But the society has changed.
Being a persecuted one will bring its own rewards.
Bump
Prophesy said this would come. It should come as no surprise.
Christians had a chance to stop this decline when we were still the majority in this country. I don’t see it getting better for the culture at this point.
Being a Christian in America, it pains me to say this, but as one looks at the History of the Church, it would seem that the more Christians are persecuted by the prevailing government, the more devoted and and courageous they become. It seems to be a “purification” process, like precious metal refined in the fire.
Christianity is on the increase in China, despite nearly two generations of repression.
Eastern Europe is another example.
But “refining and purification” HURTS, so, to be honest, I am not looking forward to it.
The biggest enemy of the church is complacency and comfort.
Free Republic has changed. There is a small handful of Freepers that expend nearly all of their efforts attacking other Christians.
They can do whatever they want to try to do but as long as I belong to Jesus... my reward is assured.
That's at least how long this has been going on.
Just remember, it's not you they hate, it's Jesus Himself.
The Judeo-Christian ethic is increasingly HATED by the culture at large, at least here in the United States.
Stand strong, Christians. You are being assaulted with small arms fire now... The big guns are coming.
Our society started changing when the muslim moved into the White House.
From my observation, those in the media who are allowed to publicly define Christianity for those who do not know are those who routinely slander Christianity and its adherents.
Its right to do good works, but at some point the church is going to have to stand firm and offer a clear vision that sin exists and that certain acts and actions constitutes sin. With that, the church needs to continue to offer true compassion and a hand to those seeking a lift out of the cultural quagmire.
I think the church today is very caught up in the idea of being seeker friendly and really what this means is blending in to the culture so as not to offend. Too, many of us as Christians are not trusting and putting faith in our Savior. Hence, we are sure to avoid rocking the cultural boat so as not to offend anyone with our stance. Therefore, we too are easily and willingly camouflaged by the culture around us.
I think the author is correct. And I pray that as the church comes alive and we as individual Christians (the church) wholly trust in our Savior that this will surely raise the ire of our nemesis, Satan and that's when things will get interesting.
For we our battle is not against flesh and blood...
“It was good to be a practicing Christian, and Christian virtues were seen as a respected standard for all.
But the society has changed.”
On the other hand, my child recently went on a weekend retreat, and the kids were very happy and seem very committed to the spiritual aspect of their young lives.
My personal feeling is that the deepest messages of Christianity - love, forgiveness, salvation - are so profoundly correct and compelling, that whatever cycles we go through in the world, the secular critics and enemies of Christianity will always and inevitably lose to the truth.
Being a respectful Christian and believing in Christ and accepting him as your savior is rebellious.
Sounds like things have come full circle from when Jesus died for us. Back then we were treated as rebels and were hunted down, made fun of and oppressed and Killed for our beliefs.
The romans couldn’t stop us then, I doubt these creatures today will have any luck.
The comments at that website make the case for him.
I went to the Latin Mass again yesterday.
People there are dead serious
there is no lightheartedness
we know what the truth is, the evil in the country, the stakes
I’ve always been a bit of a shutterbug, shooting photos of old buildings as I’ve traveled the towns and cities. In the last few years, I’ve thought it would probably be a good idea to make an extra effort to shoot old historic churches as well. Mainly, because the way the culture is going, with the intensification of hatred directed towards the religious, I expect many might be torched to the ground in coming years.
I’m going to kick a hornet’s nest here with this I’m sure, but this is my POV on the subject...
The Moral Majority inspired caricatures of the 1980’s bear some responsibility in this as well. The Tammy Baker’s, Swaggart’s, Tipper Gore and her attacks on rock music but not so much on “sexual healing” by Marvin Gaye, etc,. The inconsistency applied and the lampoonish behavior of the Jerry Falwell types gave rise to a generation of folks who viewed Christians as “insane”.
I wasn’t an active or practicing Christian at that time, but what I saw on the news and television coming from the Christian right and how they were presented by the media has done a lot to create this situation and the typical stereotype of a “Christian”.
It is easy to be mocked, demeaned and maligned when your own house isn’t in order...look at the charlatans and frauds that end up smearing Christianity because of their behavior and teachings...they do a darned good job of giving the secularists plenty of ammunition in their fight against God.
And those with a more refined approach to spreading the Word of God? Well, we’re just pigeon holed right alongside the kooks, frauds, charlatans and all that the secularists revile because they fear the power of a righteous society and the effects it would have on their lifestyles.
And 30+ years of lampooning Christianity has made it socially acceptable to do so...
Colleges, the left, the irs, and this administration all hate Christians and are doing all they can to eliminate them (after taking all their money and giving it to screaming savages.)
The drums of civil disobedience get louder.