Anti-Christian Persecution On The Rise In The US
July 7, 2012 27 Comments
The free exercise of religion is under attack in this country. If it isn’t Obama’s war on religion, attempting to force churches to fund contraception in spite of their religious convictions opposing contraception, it’s local governments trying to prevent bible studies or religious speech on street corners. If it isn’t that then it’s government funded colleges banning religious speech or religious convictions. The secular liberal view of the world is so pervasive that they refuse to tolerate any dissent. We’re getting to the point where in a generation or two it shouldn’t surprise any of us if the liberals start actively persecuting those who desire to religiously train their children.
In Arizona Pastor Michael Salman hosts a bible study at his home. Between 15-20 people attend each week. Of course local authorities charged him with 67 code violations and had him sentenced to 60 days in jail with a fine of over $12,000. Apparently it is unacceptable to hold Bible studies in Phoenix Arizona if more than a couple people attend. The fire department broke up a 20 person Bible study being held in Salman’s backyard. Why exactly 20 people on a 4 acre property creates a fire hazard i anyone’s guess. I’ve hosted 50 people in my back yard and I only have an acre. We sang psalms, which is likely more overtly Christian than anything Salman did. How can this situation be viewed as anything other than religious persecution? If Salman had 20 family members over for a barbecue no one would care, that 20 people show up for a Bible study earns him 60 days in the slam.
In Minnesota Brian Johnson wants to hand out Bible’s at a so-called “Gay Pride” event. A Federal judge issued an injunction declaring that he may not hand out Bible’s at the event. According to US District Judge Michael Davis, who issued a 41 page opinion, Johnson does not have the Constitutional right to hand out Bible’s at homosexual events. Thankfully the 8th Circuit stayed Davis’ ruling in an emergency appeal. That doesn’t change the fact that a Federal judge believes it is not the constitutional right of an American citizen to hand out Bible’s at a homosexual, or any other event. We may debate whether or not such street evangelism is successful or does anything to advance the Kingdom of Christ. But that we must defend whether or not handing out Bible’s is protected by the Constitution says a lot about the state of our country.
In Georgia Jennifer Keeton wants to become a therapist. Miss Keeton attended Augusta State University to obtain a degree in therapy. Miss Keeton is a Christian who openly opposes homosexual activities. That landed her in trouble with the University which demanded she attend a re-education class aka a “diversity sensitivity” course. She refused and filed suit. Unfortunately she lost her suit. The precedent set is disturbing. First, government funded universities may now force propaganda classes on students who do not share views held by the university. Second, if you oppose homosexual activity you apparently aren’t welcome to become a therapist. Miss Keeton’s position is rooted in her Christian faith, a faith with a government funded university believes are unacceptable and worthy of “re-education” via forced “diversity sensitivity” training.
If we do not protect religious freedom we will turn into a nation like Germany where a court recently banned infant circumcision. This of course directly affects Germany’s 100,000 Jews most of whom believe in circumcising boys as a sign of the covenant. The court claims circumcision violates a “fundamental right of bodily integrity.” If a child wants to be Jewish according to the German Court the child can “decide his religious affiliation himself later in life.” In short, parents have no rights over their children. In fact, 4,000 years of religious tradition is thrown out the door by liberal do gooders. This is an incredibly aggressive form of liberalism that forces everyone to back the values of liberalism or risk being subject to state intrusion into our lives, our children and our property.
Germany is far ahead of us in restricting religious freedom. But is there any doubt that we’re headed in that direction? Germany already bans homeschooling and actively restricts what religious schools can teach children. We have judges in the United States who allow government schools to ban students from holding specific beliefs. We have other judges who don’t want to allow free citizens to pass Bibles out on street corners. We have other judges throwing pastors in jail for holding small Bible studies in his home. These judges don’t act without government institutions asking them to act. Religious persecution is on the rise and it all stems from the liberal desire to control individuals and overthrow traditional Christian culture.
About Steven
“I think you are confusing not always getting your way with anti-Christian persecution.”
Persecution? If I didn’t know better I’d think you were kidding.
When government comes in and tells people in a private home they’re holding an illegal meeting, when government tries to ban the distribution of Bible’s and when government funded universities declare they will not tolerate Christian views then we’re talking about more than simply not getting ones way. We’re talking about the seeds of persecution.
The government didn’t tell people “in a private home” that they were holding an illegal meeting. Tax exempt status as a church was declared on the taxes, tithes were collected, regular scheduled services were held and it was publicly advertised as being a church, making it a church subject to zoning and fire laws, not a private home. The government didn’t ban the distribution of Bibles, the organizers of the event sued to stop the man from attending their legally organized event because of a difference of views. And no university has declared it will not tolerate Christian views, they asked that a homophobe who wished to be a counselor attend additional classes before they were willing to declare her fit to be a counselor who may some day counsel homosexuals.
Christians in America are a vast majority whose views and beliefs are strewn throughout our laws, on our money, in our pledge and elsewhere in the public across the nation. They are a group who would not tolerate Muslim, Wiccan, atheist or Satanist beliefs being similarly publicly visible. Yet they cry “Persecution!” every time they are politely asked not to push their views on others, spreading lies and misinformation to make it appear as if they are somehow not the majority pushing their beliefs onto others, but a mistreated minority having the beliefs of others pushed onto them. They invent ways in which they are being persecuted, as they have in the school systems with the argument that by not promoting Christianity, the schools are promoting atheism, even though the laws clearly spell out that it is just as illegal to promote atheism as it is to promote any religion at all. To hear them talk you quickly find that the only way they believe that nobody is being persecuted is if you teach the kids about their beliefs and only their beliefs. They purposely muddle topics like atheism and evolution, two things which have nothing in common, in an attempt to bolster their argument/outright lies.
I don’t care what you believe. I don’t care what you think is going to happen to you when you die, I don’t care what you think is going to happen to me when I die. And if someone ever tries to outlaw your beliefs, I will fight with you, not against you, because I believe in religious freedom. On the same token I believe that I should be free from religion if I so choose. I believe that I shouldn’t have to teach my children that science is real because I can’t be sure the schools are doing so. I believe science should be left to scientists, gay pride rallies should be left to gay people, schools should be left to teachers told what to teach by scientists and churches should be left to pastors. Would you want cross dressers passing out gay literature at your church picknick? Probably not. That’s probably the same reason gay people don’t want homophobes passing Bibles at gay pride rallies. If Christians simply showed the same respect to others they expected to get from others there wouldn’t ever be a problem.
What does it say about America that a “meeting” is considered illegal?
If phoenix had broken up a group of homosexuals in a backyard it would be on world news coverage. Satan is getting bolder in these times, We need to rebuke him and his followers.
Everyone in the medical field should be warning homosexuals of the harm they are doing to their bodies and to the general population by engaging in their harmful actions. Isn’t that true friendship, to warn them of the hazards or their lifestyle ? The bible is the ultimate how to book, and now these “enlightened ones” are wanting to ban it. Next they will be wanting to burn books, we’ve seen socialist do that before. Socialist want everything their way.
Let’s say a group of 15-20 communists met every week at someone’s home. The government would never dream of shutting down such meetings. Yet for some reason the government believes it is their right and duty to shut down a Bible study. Even if we say this is a “home church” it really is none of the governments business what sort of meetings people are holding in their homes.
I am not one to go around crying wolf about these things (for the record, I don’t believe you are either), but I do believe it is much more of a problem than we realize. It seems every religion or other group, such as homosexual activists, has their freedom of speech in America, unless it has something to do with Christianity. It’s more than a little troubling to see Christians face with such obvious bias and persecution.
Christians are under attack in this country by leftists. Most of it happens on the nation’s government funded college campuses. We don’t hear about it much because most students are either afraid to speak up or they simply shut up to get a degree. Colleges have speech codes and give preferential status to homosexuals and other leftist groups. In the name of “diversity” Christian groups cannot even prevent non-Christians from joining and taking over.
I am familiar with a Pentecostal preacher who goes to college campuses all over the country. He tries to hold rallies, preaches, sings, etc. The hoops he has to jump through are amazing. The hatred he encounters while there is even more astounding.
I don’t doubt it. Terrorists, Communists and Muslim radicals are welcomed on college campuses. Christian speakers and to a lesser extent conservative speakers aren’t welcome and are subjected to attack. Interestingly from my experience the attack is less from the student body at large than it is from the faculty and administration.
Are you serious? How many politicians have you ever heard say, “America is a Muslim nation”? What money to you have that says, “In Krishna we trust”? What Pledge of Allegiance have you recited that says, “One nation, under Goddess…”? How many public buildings can you name with the Witches Creed above the doors or Satanist Creed in the lobby? There is no lack of Christian freedom in this nation and, in fact, the freedoms other groups are now enjoying are brand new to most of them. This is not the start of persecution of Christians, it’s the end of persecution of everyone else.
Birn you sound like an uniformed, uneducated crank.
Do you mean to tell me that you cannot come up with one legal justification as to why a bible study group at a private home might be found to be justifiably in violation of a local law, ordinance or code? You cannot fathom why the neighbors in a rural neighborhood might not want regular meetings to occur at the next door neighbor’s house? I’ll bet if you had weekly gatherings of 50 or more people in your back yard that the local officials would be quite a problem-if iyou had neighbors near by.Your perceived persecution of Christians is simply the flip side of Hilter’s accusations against Germany’s Jews. Pure paranoia and fantasy.
If the United States was a country that persecuted Christians you would no longer have a license to practice law nor would be allowed to rant like a lunatic on the Internet.
If this guy was having loud music or was amplifying his Bible Study you might have an argument. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about a guy who has 15 people over to his home situated on 4.6 acres. The last occasion he had a barbecue with 20 people. Do you mean to tell me that it is now illegal to hold barbecues with 20 people at ones rural estate? Are you to tell me that the government not only may but should restrict the number of people who attend private meetings in private homes? Whether we’re talking about Christian meetings or not, it is simply outrageous that local governments believe they have the right to restrict people in this manner.
Look-you are a lawyer-stop trying to mislead your non-lawyer followers that there is some injustice here. It doesn’t matter whether it was a bingo game or cabal of wiccas, budists monks or coin collectors residential neighborhoods have restrictions.And—-as you know as a practicing lawyer—the law has to fit all shapes and sizes without exceptions. And—as you know–because of the limitations of how our statutes can be written the outcome does not always protect the innocent or favor the worthy. Start thinking like a lawyer. If you walked into a court with that kind of nonsense defense you would be committing malpractice. I meant it when I said you are a lunatic! You are a very sick man. Get help for God’s sake!
Methinks Steven Birn isn’t the sick man around here. All you are doing is throwing your legal jargon around, hoping something will stick to the walls. As long as it is a peaceful gathering, which it was, the local authorities had no right to break up the meeting. And for the record, it wouldn’t matter to me if it was a Christian meeting, or if Muslims or some other group were holding the meeting. The First Amendment specifically guarantees us that right.
So let me get this straight, if the old ladies are having a game of canasta and 15 of them show up it is your position that it is perfectly acceptable for the government to step in and put a stop to it? Not only is this your position but if one questions this sort of government action then one is misleading others and/or “sick.”
People have the right to associate and they have the right to hold meetings. When we’re talking about a gathering of 15-20 people, it is simply outrageous that government tries to put a stop to it. Based on the 15 person criteria, my wife’s parents couldn’t have their parents, children or grandchildren all visit at once. My family couldn’t have more than one family with children visit for Sunday lunch. Last year my wife held an “illegal” wedding shower for a friend of ours based on the criteria set up by Phoenix, the court and John. After all, Mrs. Birn had 15 cackling ladies over for tea and light refreshments. To say nothing of the church picnic we hosted a couple of years ago with 60 people. The notion that government can make arbitrary laws and we must not question is straight out of National Socialism or Communism.
No, we’re talking about a building advertised as a church, where regular church services were held and tithes collected and for which tax exempt status as a church was claimed. I bothered to look it up.
Excuse me LD but Steve Birn is a lawyer. Steve’s misogyny is amazing! “”15 cackling women” Is that what women do when they talk? They cackle? Women are incapable of having an intelligent useful discussion? You don’t have much of an opinion of your wife Birn do you! Is that what female attorney’s do when they talk-they cackle? LD Constitutional guarantees are not absolute-as any first year law student learns.
Birn-you hate 90% of the world’s Christians, You hate women. You called a female college student ugly in public without remorse. You certainly hate the results of democracy in this country. You despised your college professors.You scoff at the 40 million poor people in this country. You Steve Birm are as sick and demented as a human being can be. There will always be people like you walking the earth. Given the right tragic circumstances you could develop a large enough following to gain power. Adolph Hitler did and I guess you could too. Democracy offers the rest of us very little protection against rise of someone like you.
If I’m so sick and demented, why do you keep coming back?
Well, I’ll give you this. Democracy would offer little protection to minorities. Thank God we do not live in a democracy. We are a Constitutional Republic, through the foresight of the Founding Fathers.
What is wrong with Steven’s use of the word “cackle”? Have you ever heard of a figure of speech? He was using it to make a point, not put those women down.
The dear “liberated” women that were at my home for that wedding shower would either A. laugh at the term cackle or B. actually used the term cackle when referring to the group. They also tend to call themselves clucking hens. But apparently those are unacceptable terms.
Yea, Steve I am sure you have many liberated female friends?? Did you try the uglyphobe comment on them too? Did you express your belief that only attractive women are likely to be raped? I’ll bet any liberated/educated women would find that hilarious.
Why do I come back? Because you need need to be confronted and exposed. Your sycophant lapdog LD and the other lunatics who read your demented crap are not going to question your sanity. LD you wouldn’t know a sexist and misogynistic slander if it hit you square in the face.
Steve, only reactionary right-wing wing-nuts can actually take you seriously. The levels of discussion here go from the inane to the insane- (e.g. Donna Calvin). Like most fanatics, you are filled with hatred. You are like a newly minted Marxist, surrounded by the evils of capitalism on every side. You hate 90% of the world’s Christians-they can be found everywhere you go. You hate our government-it is everywhere. You hate liberated women-you have to work with them. You hate the public school system-you have to pay school taxes. You hate college professors-your kids have to be educated. You hate the so-called poor-you see them on the streets and at the stores. There is so much for you to hate. So much for you to scoff at. The world is full of lazy, evil and stupid people that only take advantage of any kindness offered to them. Thank God that the world had produced the amazing Steve Birn – savior of morality, a genius. God has given this man the ANSWERS. If only the world would listen. You are insane Steve. Nuts!
Pingback: Yankee Doodle Legislation Alert – Amendment 2 «
1) Pastor Michael Salman was violating fire and safety regulations. It has nothing to do with the nature of the events.
2) Brian Johnson was denied a booth at *their event*. He remains free to distribute his religious motivated bigotry elsewhere.
3) Jennifer Keeton is employed by a public institution which is there to serve *all* citizens. She refused to do so, which landed her in hot water.
4) Mutilating a child’s genitals is an abhorrent made all the worse when you’re doing it to please a magical ghost.
You see, these are not cases of Christian persecution but the government ensuring freedom in the public square. Your propaganda and rhetoric only make you look foolish.
Fire and safety regulations? Give me a break. Since when is having 15 people over to ones house on a multiple acre property a fire and safety violation? It’s a private meeting at a private residence and none of the government’s business. Johnson was denied the right to distribute material on a public sidewalk, which is a violation of his civil rights. Miss Keeton was not employed at a “public” institution, she was trying to obtain a degree. Even if she was at a public institution, the notion that she must check her faith at the door is abhorrent to the Constitution. The Constitution does not enshrine secular humanism or practical atheism as the national religion. It provides us with the right to freely exercise our religion. It does not protect us from other people freely exercising their religion. As for circumcision, you expose yourself as a bigoted atheist with your comments. If you think freedom in the public square means government shuts down religious speech, then you have a strange view of freedom.
Steven,may the LORD GOD bless you for that sweet response to askegg,he was making me vomit out i think he needs a conviction of the Holy Spirit off his position.
The Lord changed the heart of the Chief of Sinners, the Apostle Paul. He can change the heart of askegg if it is His Holy will.