Romans723
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 Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2003 5:54 am Post subject: Persecution or Hysteria? |
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A fellow named David Limbaugh, a self-proclaimed *Bible-believing Christian*,
has written a book titled *Persecution: How Liberals Are Waging War Against
Christianity.* The book description on Amazon.com reads:
"Bestselling author David Limbaugh makes a compelling case that liberals across
the country are waging an undeclared war on Christianity in our culture and in
our government--especially our schools. Limbaugh exposes the farce of liberal
'tolerance' and reveals the true agenda of liberals who misuse the law to force
Christianity out of the public square."
The book was recently promoted on the Drudge Report, and also received an
endorsement from the Giacometti-esque Ann Coulter, whose 24 September 2003
infomercial-disguised-as-column begins:
"David Limbaugh's new book, 'Persecution: How Liberals Are Waging War Against
Christianity
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0895261111/anncoultedoto-20/ref=no
sim>,' will make you cry for your country."
The book, and the glowing endorsements from supposed Christians like the
giraffe-ish Coulter, reveal more about the leavened Christian faith being
practiced in Amerikan than the supposed *persecutions* followers of The Lord
Jesus Christ suffer.
For example, Mr. Limbaugh details this *vicious* persecution:
~A Georgia school board, after being threatened with a suit by the American
Civil Liberties Union, deleted the word "Christmas" from the school calendar.
How does this abuse compare to say, oh, what the Apostle Paul endured?
"Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten
with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I
have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of
robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils
in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among
false brethren"-II Corinthians 11:24 - 26.
The school calendar issue seems a little trivial, no? Well, we know the
contemporary Amerikan Christian is soft, materialistic, a spiritual
hypochondriac. . .so the whining is to be expected and should be quickly
dismissed as the embarrassment to the faith that it is. The revelation of
Limbaugh's *Persecution* lies not in the imaginary persecution *exposed* in the
book, but in the issue *Bible-believing Christians* are grieved over:
Christmas.
Christmas isn't Christian. The self-proclaimed *Bible-believing Christian*
Limbaugh ought to know this. Christmans is just the pagan festival Saturnalia
reclassified as Christian by Rome.
What a sad commentary on Christian faith in Amerika. . .that a book is written
whining that a *Christianized* pagan orgy is stricken from a school calendar
(and what is it that supposedly Christianizes the Saturnalia festival we now
celebrate? The orgy of materialism? With all the shopping-cartfuls of useless
junk borrowed against the divine currency of the little plastic god Visa?
Jesus said "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.").
If this Georgia school calendar incident were the only example of a Christmas
snub being used to build a case for persecution, and there were other genuine
examples of persecution, The J Man would not bother quibbling. . .but the book
is full of these trivial little put-downs of Christmas, and turn to a handful
of isolated examples of Scrooge-ism into *persecution* is absurd (and, to be
frank, borderline hysteria), and an insult to the genuine persecution suffered
by the faithful down through the ages. Here are a couple more Shopping Holiday
examples the Bible-beliving Limbaugh presents as evidence of *persecution:*
~A Frederick County (Maryland) school employee was prohibited from passing out
Christmas cards at school because it "may not be a legally protected right on a
public school campus."
~The liberal double standard allows intolerance of Christianity, yet promotes
non-traditional, non-Western celebrations, such as Kwanza (the *African
Christmas*)
~In Tupelo, Miss., school administrators methodically purged all Christmas
carols of any religious content
~At Pattison Elementary school in Katy, Texas, Christmas songs are banned, but
students are threatened with grade reductions for refusing to sing songs
celebrating other religious faiths
~In New York City, the chancellor of the Department of Education prohibited the
display of Nativity scenes in public schools, while expressly allowing the
Jewish menorah and the Islamic star and crescent to be displayed
For this, the pencil-necked Coulter would have you "cry for your country." And
even this lamentation is decidedly anti-Christ, as the New Testament instructs
Christians that once they enter the faith, they no longer have a country. . .in
fact, the Christian is to consider himself a stranger and pilgrim on earth,
with his citizenship now in Heaven (for example: "For here have we no
continuing city, but we seek one to come"--Hebrews 13:14).
What about some of the other examples of *persecution?* The book site
instances of school officials prohibiting public prayer. Is this persecution?
What did our Lord Himself say about public prayer?
"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love
to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they
may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou,
when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door,
pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret
shall reward thee openly"-Matthew 6:5 - 6.
Much of the *persecution* in the book is merely political squabbling over
issues like abortion and gay rights. . .I am sorry if my neighbor has an
abortion. . .I wish she would choose another option, such as adoption, yet I
don't feel *persecuted* as a Christian because the USA allows abortions. I am
still free to worship Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. . .no matter what
ungodly behavior the laws of the land permit. No, disputes over political
policy does not amount to *persecution.*
Nor does the fact Christians are often ridiculed by the media (which is another
of the book's examples of *persecution*). Christians such as Coulter and
Limbaugh often ridicule infidels, does that mean they are *persecuting*
infidels? No. Ridicule is a far far far cry from persecution.
But in the end, it doesn't even matter if Limbaugh has produced a legitimate
argument that Christians in Amerika are being persecuted. What really matters
is Limbaugh's (and other Christian's) reaction to their imaginary persecution.
This reaction, crying, whining, throwing temper tantrums, complaining, etc., is
decidedly anti-Christ.
How is the Christian to act when faced with persecution? Here is what The Lord
Jesus Christ has to say:
"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say
all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding
glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you"-Matthew 5:11 - 12.
"Rejoice, and be exceeding glad. . ."
Indeed. Don't publish a book whining and complaining and pouting. "Rejoice,
and be exceeding glad."
Can one imagine the shrill Coulter, famous for the anti-Christ 9/11 clarion
call "we should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to
Christianity," rejoicing when faced with persecution? Of course not. . .we
have her example (her snide, sarcastic columns) when confronted with the
trifling nuisances of *liberals.* If the pelican-esque Coulter were ever to
have to suffer authentic persecution for her *faith,* if she ever were to have
to beaten with a rod for Christ's sake, The J Man does not imagine Lady Ann
would rejoice (nor would she, thankfully, be able to write a snide column about
her experience). . .based upon her writings, we must assume that, at the very
least, she would writhe snake-like in agony, and then sink into a vengeful
bitterness. . .begging for a bloody revenge. That is not the *faith* of The
Way.
Let us wash from our minds the ugly example of the Lawyer Coulter and look at
the beautiful response of a true Christian martyr, the ethereal Stephen:
"And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the
people. Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the
synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of
Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist
the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, which
said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.
And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon
him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, And set up false
witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against
this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of
Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses
delivered us. And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw
his face as it had been the face of an angel. . ."
". . .they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.But
Stephen, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and
saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said,
Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand
of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran
upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the
witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this
sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep"--Acts 6:8 - 15,
Acts 7:54 - 60.
"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to
Christianity"--the *Christian* lawyer Ann Coulter.
"Lord, lay not this sin to their charge"-the Christian martyr Stephen.
Perhaps it is really no surprise to find the Limbaughs and Coulters bemoaning
their imaginary persecution. Do they really understand the faith they claim to
believe in?
Conclusion at:
http://hometown.aol.com/thejman99 |
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