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War on
Christianity
Currently, over 200 million
Christians worldwide are living under the threat of persecution.
 Topping the list of countries which have mounted a campaign against
Christians are China and Sudan followed by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Burma,
Greece, Ethiopia, and Vietnam. (Washington Watch, May
1998). Increasing persecution is also found in Cuba, Laos, and North
Korea.
Many Islamic-dominated nations have adopted a fanatical,
militant doctrine of persecution against all “infidels.”
The
militant Islamic Government of Sudan, for example, is waging a self-described
religious war against Christian, non-Muslim, and moderate Muslim persons by
using torture, starvation, enslavement, and murder. In Pakistan, the government
has declared those that who “insult” Mohammed will be put to death.
In Communist Laos more than 250 pastors and Christian workers have been
arrested; more than 60 churches and Christian institutions have been shut down;
and the government has forced many thousands of believers to sign documents to
"renounce" their faith and belief in Christianity.
In Saudi Arabia
there is no religious freedom. Apostasy is punishable by death. There are no
public worship services for non-Muslims. Anyone who does mission work or
converts Muslims faces expulsion, jail, or execution.
In countries near
and far, people are being persecuted simply because of their faith. Hundreds of
men and women are in prison serving sentences that range from a few months to
life. They are not criminals who have robbed or murdered other citizens but
Christians who were put on trial for their faith in Christ and found guilty.
Christians are beaten, tortured, imprisoned, and murdered by those who are
hostile to their faith in Jesus Christ.
Never before in American history
have Christians experienced being hated for following Jesus Christ as they are
today.
Here in America the persecution of Christians has not yet reached
the feverish pitch as in other parts of the world. There is still a
Constitution that protects them and allows them to freely practice their faith.
But, broiling beneath the surface, the same hatred of God that exists in other
parts of the world is festering in all our institutions. Slowly, methodically,
and incrementally the anti-God forces are working to remove that Constitutional
barrier.
It is important to recognize that those who are working for the
dissolution of our society have a spiritual agenda. They are not merely
attempting to dismantle the historic cultural values of this nation and move us
toward a homogenized world. They also want to destroy Christianity and
Bible-based religion. It is a clear part of their agenda, and they have already
moved a long way in that direction.
In America it is called
'secularism' and is becoming visible in all walks of life and in all our
institutions. Numerous legislative and legal battles which I'll discuss below
attest to the fact that religious warfare is taking place.
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The
Media
Our entertainment industry and
the news media sneer at anyone who defends Jesus Christ in public and have been
leading a propaganda war of stereotyping Christians into a subordinate class.
Their distortions reflect a genuine misunderstanding of who Christians are and
what they believe.
Americas' TV news broadcasts ignore conservative and
Christian news events, except when coverage makes religious leaders look "cold,
intolerant and oppressive," says Washington, D.C.'s Media Research Center.
Though most Americans believe in God and regularly attend religious
services, "religion and religious issues are hardly ever mentioned, much less
covered, on network television morning, evening and magazine shows," said the
center's chairman Brent Bozell. He said that the center has surveyed more than
18,000 nightly news shows broadcast by ABC, CBS, NBC, the Cable News Network
and the Public Broadcasting Service, but found only 212 stories that focused on
religion. That amounts to 1 percent of coverage although 52 percent of
Americans say they attend church and more than 90 percent say that they pray
regularly.
Network coverage of abortion and homosexuality "are never
done from the religious viewpoint," Bozell said. Instead, "religious figures
are regularly portrayed as reactionary roadblocks while their positive
influences are rarely covered." Except at Christmastime, when the networks
traditionally broadcast "heartwarming" segments in their broadcasts, the news
shows usually portray religious groups and their leaders "as cold, intolerant
and oppressive," Bozell said. ["TV news broadcasters unfair to
Christians, says research center," Christian Crusade, April
1994]
The
Workplace
Globalists have been
striving to legislate tolerance and understanding for the
New World Order. Legislation has been
passed in various nations, making it illegal to discriminate against any group
based on ethnic or religious origin, sex or race. Recently as well, numerous
laws have been passed around the globe making it illegal to discriminate on the
basis of "sexual orientation."
The anti-Christian bias is a reality in
many companies today -- as you will discover if you refuse to work on Sundays,
if you question "shading the truth" in presentations, or if you stubbornly hold
to your Christian standards.
A Christian employee of Hewlet Packard was
fired for posting Bible verses condemning homosexual behavior on his desk in
response to posters displayed during a company campaign to promote a diverse
work force. (WorldNetDaily)
The Public
Square
The trend in the public forum
is to replace the word "Christmas" with "Season's Gretings" or "Happy
Holidays."
In March 1998, The ACLU put pressure on the small town of
Republic, Missouri to remove a fish symbol from its official logo, calling it a
"secret sign of Christianity."
In April 1998, Rev. Patrick Mahoney was
arrested for praying on the steps of the Supreme Court.
Tourists
visiting Washington D.C. in 1997 were ordered by the police to stop praying in
the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.
In 2003, the National Park Service
removed 30 year-old plaques inscribed with Bible verses at Grand Canyon
following complaints from the American Civil Liberties Union.
(Agape Press) |
Government
The federal government abridges the free exercise
of religion in America by:
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Regulating churches and
other religious organizations through its tax laws. |
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Limiting religious liberty
in the area of public and private education. |
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Forbidding
non-denominational prayer in public schools and at educational
ceremonies. |
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Excluding the Bible from
school classrooms and from other school property. |
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Refusing to permit the
religious displays on public property, such as Christmas and Chanukah.
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The City council in Oceanside, CA banned public
prayers that begin or end with the phrase "in the name of Christ."
Schools
Possibly the most sinister battlefield in the war
on Christianity takes place in the classroom. The Ten Commandments have been
prohibited on school bulletin boards and most forms of prayer have been
declared unconstitutional in the nation's schools, even that which is student
initiated.
Atheists and others who hate God despises Christians who
help others come to a saving knowledge of Christ. They are determined to battle
those who would help immature Christians -- particularly Christian children --
grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ.
Increasingly, our
children are discriminated against for trying to present their Christian
convictions in school.
Dozens of Albertville Alabama middle school
students were
suspended for two-days for walking out of class to protest
a federal court ruling that bans school prayer. In 1997 U.S. District Court
Judge Ira DeMent struck down a law that required schools to allow voluntary
student-initiated prayers at school events, saying it created excessive state
entanglement in religion. He ordered the end to school-sponsored religious
activities, such as prayers during morning announcements and at school events
even though it isn't forced on students.
In 1997, a high school student
in Florida was suspended for handing out religious literature before and after
- but not during - school hours. Two high school students in Texas were told by
their principal they could not wear rosaries. The Principal claimed that they
were symbols of gang activity, even though the boys were not involved in any
gang.
In 2002, music teachers in Michigan, Maryland, and Virginia didn't
allow students to perform traditional carols like "Silent Night" and "The First
Noel" during Chrismas. A New Jersey public school banned the Charles Dickens
play, "A Christmas Carol" because of its spiritual overtones and message of
redemption.
The Courts
A judge in Gadsden, Alabama,
Roy Moore, has been ordered to stop
conducting prayers in his courtroom and displaying the Ten Commandments. That
led Alabama Gov. Fob James, a supporter of prayer in public schools, to vow to
use state troopers, if necessary, to allow Moore to continue the prayers.
 Confessed child rapist
James Arnett's sentence was overturned by an Ohio appeals court. The reason:
the judge in his case quoted from Matthew 18:5-6 during sentencing.
Businesses
Even though Krispy Kreme promises to give
students a free doughnut for each "A" on their report cards, a store in
Schereville, Indiana refused to reward the Kamp children for A's received in
Bible classes. ["Chain Won't Give a Doughnut for an 'A' in
Bible", Wendy Cloyd, Assistant Editor, CitizenLink]
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