Persecution Complex

I read a great post on Think Christian this morning about the dueling extremists in the US today, all claiming they are being persecuted by the other side. I have grown so tired of the vocal minority of Christians claiming that we are being persecuted by liberals. The conspiracy theorists, who thrive on enmity, are not doing much, in my view, to "further the Kingdom". All I see are a bunch of people whining because someone has the audacity to question our view on the world and not see things the way we do.

When people talk about religious persecution of Christians in the US, I have to cringe because there is still REAL persecution of believers all over the world. We should never get into the habit of hyperbole lest we make light of the real victims of persecution.

In the US, we have so many freedoms that we take for granted every day. We have the right to speak (and post) and act on our views and our opinions. To scream "unfair" because the "other side" speaks and acts on their convictions as well is simply ignorant. What I see is a spoiled child, who has always gotten her way, throwing a tantrum when things don't go the way she wants them to.

I think there are two main points (obvious as they may seem) to remember on this issue:
1. Our opponents are not "heathens". Some of our opponents are God-fearing liberals who see inconsistencies between our country's goals and our reality, and who want to make this world better for the "orphans and widows" . Just because we have different ideas about how to make that happen does not mean that we need to attack them or question their values.

2. And as to those who are not Christians: we have to understand the basic principle that they are NOT called to live our life. Nowhere in the Bible do I find God commanding non-believers to act like they believe. Why? Because non-believers will not read the Bible, so they can't be expected to live by it. (I know that sounded elementary, but it seems that some people just don't get that basic point.) Yes, we are to keep ourselves from being polluted by the world, (same reference as above) but that's on us, not on them. It is not their responsibility to make sure that the world is as WE expect it to be.

I'll end with one last thought: It seems that, because Paul told us not to be conformed to the world, we decided that the easiest thing would be to conform the world to us. But, isn't that the same thing? Aren't we just trying to avoid living in a world that hates us by making them think and act like us? But Christ told us that the world would hate us and he commanded us to be the light to that world. What kind of light are we being when we throw a temper tantrum just because the world is exactly like Jesus warned us it would be?

--april