The headlines in the media which document the persecution of Christians in America are becoming more and more common. Christian groups being forced off of the Vanderbilt University campus, a school removing the word “God” from Lee Greenwood’s song, “ God Bless the U.S.A,” a student being called discriminatory because she painted a mural showing a married man and woman, and the list could go on and on.
These kinds of incidents certainly demonstrate a level of intolerance towards Christians and Christianity, but that is not really the worst part. We actually ought to expect militant non-believers to engage in this kind of behavior. And since the number of folks in that category is rising, the number of incidents is bound to continue increasing. The bad part of this whole thing is that there are so few Christians who know how to intelligently push back against it.
The truth is, our faith has a powerful foundation and there is a defense for it. On the other side, the worldview foundations of all non-Christian beliefs are built on sand. They will crumble and fall if we simply push.
So, what is the problem? The problem is, there are so few Christians who are willing to step up to the plate and witness to those who are so lost. It is not that the information is lacking. There are all kinds of places to gain the knowledge needed to give a great witness for Christ. For one, the MarketFaith Ministries website is full of information to help in that arena. It is just that so few Christians have been willing to discipline themselves to get up to speed on how to share a powerful witness to this anti-Christian crowd.
As Christians, we ought to be troubled by what is going on. But if all we do is complain about it, we are truly in a sad condition. When we see people actively trying to persecute Christians, we are looking at individuals who are far from Christ and who need someone to share a witness with them. Until enough Christians gain that ability and become willing to mix it up, we will continue to see an increase in the persecution of Christians in America.