Once we faced Lions . . .
Now we’re afraid our neighbors might think we’re weird. A Christian ministry founder says he believes American Christians are not ready for persecution. I wonder what was his first clue? [HT: Dispatches]
Now we’re afraid our neighbors might think we’re weird. A Christian ministry founder says he believes American Christians are not ready for persecution. I wonder what was his first clue? [HT: Dispatches]
John Meunier cites comments by Mark Cuban, owner or the Mavericks, who says he doesn’t need the new media because he can reach their readers just as well himself. I would note in passing, though it’s not the topic of this blog, that I think Cuban is optimistic about his ability to reach people directly….
I want to discuss inspiration just a bit, partly because it is relevant to my next post on Biblical interpretation (I hope to post it later today), and partly because there is someone on Twitter who is spouting a great deal of nonsense with regard to parallels and borrowing. (For those interested, he is @BibleAlsoSays,…
Joel Watts is quoting from a book I publish, From Inspiration to Understanding. I’d like to get more involved, but for now, check out his quote. My company (Energion Publications) will be releasing a new book by Dr. Vick, Creation: The Christian Doctrine, taking the approach of systematic theology. This will be released some time…
In several recent posts I’ve been referring to the relationship between scripture and evolution, and particularly how I moved from young earth creationism toward theistic evolution not because I studied evolution and became convinced, but because I studied Genesis and became convinced it was not narrative history. At the same time I’m looking at bit…
Yesterday I taught the Sunday School lesson for my class. The primary scripture was Exodus 32, the story of the golden calf. Our Adult Bible Studies title for the lesson was “The Permission Trap” and the goal was “To recognize the consequences of giving ourselves permission to do that which we know to be wrong.”…
OK, that should be a sufficiently provocative title! 🙂 Peter Kirk commented on an earlier post and gave me some advice–advice which I would normally consider quite good sense. Here it is: But maybe you are going a bit too far, at least to keep yourself out of trouble, in suggesting that those who do…
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I have mixed feeling about this. I’d like to think that I’m ready to suffer persecution for my faith but who really knows what I’d do in the face of the threat of torture or painful death?
The ‘but….’ to my comment is this: I feel that many Christians cry ‘persecution’ where there is nothing other than a removal of previous privileges or unexamined presuppositions of ‘Christians Good / everyone else evil’
For instance, in the UK, there was an email circulating amongst Christians (I received a few from fellow ministers and was asked to pass it on) saying that our post office was suppressing knowledge of ‘religious’ Christmas stamps so that they could claim in a few years’ time that no one wanted them. An enquiry by another minister friend of mine to the post office received a denial along with a pointer to the post office’s website where they were clearly being marketed along with the ‘secular’ Christmas stamps.
For me, these sorts of ‘false claims of persecution’ are both an offence against truth – which Christians should defend – and they are risk fomenting a sort of ‘habit of persecution’ where none exists.
Not having ‘the upper hand’ is not the same as ‘being persecuted’ as any genuinely persecuted individual will tell you.
I’m in agreement with this and with your whole comment. That was really my point. Christians here in America (I won’t speak for your side of the pond, though it sounds like you’re saying things are similar) are complaining about minor annoyances and about people not liking them. If they complain about that, and call it persecution, what will happen if it gets real?
I grew up overseas with my missionary parents, and I recall once fleeing our home because people were on the way who were threatening to kill us. I still don’t think that was anything like was is going on in Darfur, for example, but it gives me enough perspective to cringe when someone thinks they’re persecuted because their “Merry Christmas” wasn’t appreciated.