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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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Reaping What
We've Sown
Since we have effectivly
censored our public officials, our teachers, our elected representatives and
our judges of expressing their faith in public, the predictable is happening: a
generation of young people growing up with very little understanding of the
spiritual principles on which our country was founded. And we wonder
why so many of them can kill, steal, take drugs
and engage in promiscuous sex with no pangs of conscience. Our culture has
taught them that right and wrong are abribrary - subjective - changing.
The result of this propaganda campaign is that Christians are
depersonalized. Depersonalization makes it easier for people to accept negative
stereotypes, pigeonholed, and, in the extreme, tolerate abuse and persecution
of the people who have been depersonalized. Historical precedent for this can
be found in Nero's treatment of Christians, racism in all forms, and Hitler's
treatment of the Jews.
Secularists appear to have agreed upon three
specific mechanisms to complete the task of immobilizing and silencing
conservative Christians. You can find evidence of these strategies in your own
communities and schools.
1. Deny our
Judeo-Christian roots and rewrite our historical record.
Children
in public schools never hear the expressions of faith made by the founders of
our country. They celebrate the pilgrim's first Thanksgiving but are not told
to whom those early settlers were thankful.
2. Convince
the American people that Christians are in violation of the
Constitution.
Liberal activists would
have us believe our founding fathers were terrified at the prospect of
Christians participating in the political process. This led them, we're told,
to establish a wall of separation between
church and state. But no such provision appears in the Constitution or any
of the foundational documents. The principle of separation of church and state
is found only in one of Jefferson's letters, and referred, not to the exclusion
of religious people from government, but to the protection of religion from
governmental interference.
"[The religious right] are demanding their
rightful seat at the table, and that is what the American people fear the
most."
[Rep. Vic Fazio,
D-Calif., "God as a Wedge Issue," Norfold Virginian-Pilot, June 24,
1994]
Democrats in Congress have
formed a so-called "Radical Right Task Force" ... which is paid for with
American tax dollars. This "Task Force" meets in the U.S. Capitol to plan how
to intimidate Christians from going to the polls and to deny churches
tax-exempt status if they distribute Christian Coalition's voter education
literature. The task force met on August 11, 1994, according to a spokesman for
Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), "the main thrust of the meeting" was "non-profit groups
vs. Advocacy groups" and "when do non-profits cross the line and become
advocacy groups?" The law provides tax exemptions for non-profit groups but not
for advocacy groups. [John Wheeler, Jr., "Assault on Faith,"
Christian American, September 1994]
"People of traditional faith have become
effective, and this makes the left quake." [Sen. Dan
Coats]
Several leading political and
cultural groups have mounted a campaign to misrepresent and discredit the
religious right in hopes of undermining the growing political influence of
religious conservatives. President Bill Clinton called religious
conservatives "obstructionist right-wing fanatics"
who embrace a message of "hate and fear."
Hillary Clinton claims that those who are bringing charges against her
husband for his extra-marital sexual adventures are part of a
"Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy" or simply are
prejudiced against anyone from Arkansas. Texas
governor Ann Richards labeled them "mongers of
hate" who "preach their anger" and "have
turned the party of Lincoln into the party of Operation Rescue." Also,
Congressman, Vic Fazio, chairman of the Democratic Congresional Campaign
Committee, said the "intolerant," religious right
wants "to carry views that are distinctly religious over
into government and try to impose them as law" using "stealth
candidates" and "subterranean tactics" to advance its ruthless agenda. U.S.
Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders spoke of the "unchristian religious right" as "those people who are selling our children out in the name of
religion." Writing on the op-ed page of the New York Times,
Robert H. Meneilly writes, "The religious right confronts
us with a threat far greater then the old threat of Communism." You see
it also in the frenzied howls of James Carville, who just can´t seem to
restrain himself from linking the name of Jerry Falwell with every conservative
on his hit list.
The Christian Right has oftentimes been compared with
Nazism and they point out that Nazi's were Christian. But, were they?
Martin Borman was a very high Nazi official in Hitler's government and he
wrote, "National Socialism and Christian concepts are
irreconcilable. The Christian churches build upon man's ignorance and are
endeavoring to keep the greatest number of people in a state of
ignorance....Our National Socialist concept of the world is on a far higher
plane than are the ideas of Christianity, whose essential points have been
taken from the Jews. For that reason too, we have no need of Christianity....."
(The NAZI YEARS, Joachim Remak, pp. 103-104,
Prentice-Hall, 1969)
One of the most brilliant propaganda coups
of all time is the liberals' labeling (redefining) NAZIs as
'right-wing'.
Ludwig Von Mises described socialism under the Nazi's
[increasingly similar in America],"There are,
however, no longer entrepreneurs but only shop managers (Betriebsfuhrer). These
shop managers do the buying and selling, pay the workers, contract debts, and
pay interest and amortization. There is no labor market; wages and salaries are
fixed by the government [Labor unions, minimum wage]. The government
tells the shop managers what and how to produce [FDA, OSHA], at what
prices and from whom to buy, at what prices and to whom to sell. The government
decrees to whom and under what terms the capitalists must entrust their funds
and where and at what wages laborers must work. Market exchange is only a sham.
All the prices, wages, and interest rates are fixed by the central authority
[Federal Reserve]. They are prices, wages, and interest rates in
appearance only; in reality they are merely determinations of quantity
relations in the government's orders. The government, not the consumers,
directs production. This is socialism in the outward guise of capitalism. Some
labels of capitalistic market economy are retained but they mean something
entirely different from what they mean in a genuine market economy."
(Omnipotent Government, Ludwig Von
Mises, p. 56) [emphasis added by author]
3. Embarrass,
insult, shout down and mischaracterize Christians, hoping to intimidate them
into silence.
Those who reject Jesus
will shun Christians, for faithful believers carry the presence of the Holy
Spirit who brings conviction of sin as well as God's love. Any mention of sin
grates against today's relativistic values and the kind of "freedom" where
anything goes. That's why Christians, who are "the aroma of Christ" to
believers, are also "the smell of death to those who are perishing." They hate
the true Jesus.
"But thanks be to
God, who always leads us in His triumph" (2Cor. 2:14-15)
Any Christian who has stood his
ground on Biblical faith has grown uncomfortably accustomed to being called all
sorts of names:
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Judgmental: People
say, "You criticize our way - you don't think we're good enough for God!"
(Romans 3:23-24) |
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Arrogant: "You think
you're better than us - that you have found the only way to eternal life!"
(John 14:6) |
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Narrow-minded: "You
think you have the only handle on truth. If you practiced the love you preach,
you would see all people as worthy of salvation" (1 Timothy 4:1) |
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Ignorant: "You
simply don't know the other paths to enlightenment" (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
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Old-Fashioned: "You
cling to obsolete myths" (Hebrews 13:8) |
The names "radical right,"
"far right," "extreme right"and "Christian right" are also part of
the effort to marginalize and demoralize those with traditional
views.
When was the last time you heard
homosexual activists or abortionists referred to as the "Radical
Left?
When Reggie White, an ordained
minister and All-Pro defensive end for the Green Bay Packers, stated in a
speech his Christian beliefs regarding homosexuality, CBS almost immediately
cancelled his pending sportscasting contract. During his speech, White declared
that he is "offended" by the comparison of struggles of homosexual groups to
those of blacks. "Homosexuality is a decision. It's not a race," he said. At
about the same time, CBS announced plans to air the Howard Stern Show,
featuring raunchy language, nudity and graphic sexual content. Nike agreed to
retain Reggie as a spokesman, but Nike Chairman Phil Knight denounced Reggie as
"crazy." Campbell Soup Company declines to renew Reggie's endorsement contract,
saying that his "comments are not consistent with the principles of the
Campbell Soup Company."
Supported by the Justice Department, the news
media characterizes Christians who choose to believe in the Bible as cultists.
Numerous examples of this bigotry is evidenced by the endless reports of people
who believe the "end of the age" is near is responsible for all sorts of
terrorists acts. Some of the more apparent examples includes the burning of the
Davidian compound in Waco Texas and the murder of the family at Ruby
Ridge.
After the tragedy in Oklahoma
City, Americans watched in disbelief as Democrats and liberal pundits attempted
to portray the maniac bombers with conservative and religious Americans -
especially those who fight for the unborn child.
Writing in The
Washington Post, Michael Lind made that connection between the bombers and
pro-lifers. He wrote, "The story of Oklahoma City and
the militias should not make us forget that the main form of political
terrorism in the United States is perpetuated by right wing opponents of
abortion."
Washington Post columnist Carl Rowan
wrote one of the most unbelievable columns stating: "I
am absolutely certain the harsh rhetoric of the Gingriches and Doles …
creates a climate of violence in America."
Bruce Morton of
CNN attempted to link the bombers with religious Americans: "What do you suppose the odds are that when they finally know
who did it, they will say, "Well, I was following God's will?" he
asked.
Eleanor Clift, the loud voice of the left on PBS's The
McGlaughlin Report, predicted the bombers were from "a
loose cabal of gun extremists, religious extremists."
In the wake of the murder of
Nicole Simpson, Wall Street Journal columnist Al Hunt attributed part of the
blame for domestic violence against women on Pat Robertson's teaching on the
headship of the husband over the wife.
A government report blamed
Christianity for causing teenage suicides. Published in 1989 by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, it accused Catholics, Baptists, and
other Christian groups of depicting homosexuality as morally wrong, thus
creating "unresolvable internal conflicts for youth who adhere to their faith
but believe they will not change their sexual orientation." The recommendation:
churches must change their beliefs. "Religion needs to
reassess homosexuality in a positive context..." ["Government Tells Churches What to Teach," AFA Journal (October
1989).]
In 1989, the U.S. government released a report by a
committee of the National Research Council which called the Christian
perspective of homosexuality a "deep-rooted social pathology" and further
blamed Christians for "stigmatizing" homosexuals and thus contributing to the
spread of AIDS.
Dan Rather, CBS News anchor, blamed Christians for
attacks on homosexuals in an April 11 editorial for the magazine Nation. He
wrote, "Gays and lesbians are beaten to death in the
streets with increasing frequency - in part due to irrational fear of AIDS but
also because hatemongers, from comedians to the worst of the Christian Right,
sent the message that homosexuals have no value in our society."
Indeed, name calling has become
the defacto standard for liberals when describing their opponents. But, their
derogatory terms, "racist," "sexist," and "homophobic" must be loosing their
effectiveness because recently they have bugun a new campaign: calling their
opponents "crazy."
Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen says that
Charlton Heston is nuts because his views on the culture war contradict today's
notion of political correctness.
Jesse Jackson says that Mayor Rudy
Giuliani "sounds like a mentally disturbed person" becuase the Mayor had
defended police action in New York City respecting the shooting of unarmed
suspects.
Mind you, these people are not saying that their opponents'
ideas are crazy. That is perfectly legitimate. They are rather labeling the
proponents of ideas they oppose as crazy. Their intent of course is to convince
the American public that since these people are crazy, as opposed to the idea
being crazy, then they do not deserve to be listened to at all. [Paul Weyrich, "Liberals resort to calling names," Christian Crusade,
June 2000]
George Gardner of College Hill
United Methodist Church in Wichita, Kansas said, "The evangelical Christian
right does not represent the religion of America. We have to deal with the
Christian evangelical religious right that would take the love of God and turn
it into the wrath of God ... that would take the equality of men, women and
children and would turn it into a male-dominated hierarchy that would subjugate
women and intimidate children." [The Wichita Eagle, January 22,
1994]
The defenders of all that is fine
and decent indict Bible-believing activists as "hate mongers," "fire-breathing
radicals," "unchristian," "merchants of hate" who would establish "a Christian
version of the Ayatollah Khomeini's Iran" and "fanatics" with a message of
"hate and fear." By stigmatizing the values movement, the Left hopes to avoid
the issues in debate. Its subliminal message is: "Don't listen to what these
extremists are saying. Don't take them seriously." They're militants and bigots
- and that's all you need to know about them." [Don Feder, "The
Religious Right? That's You," Christian American, September
1994.]
The frustrating thing is
that those who are attacking religion claim they are doing it in the name of
tolerance, freedom, and open-mindedness. Question: Isn't the real truth that
they are intolerant of religion? They refuse to tolerate its importance in our
lives.- Ronald Reagan
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God's Law and Society
America: To Pray or Not to Pray
by
David Barton
Why Waco?: Cults and the Battle for Religious
Freedom in America
No More Wacos: What's Wrong With Federal Law Enforcement and
How to Fix It
Ambush at Ruby Ridge:
How Government Agents Set Randy Weaver Up and Took His Family Down
The Oklahoma City Bombing and the Politics of Terror
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