Persecution by any other name.

So, it seems that the atheists are winning, and real Christians are disappearing from the US.

No, really. That's the word from two prominent Christian leaders recently. First, Charley Adams has a column at Christian World View Network titled "The Atheists are Winning". An excerpt:

We have a "Christian" society (hey...some huge percentage identifies themselves that way) that is functionally atheist. They don't know Christian doctrine. They don't read their Bibles. They don't evangelize the lost. They don't live lives conformed to the commands of Scripture. They have a societally-based Christianity that adds the Christian faith to their secular world as one more separate piece. There are no absolutes. Multiculturalism and "diversity" reign in everything from schools to work to the marketplace. Absolute truth is nonexistent. Emotions and feelings rule the day, with a therapeutic worldview governing all our problems. Abortion...no problem. Divorce...hey, I have a right to be happy! Fornication...oh, that's such a judgmental word! Sodomy...it's only another kind of love!

Poor guy. Whatcha bet that if the 'absolute truth' forming the basis of our society was Hinduism, he still wouldn't be happy? See, it's gotta be his absolute truth, because, well, his Bible told him so. What is his recommended solution? (I bet you can see this coming...)

They MUST be discipled. You MUST be in their lives, teaching them the Word and living it before them. Your life MUST NOT show your faith as only a moral code. You MUST show them Christ in you! They MUST see a faith that is REAL, that causes you as the Dad (and the Mom) to form a family that honors and reveres the Word of God, living according to God's principles, precepts, patterns, and commands. They have to see it in action; otherwise, their finely-tuned "hypocrite detectors" will quickly see that your faith is a sham. That will set them up for any other system of thought that comes along once they are out of your home.

Ah, yes, because thinking is so dangerous to your little fundie world, isn't it Charley?

OK, and then there's this version of "We aren't Christian enough!", courtesy of Dave Ferguson:

Here is the brutal fact: 85 percent of the people in the United States call themselves Christians. Now, let’s pause long enough to realize that’s a whole lot of people—247 million people, to be exact.

But how are those 85 percent doing when it comes to accomplishing Jesus’ mission? Here is what research tells us about people in North America who call themselves Christians:
• Those who call themselves Christians are no more likely to give assistance to a homeless person on the street than non-Christians.
• Those who call themselves Chris-tians are no more likely than non-Christians to correct the mistake when a cashier gives them too much change.
• A Christian is just as likely to have an elective abortion as a non-Christian.
• Christians divorce at the same rate as those who consider themselves non-Christians.
• Even though there are more big churches than ever before filled with people who proudly wear the title Christian, 50 percent of Christian churches didn’t help one single person find salvation.

Same song, new chorus. And, how does he propose to deal with this? Uh, huh...

With clarity and simplicity, Jesus challenged him with one Big Idea when he said, “One thing you lack. . . . Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mark 10:21). The message was clear. It was a call to action. It was a Big Idea that was simple but not easy.

What would happen if we challenged people in the same way? What if we gave people one clear and simple Big Idea and asked them to put it into action? That is exactly what we have been attempting to do at Community Christian Church and the NewThing Network for the last several years. Every week, we give all of our people of every age and at every location one Big Idea and ask them to put it into action. The challenge is simple and clear—but never easy.

Ayup, by becoming his mindless drones! Personally, I'd like to meet the Christian who actually followed the literal command in Mark 10:21. They'd at least be more honest than this crew who know that Salvation! lies in their sheep turning off their minds and following orders.

Gah. The problem is that in a secular society, it is just too damned hard for the Shaman to maintain complete and total control over the sheep. Exposure to different ideas, new experiences, unusual perspectives - all of that is a threat to the brainwashing. So, they frighten the sheep with the Atheists are Winning (I wish!) boogyman. Then they'll move to consolidate control through limitation of information. Basic population control stuff, frankly...but effective.

So don't believe a word of it. This is 'persecution' of the poor Christians, by any other name. I'll know that rational thought is *really* winning when the flock of sheep look up at these clowns and just laugh.

And another tip o' the hat to Hank!

Jim Downey