One of the signs of the last days is a rise in Christian persecution.
It is something that is easy to see in countries like China, Egypt, Pakistan, and African nations but the US. We are a Christian nation right? It would never happen here.
Well, it might not have been as blatant over the last 10 years but it is coming out of the shadows now and becoming more and more blatant. Even our president has said we are not a Christian nation. I know this report shocks a lot of people but not those that have been watchful and studying God’s prophecy on the last days. It is what Paul meant when he said that we should not be surprised by what comes to pass as we have been foretold and remained watchful as to not be caught by the Thief in the night.
It is almost humorous to read some of the arguments made in the article below, that these acts are just upholding the constitution and not attacking religion. It is 180 degrees backwards. The original intent of the Constitution as our founding fathers wrote it was to protect religion from government, not government from religion. They did not want separation of church and state, that was an idea created in the 20th century. They wanted to protect religious freedom to choose what ever religion you wanted and practice it openly and to prevent the Government from declaring a mandatory state religion, like was enforced in England and most of Europe at the time. We have so turned this around and deceived ourselves that we now are on the wrong side of truth, and Truth is the Word of God.
The deception is so thick in this world you could cut it with a knife. And peoples hearts are starting to harden to it all.
We are called to keep shining our Light into this world, until our blessed assurance / blessed hope occurs and Christ returns for His bride.
Maranatha! Lord come quickly!
myblessedhope
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Christians victims of rising ‘hostility’ from gov’t and secular groups
A new report
by the Family Research Council and the Liberty Institute claims that there’s been a rising pattern of hostility toward Christians in America over the past decade.
The 140-page “Survey of Religious Hostility in America,” prepared by the Liberty Institute and the Family Research Council, highlighted more than 600 examples illustrating what it characterized as religious animosity shown by judges, government bureaucrats, schools and secular groups. From ObamaCare mandates that force religious entities to pay for contraception, to children being punished for uttering prayers in school, the report’s findings shocked even those who commissioned it.
“It’s way beyond anything we had imagined. It’s so much more prolific than it’s ever been before.”
– Kelly Shackelford, president of the Liberty Institute
“It’s a conflict of world views,” Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council, told FoxNews.com. “These groups want people to check their faith at the door of the public square.”
Among the examples listed in the survey:
- Matthew Reynolds, valedictorian for HLV Junior-Senior High School in Victor, Iowa, was told he had to give a ‘secular’ speech after he wished to attribute his success to his faith in Jesus Christ during his graduation speech.
- A cross was removed from a veterans’ memorial in San Diego, after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit held that the memorial was unconstitutional.
- .Dr. Frank Turek, a Cisco employee, was fired for expressing his views on traditional marriage in his book, even though he never voiced his religious opinions at work.
- Samantha Schulz, 8, was barred from singing “Kum Ba Yah” at a Boys and Girls Club in Port Charlotte, Fla., because the song included the words “Oh, Lord.”
- Catherina Lorena Cenzon-DeCarlo, a nurse at Manhattan’s Mount Sinai Hospital, was forced to participate in a late-term abortion against her religious convictions, and was threatened with job termination and loss of license.
The goal of the report is to raise awareness of these incidents to promote the appointment of judges “who are sensitive to the Constitution,” said Kelly Shackelford, president of the Plano, Texas-based Liberty Institute. The report was presented in Tampa just ahead of next week’s Republican National Convention.
According to Shackelford, the hostility can lead to violence, as in the case of the Aug.15 shooting at the Family Research Council headquarters, in which a gunman allegedly said he disagreed with the group’s beliefs before shooting an employee in the arm. He also cited the Aug. 5 shooting deaths of six people at a Sikh temple near Milwaukee.
“It’s way beyond anything we had imagined,” Shackelford told FoxNews.com.”It’s so much more prolific than it’s ever been before.”
One critic said the report is guilty of blurring the line between attacking religion and upholding the Constitution. A.J. Johnson, development director of American Atheists, Inc., said no one condones hate crimes such as the FRC shooting. But many other examples cited are simply cases in which advocates called for the separation of church and state,” Johnson said.
“The Family Research Council distorts court cases upholding the First Amendment as examples of “religious hostility,” she said. “In reality, they are imposing their beliefs onto others and claiming to be victims of religious persecution when they do not get unique Christian privilege.”
But Perkins said the secular nation that groups like Johnson’s seek was never envisioned by the Founding Fathers, and will not come to be.
“That’s not the future of our country,” Perkins said.
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Click on the article title for a link to full original referenced article.
If you’re not certain you’re saved, here is what you should do, right now:
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Acknowledge that you have sinned against a holy God and ask for forgiveness (even if you don’t feel you deserve it) (Rom. 3:23). Genuinely feel the pain of your sin and be willing to turn from it (repent) (Acts 3:19).
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Believe in your heart and mind that Jesus is the Son of God, that he died on the cross for you (John 3:1-18) in your place, and was raised back to life. There is no one else you can turn to (John 14:6): “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
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Confess that you are trusting Jesus as your personal Savior. Since Jesus is alive, you can talk to him. This is called prayer. So talk to him right now, in your own words, accept his invitation to know him.
It’s simple faith through grace, the kind of faith a little child would have.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9)
