CL Staff | September 9, 2015
There are some who take offense when comparisons are made between what is happening to Christians in America and the Jewish Holocaust in Nazi-controlled territories. Then there are those in the media and entertainment world who openly mock and ridicule the notion that Christians are being targeted or persecuted because of their faith. To them we are nothing more than crybabies and whiners.
The ongoing Kim Davis story is but the latest example of modern-day persecution of Christians in the U.S. While Ms. Davis has not been flogged or burned at the stake it’s no less arresting to anyone who is paying attention. Why? Well, when you have a Christian who is jailed for upholding biblical values in a nation that was founded on Judeo-Christian principles it is a big deal.
What some in the Christian community are failing to notice is that society as a whole is being brainwashed not only of this nation’s rich Christian history, but now the anti-God agenda is quickly moving into desensitizing society so they can target the biblical worldview openly and, most importantly, unopposed. We may be living in modern times, but there is nothing new about the method.
You see, full-on attacks in the scale of a Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao and the like can’t work in this country just yet because there are those among us who still have an aversion to flagrant tyranny, but this is quickly eroding. The cultural trend is rapidly turning against believers who stand firm on the biblical worldview. And this is why it behooves us to learn the lessons that history has to offer in all its depth.
Humanists (aka secularists, atheists, basically anyone who is against God’s moral code) have taken their cue from these lessons. Centuries have taught them that they must first test the waters and then progress to more aggressive strategies. In the end, of course, they can only get so far because they are using man’s ideas and methods so it’s only a matter of time before they collapse under their own weight. One thing to always keep in mind is that they never rest. They may retreat, but only to regroup and come back through different means.
We cannot allow ourselves to forget how Christians have been penalized or fined in this country for being Christians. Let us remember the photographers, bakers, the florist, printing company, and pizza restaurant that have already been impacted by it. Some of whom have either had to close their business, been heavily penalized financially, or are at risk of losing all of their property including personal. Of course, this doesn’t include the military chaplains, teachers, high school students, and college students who get punished or reprimanded for praying in Jesus name and offering biblical counseling, holding Bible studies in classrooms during their free time, or playing a hymn at a game, etc.
This slow erosion has effectively numbed the segment of society that has no bone in this fight. As a result, it has allowed the agenda to step it up a notch and the door is now wide open to jail those who stand firm on their faith. This fight between what is righteous and unrighteous is only getting started.
It’s understandable that people become indignant when comparisons are made between Christian persecution here and the Holocaust because we’re not seeing the kind of atrocities of say Nazi Germany circa 1940. But, what people seem to be overlooking are the years and actions leading up to that moment. Were German Jews forced to wear yellow stars; live in ghettos; dispossessed of their property and wealth; and sent to concentration camps to be either worked to death, starved to death, or experimented on for research purposes within Hitler’s first 100 days in office after his election in 1933? No. It was a systematic method; one where each action, each shackle was more restrictive than the last and one that made the larger population become callused to not just what was happening to the Jews, but to political opponents, the mentally ill, the aged, the infirm, and anybody else that didn’t satisfy the agenda.
Christians, let us not be naïve in thinking that these and worse atrocities cannot happen in our modern times. All we have to do is read the testimonies of the Holocaust survivors to understand that when an ungodly ideology grabs a hold of a culture it doesn’t matter if you’re tolerant, compassionate, neighborly, or caring. Why? Because if you find yourself on the wrong side of the cultural trend, like we’re seeing now, then you are automatically eligible to be preyed upon. Sticking our head in the sand, turning a blind eye, or waiting to see what happens is not a sound strategy.
Evil has always been with us, but so has righteousness. If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior then that is a step in the right direction and you are in good company with many who have decided to follow God. It is now our responsibility to gird ourselves with the truth as revealed in God’s Word and to put on the full armor. Ephesians 6:10-18 perfectly describes what each generation must do in the face of evil and its agenda:
“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”
We are not alone. The Bible shows that there’s a time and a place for civil obedience and disobedience. Obedience toward God is every believer’s priority and when a nation professes to be under God its citizens must be eternally watchful of their rulers and governing institutions. If we do this God has promised blessings throughout the land (Deuteronomy 28:1-14).