Today I woke up and I found myself going on Facebook (a bad habit of mine). Usually I regret the time I waste on the social media site, but today I was thankful I was going through my news feed otherwise, this girl with no cable or newspaper, wouldn’t have heard about a news story. The Pentagon released a statement that they will be implementing a new policy that would punish service members who share their religious beliefs. This means that military service members cannot share the gospel and if they do so they can be prosecuted as enemies of the state. I didn’t think things would go this far so soon and it grieves me.
I can think of two freedoms that are in violation; our freedom of religion and our freedom of speech. What is a military chaplain if they can’t talk about the gospel? This is so central to our faith as Christians. Sharing the gospel is central to the Christian faith. How can chaplains even bring their fellow Christians hope if they can’t speak of the gospel?
What upset me the most is that the president of Military Religious Freedom Foundation, Mikey Weinstein, who advised this decision, compared sharing faith to rape! He referred to sharing faith as not only rape, but treason and said our military should be punished for living their Christian faith to put an end to a “tidal wave of fundamentalists”. This is persecution of Christianity, not other religions.
Let’s be honest as Christians; there have been plenty of fundamentalists that have misrepresented us and may cause those who don’t know Christ to react in ways that persecute all Christians. For example, Westboro Baptist Church has done plenty of hateful things from protesting funerals to being hateful towards people groups. Extremist Eric Rudolph bombed abortion clinics, gay bars, and the famous Olympic Park bombing in 1996. These are just a couple examples where people have done horrible things in the name of Christianity. There are more examples, but that doesn’t mean it’s right to persecute all Christians for the acts of a minority.
It is frightening when anyone does anything hateful in the name of their religion, but don’t people also do hateful things in the name of other things too; even in the name of good things? For example, people have done terrible things in the name of love or in the name of environmentalism. In 2007 Eric McLean killed a man his wife was having an affair with in the name of love. In 2008 an environmentalist group, the Earth Liberation Front, set fire to a Seattle suburb that they believed wasn’t respecting the environment. These actions done in the name of “good things” have not caused persecution to those who believe in love or environmentalism.
Let me give an example of how those promoting tolerance should respond (from my own life). I was part of an evangelical Christian group at my college. We were denied the right to be an organization or to reserve a room. They couldn’t take away our right to meet so we just showed up to any room that was large enough for the 100 or so students that gathered for worship. We were occasionally kicked out of a room for not reserving it, but the Lord always provided. At the end of my college career the view of “religious tolerance” at this school began change from every religion except evangelical Christianity to actual tolerance. Now this group I was a part of has more freedom on campus. They are free to meet, and live out their faith. They are even invited to talk about their faith at interfaith meetings. What an answer to prayer and I pray the same understanding of true tolerance can be adopted by our country’s leaders.
So how should we respond the current attack on religious freedom in our country? I don’t know all the answers, I’m only a person who seeks the Lord’s will (sometimes I fail at this), but it is my hope that I can offer a few words of encouragement and direction and also encourage you to open your bible where you can read the word of God for yourself.
First of all, pray! Today is the National Day of Prayer. Jesus teaches on loving your enemies by commanding us to pray. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good” (Matthew 5: 44-45). It is so easy to react in anger, but the Lord asks to love and pray for those who persecute us. God is in control and we can rest in the fact that we are his children.
After praying for and loving those who persecute us we must hold onto our faith despite persecution. We shouldn’t be shocked that the world isn’t welcoming Christianity with open arms. John 15:18 says “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it has hated you.” Jesus died on the cross for spreading the gospel. Romans 8:35-37 says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Nothing separates us from the love of Christ! If we are being persecuted God still loves us. Be encouraged that this world is fleeting and temporary. We have an Eternity with our Heavenly Father.
I will give one warning. If God isn’t number one in our life, if we are holding onto idols and sin, we will be quick to deny faith in the face of persecution. We need to be content and completely satisfied in our relationship with God. If we hold onto the things of this world more than our Savior, how easily will it be to deny God when we are in danger of losing our idols? Paul was content in Christ and was therefore able to joyfully suffer for His faith. In 2 Corinthians 12:10 he says, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Let’s hold onto the Lord who is always loving, always just, and always with us.
For God’s glory alone,
Carly Winterstein
I can think of two freedoms that are in violation; our freedom of religion and our freedom of speech. What is a military chaplain if they can’t talk about the gospel? This is so central to our faith as Christians. Sharing the gospel is central to the Christian faith. How can chaplains even bring their fellow Christians hope if they can’t speak of the gospel?
What upset me the most is that the president of Military Religious Freedom Foundation, Mikey Weinstein, who advised this decision, compared sharing faith to rape! He referred to sharing faith as not only rape, but treason and said our military should be punished for living their Christian faith to put an end to a “tidal wave of fundamentalists”. This is persecution of Christianity, not other religions.
Let’s be honest as Christians; there have been plenty of fundamentalists that have misrepresented us and may cause those who don’t know Christ to react in ways that persecute all Christians. For example, Westboro Baptist Church has done plenty of hateful things from protesting funerals to being hateful towards people groups. Extremist Eric Rudolph bombed abortion clinics, gay bars, and the famous Olympic Park bombing in 1996. These are just a couple examples where people have done horrible things in the name of Christianity. There are more examples, but that doesn’t mean it’s right to persecute all Christians for the acts of a minority.
It is frightening when anyone does anything hateful in the name of their religion, but don’t people also do hateful things in the name of other things too; even in the name of good things? For example, people have done terrible things in the name of love or in the name of environmentalism. In 2007 Eric McLean killed a man his wife was having an affair with in the name of love. In 2008 an environmentalist group, the Earth Liberation Front, set fire to a Seattle suburb that they believed wasn’t respecting the environment. These actions done in the name of “good things” have not caused persecution to those who believe in love or environmentalism.
Let me give an example of how those promoting tolerance should respond (from my own life). I was part of an evangelical Christian group at my college. We were denied the right to be an organization or to reserve a room. They couldn’t take away our right to meet so we just showed up to any room that was large enough for the 100 or so students that gathered for worship. We were occasionally kicked out of a room for not reserving it, but the Lord always provided. At the end of my college career the view of “religious tolerance” at this school began change from every religion except evangelical Christianity to actual tolerance. Now this group I was a part of has more freedom on campus. They are free to meet, and live out their faith. They are even invited to talk about their faith at interfaith meetings. What an answer to prayer and I pray the same understanding of true tolerance can be adopted by our country’s leaders.
So how should we respond the current attack on religious freedom in our country? I don’t know all the answers, I’m only a person who seeks the Lord’s will (sometimes I fail at this), but it is my hope that I can offer a few words of encouragement and direction and also encourage you to open your bible where you can read the word of God for yourself.
First of all, pray! Today is the National Day of Prayer. Jesus teaches on loving your enemies by commanding us to pray. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good” (Matthew 5: 44-45). It is so easy to react in anger, but the Lord asks to love and pray for those who persecute us. God is in control and we can rest in the fact that we are his children.
After praying for and loving those who persecute us we must hold onto our faith despite persecution. We shouldn’t be shocked that the world isn’t welcoming Christianity with open arms. John 15:18 says “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it has hated you.” Jesus died on the cross for spreading the gospel. Romans 8:35-37 says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Nothing separates us from the love of Christ! If we are being persecuted God still loves us. Be encouraged that this world is fleeting and temporary. We have an Eternity with our Heavenly Father.
I will give one warning. If God isn’t number one in our life, if we are holding onto idols and sin, we will be quick to deny faith in the face of persecution. We need to be content and completely satisfied in our relationship with God. If we hold onto the things of this world more than our Savior, how easily will it be to deny God when we are in danger of losing our idols? Paul was content in Christ and was therefore able to joyfully suffer for His faith. In 2 Corinthians 12:10 he says, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Let’s hold onto the Lord who is always loving, always just, and always with us.
For God’s glory alone,
Carly Winterstein