Christian Persecution: Saddle Up! This is War! (Of a Sort)

Peanut Gallery – A military friend of mine told me that the first thing an army does when it moves into new territory is “show the flag.” Rebecca Hamilton has issued a battle cry in her follow-up article on Christian Persecution in the West – “show the cross.” Game on!

Christian Persecution: Saddle Up! This is War! (Of a Sort).

September 21, 2012 By Rebecca Hamilton

I mentioned in an earlier post, Christian Persecution: In the West, Where the War is Forced Upon Us, that violent persecution of a group of people doesn’t spring fully-formed from the head of some political Zeus. It evolves in an almost invisible progression from a series of smaller things.

It almost always begins with simple criticism, some of which may even be valid. In time, this moves to unjust badgering, slanders and verbal harassment, which is coupled with agitation for changes in the law that impinge on the rights and freedoms of the group under attack. The legal discriminations begin slowly, again at first in areas that may even seem reasonable. Over time, they cut more and more deeply into the basic rights and essential freedoms of the target group. At the same time, insults and verbal harassment move into hectoring, hate speech and outright attempts to silence people.

This is where Christians are now in the Western World. We are bombarded with verbal attacks on our faith in the media, in our conversations, at our schools and even in our friendships and families. We must make the decision over and over to either be quiet and let this bigotry stand or engage in unsettling and exhausting battles that always seem to involve personal insults. At the same time, law-makers, government agencies and courts create laws, mandates and rulings that attempt to compel us to violate our faith or face legal sanctions, or prohibit us from the outward practice of our faith.

The HHS Mandate is an example of the government intruding on the free exercise of religion. The lawsuit against the British government over a woman’s right to wear a cross on a necklace to work without being fired is an example of how Christians are being forced to resist laws limiting the outward practice of their faith. There are many other examples of both these things that I could add.

The next move after legal discrimination and social hazing is violent persecution. Continue reading “Christian Persecution: Saddle Up! This is War! (Of a Sort)” →

“Facing the Giants: In Your Marriage” Crossroads Church

Peanut Gallery – This is the best message that I have ever heard on marriage. Yes – EVER!

The text was – 2 Samuel 11 – the story of David and Bathsheba. The message was Biblical, honest and kind… and it offered help and hope. The speakers knew what they were talking about and had the congregation’s full attention… because everyone there knew they were talking to them.

The message was delivered at my daughter’s church outside of Chicago. It starts a little slow… but is well worth the time. Perhaps God will speak to you… as He did to me.

Public Catholic Comment: Stop Slogan-Voting…. Pt 2 – “Who’s your Momma?”

“Money is the mother’s milk of politics.”

Jesse “Big Daddy” Unruh, 1966, Democrat, Speaker, California State Assembly

If “Big Daddy” Unruh is right – and he is – then the question we must ask politicians is: “Who’s your Momma?”

Rebecca Hamilton (Public Catholic) – “Stop Slogan-Voting…. Pt 2 – High Campaign Dollars = Government Puppet People” – gives us an insider’s understanding of how money works in politics and why we have no idea whom we are electing in the current money/consultant-driven political environment.

Barack Obama is her prime example. Please read her post FIRST, before going any further.
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The reason I find Rebecca Hamilton’s (Public Catholic) blog so compelling is that it rings true and helps me make some sense out of my own recent experience with public politics – and she does so from an authentic Christian perspective. This referenced post is no exception.

In this commentary, I’d like to offer a brief Case Study and some Lessons Learned from Hamilton’s insights.

CASE STUDY: SC Congressional District 7 – With the primaries behind us, my choice in November is now between a Chamber of Commerce clone of Forest Gump (R) and a Jim Clyburn clone of Sheila Jackson Lee (D). The candidates themselves would, of course, vehemently protest these caricatures – one thinks slower than Gump and the other is younger than Jackson Lee. But that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

My concern here is how the GOP ended up with Forest Gump. Continue reading “Public Catholic Comment: Stop Slogan-Voting…. Pt 2 – “Who’s your Momma?”” →

Public Catholic Comment: Lying Snakes, Kabuki Dancers and Useful Idiots

Peanut Gallery: Before going any further, please read Public Catholic’s “Stop Slogan-Voting…. Part 1.” My comments address Rebecca Hamilton’s (Public Catholic) post.

COMMENTS: Lying Snakes, Kabuki Dancers and Useful Idiots

I’m an old guy who is new to the public political arena (4 yrs) but well versed in the arena of church politics (35 yrs). I am not a newcomer to the “culture wars.”

My relatively recent foray into the public political arena began as a Tea Party activist after the election of Barack Obama; I had recently retired from active ordained ministry in a mainline protestant denomination. As a church pastor, I limited my public political activities to the Pro-Life movement, but was an intrepid culture warrior within the church – to little or no avail. (In retrospect, I was like the little Dutch boy trying to plug the holes in the dike with his fingers. Eventually I ran out of fingers.)

I’ve retired from both my local Tea Party and my denomination and now I’m free to express my opinion from the “cheap seats” in The Peanut Gallery – hence this blog.

That’s why I’ve found Rebecca Hamilton’s blog – Public Catholic – so refreshing. The parallels between our personal experiences, although worlds apart, are remarkable. The purpose of this brief introduction is simply to provide some context for my comments on Hamilton’s blog – Stop Slogan-Voting… Pt 1.

1. Lying Snakes –

“Politics is about power. The two political parties are not political parties as we once knew them. They are consortiums of special interests. They operate on behalf of these interests for one purpose: to get and keep power…. Power is what they want, and they will tell you anything it takes to get you to give it to them.” – Public Catholic

A friend of mine recently called one of our local politicians “a lying snake.” She couldn’t have been more accurate – the guy had just promised to vote one way in our local City Council Meeting and then did just the opposite. Another recently told my wife, with a straight face, that he never made any money off his position as City Councilman – when his construction firm had its sign outside a city rehab project only a few hundred yards away. Continue reading “Public Catholic Comment: Lying Snakes, Kabuki Dancers and Useful Idiots” →