I'm going to open up the comments on this post because I would love to hear your feedback on this.
There is an article posted at Lahontan Valley News asking the question about Americans and persecution. I have many thoughts myself on this issue, however, what YOU think interests me.
Please read the article here and then comment.
I think that sometimes we, the church in America view the prohibition of the Nativity scene at Christmas, the forced removal of the 10-Commandments from public forums or the fact that we do not get a promotion at work because we espouse some moral or Christian values to be ‘persecution’
It is hard for me as I follow the persecution of believers in China, Indonesia, North Korea, India, etc… to consider the light affliction of America as ‘persecution’. The commitment seen in our brothers and sisters that has been refined by the fire of persecution in China can be witnessed in the Article “China: In the School of Suffering” Voice of the Martyr Magazine April 2007 Issue. Xiang speaks of young couples in his house church that are leaving the hotbed of persecution in China to evangelize the gospel to a Muslim world.
To be perfectly honest with you Stacy, the church in America has no clue as to what real persecution for the cause of her Christ is all about. Xiang and Zhen do!
Peace as we pray for them: not that God will take them out of the fire, but that He will carry them through it, and that we beseech them to pray for us when His fire comes to the church in America. It will most assuredly come Hosea 5:15
Malachi
Posted by: Malachi | May 23, 2007 at 10:26 PM
I agree that Christians in the US do not feel the physical persecutions that others in the world do, but I believe that Christians are persecuted.
How? I lived in a rural Nevada town that borders Utah. The community was 95% LDS(latter day saint...or Mormon)
As a Christian I believe that Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, not a spirit brother of Satan. The Jesus Christ that I serve is not the jesus of LDS.
A LDS community is very loving to their own, but by attending an apostate(fallen in their eyes) church, you are not worth anything.
The children were 'shunned' for lack of a better term, as are all who attend the Christian church.
All business, fun , and community events are exclusive. I know and witnessed this first hand.
The presentation of the LDS and the perfect exterior put on was heartbreaking. It is not about family it is about Jesus Christ, and no amount of Temple work, nor baptisms for the dead nor tithing will get you next to Him. He paid the price on the cross. Not because we are worthy. And He never left us, so we have no need for brass plates,Moroni, nor a soothsayer named Joseph Smith . Jesus warns us of false prophets, and I pray that those under the LDS church test all their prophets using all they said against Deuteronomy 18:22
So yes, persecution exist here and although physically passive, it weighs heavily on the person. Praise God that He never leaves us alone!
Posted by: jennifer | May 16, 2007 at 01:06 PM
The fact that American Christians do not bear the marks of physical persecution on their bodies does not mean that any time Christians respond to irrational venom from fundamentalist atheists, or decry the imbalance of reporting in the agenda-driven Christo-phobic media, they are merely whining.
Ideas have consequences. I seem to have heard that somewhere before. If we do not speak out and engage the culture, irrational rants will result in physical persecution eventually. It ain't whining to warn against where the road is leading when the bridge is out.
Posted by: Kevin Rhyne | May 16, 2007 at 12:04 PM
Conservatives have poo-pooed the possibilitiy that gays or blacks could suffer persecution by pointing out how many individuals are wealthy. They say, if some are wealthy then persecution cannot be taking place. So many Christians are wealthy and therefore ... I hope we can all reject this ugly logic.
At the same time, I think too many Christians put effort into making the faith into something like a sports fan fanaticism. The logo for my team gotta be everywhere. I get sick being around this kind of sports fan, and it's hard to blame nontheists for not wanting to become Chrisitians immediately in response to this logo-plastering. Makes you wonder what drew them to the faith in the first place. Sometimes Christians posti opposition to logo-plastering as persecution.
This is something else than witnessing to our neighbor about his or her sin and the completeness of the work of Christ on the cross for it. Now THAT will getcha persecuted. When THAT happens, there is no need to whine about it.
Posted by: Greg M. Johnson | May 16, 2007 at 10:28 AM
Compared to who? For the most part, Christians have gotten special treatment. Did you know that bigotry against atheists has been so ingrained in the US for so long that even in these modern times, only 48% will vote for an atheist.
Are Christians profiled? Not hardly compared to others. Are Muslims? Yes. Bigoted Christians, left and right, are right now attacking and debasing Mormonism as illegitimate and non-Christian. Do Americans have a mild neuroses left over from the Medieval religious tests of the colonies? Yes. They still cant get it thru their thick heads that the swearing to uphold the Constitution is the most important qualification in its test-oath. It is the only oath in the Constitution. Can those who want to mix church and state swear such an oath? Only superficially because they wish to violate the 6th article and the first amendment's separation of religion from government. Just WHEN has mixing the two increased liberties and equality? Never. It was the problem.
History HOME and TOC
http://www.stopthereligiousright.org
Posted by: James Veverka | May 16, 2007 at 10:23 AM