Are Christians Persecuted in America?

3 core issues that critics either do not know, deny, or ignore…

A recent article in The Atlantic (August 4, 2014) by Alan Noble has sparked debate over the existence of persecution of Christians in America. Do Christians face persecution in America? Noble says “no way.” According to Noble, proponents of the existence of persecution in America suffer from a “persecution complex,” and this is a “damaging attitude in the Christian community.”

I disagree. Allow me explain.

According to Noble…

“The problem is that for most of U.S. history, Christians haven’t been persecuted—at least not in comparison to early believers or even what Christians in places like Iraq face today. So, the question for American Christians is what to make of the Bible’s warning that we will be persecuted. For many evangelicals, the lack of very public and dramatic persecution could be interpreted as a sign that they just aren’t faithful enough: If they were persecuted, they could be confident they are saved. This creates an incentive to interpret personal experiences and news events as signs of oppression, which are ostensibly validations of our commitment to Christ. The danger of this view is that believers can come to see victimhood as an essential part of their identity.”

This is not a “problem” for Christians in America. Salvation is a free gift and does not depend on anything other than Jesus Christ. Christians understand this. Noble either does not know, denies, or ignores three fundamental, core issues:

1) Christians are not Idiots. Most understand there is nothing in the U.S. that compares to the suffering of Christians in Iraq — where believers are forced to convert to Islam or die. Most appreciate and are extremely grateful for the freedom we have. Most know that America is unique, and we must do everything we can, while we can, to preserve, protect, and defend our Constitutional rights. Most know other nations do not grant these rights and are concerned by what many see as a constant erosion of these hard fought liberties. “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices . . .” (2 Corinthians 2:11).

“Without restraint, the ‘spiritual forces’ that are beheading Christians in Iraq would do the same thing in America.”

2) The Battle is Spiritual. People who do not believe in God cannot understand this. Christians believe that God created us in His image. We are flesh and blood, yes, but also soul and spirit. Our struggles are spiritual, not merely physical. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms . . .” (Ephesians 6:12). Persecution can take different forms: physical torture, imprisonment, harassment, ostracism, discrimination, and even martyrdom. But the root of it is spiritual and ever present.

3) The Enemy is Real. Without restraint, the “spiritual forces” that are beheading Christians in Iraq would do the same thing in America. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour . . .” (1 Peter 5:8). In a flash, a city or a nation, can be transformed into utter chaos and mayhem. Just ask the residents of Ferguson, Missouri. Alert and sober Christians understand this and are ever vigilant to preserve our way of life. Standing up for manger scenes on courthouse lawns at Christmastime may not compare to losing your house in Laos for owning a Bible, but the same “powers of this dark world” are behind it. And Christian children who endure discrimination in a public school system where the Bible is trashed and evolution is taught as fact instead of theory may not compare to being executed for blasphemy as happens in Pakistan, but the same “spiritual forces of evil” are behind it.

Persecution comes in cycles “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven . . .” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). There were times when Christians in Iraq and elsewhere were not persecuted like today. There were times when they were.  Just as the early church in Jerusalem had a season before persecution came to send out aid to fellow suffering believers, so vigilant Christians in America now “remember the persecuted” in other oppressed nations while it is possible. And we do what we can to be salt and light to pass on to the next generation this wonderful “experiment” called America. Is this a “dangerous complex?” I think not.