Do you know the degree to which persecution of Christians has increased in our culture?
Many of us think of persecution as something that only happens overseas. Even the very active people in my church small group didn’t realize that home Bible studies are being shut down by over-zealous city officials, churches are being kicked out of their buildings, and kids have been banned from bringing their Bible to school. I’ve seen the Expulsion Slip that states directly “Student will not bring Bible to school.” It’s so brazen and bold that I almost couldn’t believe it.
We’re having to go to court to overturn these grievous violations of freedom of speech and religion. Want more examples? See “18 Examples Of How Christians Are Being Specifically Targeted By Big Brother”, an article from 2011.
The home Bible study mentioned above is right here in San Juan Capistrano at the home of Chuck Fromm, the publisher of Worship Leader magazine!!! That’s right here in what is considered ultra-conservative Orange County, home to some of the biggest mega-churches and church movements to ever hit planet Earth including Saddleback, Calvary Chapel, Vineyard, Mariners and more…
I don’t think most of us in the church realize the massive increase in persecution as vocal and well-funded groups push their own goals, which for some includes removing all mention of God from the public square.
Chick-fil-a is in the blast zone right now simply for contributing to traditional marriage and family organizations, and when the CEO was directly asked about marriage, providing his honest answer, the Biblical definition of marriage, the answer every practicing Christian who utilizes the Bible as the final authority in all things would give. Elizabeth Scalia’s particularly excellent article over at Patheos said it best…
“The big deal is simply this: the press put aside context and decided to paint this company as some radically-religious-gay-hating-entity and then let the forces of anger, hate and spite have their way with it. The truth is, one can be a Christian and still be sympathetic to some parts of the so-called “gay agenda” without signing on in toto. One can disagree on the issue of gay marriage — based on scripture, or thousands of years of tradition, or on natural law — without actually hating anyone. But the right to principled opposition is being erased, quickly, and the press is doing all it can to help erase it. We are losing the right to say, “I don’t think the same way you do; my opinions are different.” That matters, a lot.” This is our mainstream press — the people charged with the public trust — and it has moved beyond advocacy and into “search and destroy” mode.”
If you are a Christian who is concerned about defending religious freedom, you really should review the Alliance Defending Freedom. If you are in California, then you also must review Pacific Justice Institute. The cases above and others like them were overturned thanks to pro-bono support from Pacific Justice Institute and ongoing precedent-setting cases defended by the Alliance Defending Freedom.
As Christians, we can’t sit out of the public forum. We MUST love our neighbors AND stand for God’s principles.
What can you do now?
- Read Elizabeth Scalia’s article.
- Review Alliance Defending Freedom — get on their mailing list
- Review Pacific Justice Institute — get on their mailing list
- Support Chick-fil-a on August 1. — Eat Mor Chikin!
If you don’t yet get what all the Chick-fil-a fuss is about, see the following articles: