Quiet Persecution- The Secular Side of Things

A quick search on Google for cartoon images of Christian persecution brought up all sorts of images of how Christians persecute others in our country. I guess it is easier for people to honestly believe that Christians are pushing their views on others than it is that these same people are pushing their views on Christians. It's sad, really. Christians are finding themselves in positions where verbalizing their beliefs might cause a failing grade in school, a lost job in the workforce, and ostracizing anyone who doesn't believe as they do. This doesn't leave much room for sharing the Good News, but I guess that is the point.

What's more, is that it's everywhere, even in places we don't expect. In politics, religious and moral decisions have been given into the hands of popular vote. Issues such as abortion, the sanctity of marriage, and the theory of evolution versus creation have all been politicized to where their "right" and "wrong" are determined by popular vote and then should be ratified by all. Anyone who does not agree with this voted on opinion is accused of being closed minded and not capable of the post modern thought process needed to succeed in this life. Sin is then renamed to be "a choice", "a biological imparative", or "false or misleading doctrine". The most important part of this renaming is that it falls on the individual to decide what is right and wrong, and that decision is also driven by popular vote. Thus, anyone who disagrees with popular thought and clings to Biblical truths of what sin is, is accused of infringing on freedom and rights. This leaves the Christian with a dilemma of how and where to demonstrate who they are, that is, a baptized child of God. All too often Christians are faced with the fact that their livelihood will be threatened because of their beliefs. Thus, they are faced with two choices: hide who they are or loose what they have worked for.

There is a story I have heard quite often. It is of a frog who is placed in a hot frying pan and jumps instantly out knowing the danger. Later, the same frog is put into a frying pan that is cold but is slowly turned up until the frog finally succumbs to the heat and dies. Why didn't he jump out like he did the first time? The first time, the danger was much more obvious. This, I believe, is how things got to where they are in the political realm. Chrisitans didn't catch on until it was too late.