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| A young Christian Iraqi: Getting schooled early in persecution |
For millions of folks across the world, Christmas is a joyous time of peace and the celebration of the birth of the Messiah Jesus Christ.
But for many others--too many others--Christmas is just another day of misery on earth. Unless you've been living in some remote place that's cut off from modern civilization, then you know what I mean.
Christians are being brutally persecuted throughout the world from the Middle East to Asia to Africa. And the persecution has now reached the western world that was once considered a bastion of Christianity. But no more.
Certainly, Christians aren't losing their homes, possessions and their heads in the West as they are in various parts of the Middle East. But the storm clouds of persecution are gathering. And they look ominous.
For example, when U.S. Army Chaplain Joseph Lawhorn recently shared his Christian faith with a troubled soldier who was battling depression, he was disciplined by the U.S. military for "crossing the line."
Why did Lawhorn share his faith with the soldier? Because he related that his faith in Christ helped him overcome his own bout with depression.
But to the U.S. military, sharing one's Christian faith is now considered a criminal act and Lawhorn was punished, even though he's a chaplain.
And military chaplains used to be able to share their Christian faith until the antagonistic Obama administration ordered the military to shut their mouths. From frontpagemag.com: A single soldier was “offended” by Lawhorn’s presentation and reported him to the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers (MAAF). Writing on behalf the MAAF, former Army Captain Jason Torpy characterized Lawhorn’s presentation as “an abuse of power and a violation of regulations.” He further accused Lawhorn of engaging in “conscience protection” which he defined as “an insidious legal tool designed to allow military chaplains to use their power and authority to evangelize vulnerable military populations.”
The U.S. military's discipline of Chaplain Lawhorn isn't an isolated incident. Recently, the Air National Guard removed a column from one of its publications that was written by Col. Florencio Marquinez because Col. Marquinez used the column to share his faith in Jesus Christ.
Col. Marquinez's column was taken down after the Military Religious Freedom Foundation--a misnomer--filed a complaint with the Pentagon.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation was founded by Mikey Weinstein and serves as the Obama administration's Gestapo in silencing the Christian witness in the U.S. military. To give you an idea just how much Weinstein hates Christianity, here's a quote: "We are at war with a subset of evangelical Christianity. How many? Roughly 12.6 percent of the American public or 38 million people."
Persecution of Christians in America certainly isn't limited to the Christian men and women who serve in the U.S. military. Likely a deadly cancer, it's metastasized into the media, educational system, entertainment industry and into all levels of government.
ACLJ senior counsel David French said this: "One of the most strident examples: the misuse of the Establishment Clause to attempt to ban any mention of God from historical markers, monuments or even museum exhibits. This represents an effort to whitewash God from American history and change our national identity."
And Liberty Institute Founder Kelly Shackleford said this: "There are children being prohibited from writing Merry Christmas to the soldiers, senior citizens being banned from praying over their meals in the Senior Center, the VA banning the mention of God in military funerals, numerous attempts to have veterans memorials torn down if they have any religious symbols, such as a cross, and I could go on and on."
Skeptics will argue that the type of persecution Christians are facing in America is minuscule compared to the persecution they're experiencing elsewhere in the world. And they're correct.
However, physical persecution inevitably begins with intellectual degradation. Once a group of people has been marginalized, then it becomes easy to dehumanize them. And once they've been dehumanized, then it becomes easy to brutalize them. If you don't believe that, then you probably don't remember the Holocaust and how that nightmarish period came to be.
Is there a coming Christian Holocaust? It's already happening in certain parts of the world. Will it come to the West? Remember how the Jews were treated in Europe prior to the rise of Hitler's Third Reich? Yes, it could happen here.
The end time persecution of Christians is prophetic. Christ warned us: "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me." (Matthew 24:9) And the apostle Paul wrote this: "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted..." (2 Timothy 3:12)
And why are Christians so hated by the world? Christ said this: "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world." (John 15:18-19)
Christians have experienced persecution throughout the centuries in varying degrees. And they've even been persecuted by false Christians in the name of a counterfeit Christ.
But sadly, the worst is yet to come. And when it comes, who will have the courage to stand with Christ and refuse to renounce their faith?
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