A Crossroads in the Public Square of Christianity

10/01/2024 The West (International Christian Concern) – We tackle a subject this month that is relevant for Christians in the Western World but far from the cries of our global brothers and sisters whose lives are threatened daily.

At International Christian Concern (ICC), we have assisted Christians in persecution hotspots for nearly 30 years. Believers who can’t savor the comforts of life or taste the freedoms that we enjoy in the West. Where a profession of faith can get them kicked out of their homes and communities or sent to prison. Where quoting or owning Scripture can mean years in prison or death sentence.

We can’t begin to compare “persecution” in the West with what’s taking place in spiritual infernos like Nigeria, where we find fractured lives and help rebuild the church from ashes borne of martyrs. We can, however, show the minute titanic shifts in Western Christianity, and how the goalposts of our faith have moved ever so slightly and subtly. And not in a good direction.

When we look in the rearview mirror, we see a path strewn with minor inconveniences that threaten what we can comfortably say from the pulpit or the classroom or on social media. What we can do in our public schools or pray on a football field. Or what wedding client we can serve as a business owner. Is it persecution? Some would argue that it’s a minor kerfuffle in a land where freedoms abound. What’s changed is what’s acceptable in the public square, how historically held biblical beliefs are labeled as hate speech and hastened to the fringes of what’s allowed by the masses and members of the media.

In this issue we touch on the tsunami of changes that is infringing on Christianity in the West — including the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. There are parallels of lost freedoms and draconian laws that hinder our ability to freely worship and support biblical principles we’ve held dear for centuries. Suddenly, we are the ones giving a defense before Pontius Pilate, thrown before the Sanhedrin’s of our day, and condemned by our culture that would rather see Barabbas free. The arena is now filled by an increasing number of people who don’t feel that “church” is relevant, so they choose not to attend or read Scripture. So, our hackles go up when we see biological men openly competing in women’s sports, abortion pills handed out like candy, and sinful behavior flaunted and celebrated in a progressive revelry. Meanwhile, Christians are relegated to the basement as hateful, out of touch, and hypocritical.

There are several recent examples of this insanity. In Carlsbad, California, City Manager Scott Chadwick tried to ban the name “Jesus” from prayer. In Vermont, Christian couples are suing the state because bureaucrats revoked their licenses to serve as foster parents — the couples refused to subject children to transgender medical treatments. A Texas school teacher was told she could not publicly practice her religion and is suing her school district for violating her First Amendment rights.

There is a wide spectrum when it comes to the severity and type of challenges to our faith. In the West, most incidents that cause flare-ups are tied to LGBTQ+, gender, and sanctity of life issues. We cover these cases monthly in our West Watch section. We also understand that there is freedom of thought and belief within these hot topics among Christians. In the International Religious Freedom (IRF) space, if one faith is prevented from worshipping then all faiths suffer. In persecution, no matter one’s conservative or liberal beliefs, if one member is crushed, we all suffer. So, it is within Christianity. We must extend grace, forbearance, patience, and mercy to all members of the body of Christ.

At ICC we have chronicled headlines in Europe where believers have been targeted, labeled, and persecuted for expressing biblically held views on marriage. Dr. Päivi Räsänen, a member of the Finnish Parliament and former Minister of the Interior, faced criminal charges after she posted a Bible verse on social media. We also introduced you to Rev. Dr. Bernard Randall who was fired from a Christian school for questioning the school’s radical curriculum. And Dr. Aaron Edwards who lost his job as a college educator for posting a tweet that supported the biblical view of marriage.

In Europe and Canada, we see an increasing secularization of government and cleansing of anything religious. How much that sentiment blows across the pond to North America or flows south from Canada like a cold front remains to be seen.

For now, we squirm in our padded pews, hold to our unchanging Christian tenets, and keep a watchful eye on the front door of our faith.

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