Christian Persecution
You may recall how recently a Presidential aid, named Sidney Blumenthal, referred to a congressional aid as a religious fanatic. After some public scrutiny, he said, "I didn't mean to offend Mr. Ewing." I wonder, what exactly did he mean to do? It sure didn't sound like he meant to apologize (2 Cor. 7:10). Apparently, the modern message of ‘tolerance' has it's limitations. This attack on a religious man is not a lone incident, and so, it should be a matter of concern to us all. The political elite of our day have successfully branded anyone, who is audacious enough to insist that there is an objective and definable moral code, as a ‘radical'. It is troubling to wake and find that you fall under such politically incorrect labels as ‘judgmental', ‘homophobic', ‘intolerant', and ‘radical right'. Why? Simply because we are Christians. Suddenly, the words of Jesus become more applicable,
"Blessed are you when {men} cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me." – Matthew 5:11
Besides the subtle and ever-increasing attacks that are coming from government spokesmen and from the media elite, anti-Christian messages are coming from the entertainment industry as well. The ignorance and disrespect being displayed is alarming. A recent "sensual" pop song uses several phrases from the Lord's model prayer (Matthew 6:9ff). The song is a not-so-subtle tale of sexual immorality. And yet, the lyrics were praised and lauded on a national syndicated radio program. When entertainers take such liberties with God's word, they make the words common and show disrespect for Christian teachings. Another popular song on the Country charts tells how heaven's floor has holes in it so that the departed can watch their loved ones on earth. One verse of the song says that the falling rain is mother's tears because she wishes she were still here. The writer forgot to read what the Bible says about heaven; there are no tears in heaven. The naive person might say that such a song is innocent and harmless, but this is not so. The message is false and young minds are being shaped by such.
Another force that is working against the Christian is found on the modern college campus. In a recent class on Interpersonal Communications, the teacher handed out a sheet that listed several words that were not proper to say in a speech. I was stunned to see the name, ‘Jesus,' was listed among improper words like "guys, gals, umm," etc., I suppose the idea could be to not use it in a casual, or vain manner, so that the audience isn't prejudiced against the message. But that is just an assumption, and I fear that younger, more impressionable minds in the class might not make the distinction and find themselves prejudiced against the precious name.
As Christians, we must never be ashamed of Jesus' name or of his cross. As persecutions arise, we must remember that Jesus, as he was reviled, did not revile but entrusted himself to the Father. This is an excellent example for us.
And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard." – Acts 4:18-20
Dan Mayfield
©1998 Dan Mayfield. Permission granted to use this article in any manner, as long as: 1) the content is not changed and 2) the name of the author is left on the article.
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