Persecution in America?

In preparation for teaching through The Revelation during January and February of 2006, Sheila and I have been sharing an ongoing conversation about the persecution (or lack thereof) that is experienced by 21st Century American Christians.

Here are the two questions involved:

1. Are Christians in America persecuted?
2. If not, why not, particularly in light of scripture's promise that tribulation would follow discipleship to Jesus?

With respect to question #1, there is only one answer. When the big "us versus the culture" issue is that people won't say "Merry Christmas" any longer, that is a pretty good sign that we don't have a clue what its like to suffer for our faith. Still, you can never overestimate our collective inability to get over ourselves, and I'm sure there are some out there who think that they are suffering horribly because of ACLU judicial victories or decisions to remove displays of the ten commandments from public venues.

Nevertheless, if one is willing - at least for a few minutes - to remove the politics-tinted spectacles of the culture wars and seriously consider this issue, the second question is even more engaging.

Why not?

The easy answer goes something like this: "We live in a country of religious liberty, so we can worship without fear of persecution. Plus, we are a Christian nation, so - since most of us embrace Christian/family values, there is no one to persecute us."

But is that really true? If so, I would say that we are quite fortunate to live in the only society since the time of Jesus that has not advanced any values that are contrary to those of the Kingdom. But I'm not convinced that Christians should rest easy because our civic leaders embrace our values. Consider, for example, the highly respected Christian leaders in the white community during the 60s who decided to side with Dr. King and/or who had questions about the Vietnam war. They very quickly found themselves out of the mainstream. Still not persecuted, mind you - but certainly ostracized in many ways.

I wonder: if the time came where it became necessary to stand up against something that is going on in our society, would we even recognize it? Set aside the war in Iraq for a moment, and consider: if the day ever came where it became painfully apparent that our leaders were prosecuting an unjust war, would you be prepared to face the consequences of standing against it?

Or how about the McCulture? If it ever became apparent that corporations to whom we have strong economic ties (or which may even employ us) are engaging in dangerous/immoral conduct, would we be prepared to deal with the economic consequences of standing against it?

Its a tough question to face, because there is a danger that - in answering it - we may realize we are living in denial - that we ought to be out, even now, doing things that might invite legitimate persecution.

But I think it is a question worth some serious discussion.

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