proclaiming?” If we are proclaiming that the Word of God is
truth by our life and actions we are becoming the enemy of the world.
The world is not tolerant of its enemies.
In Germany, many who
called themselves Christians went along with Hitler but people like
Corrie ten Boom said no I must stay true to purpose of the gospel. The
world would say her family lost and that she was foolish to proclaim the
gospel in a losing situation, but the reality is that she won for the
gospel by pointing fellow prisoners to Christ.
CP: Are you saying there can be a positive outcome from intolerance and persecution?
Howse:
Absolutely. Persecution is an expected evidence of being a follower of
Jesus Christ, and we can utilize everything that is happening in our
world and culture as a pulpit, an opportunity, to share the hope we have
in Christ. But the Bible teaches us to respond and not to react.
Matthew 5:10 talks of the blessing of those who are persecuted for righteousness sake – not for responding as the world does.
Intolerance
for righteousness is to be expected and embraced as an opportunity to
live so that anytime Christians are persecuted, the world will watch and
wonder why are they willing to persevere and not compromise.
