A Persecution Complex

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I happen to believe that solid religious values can contribute much to societal health. But I also have to acknowledge that there are good reasons for our secular counterparts to worry about what we people of strong traditional beliefs would do if we were to reshape contemporary America to conform to our desires. Intense religious convictions are not responsible for all the problems in the world, but they certainly have made a contribution to the turmoil in Northern Ireland, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

David Limbaugh's complaints about hostility toward Christianity need to be heard. It would be helpful, though, if he would also admit that we believers have some important lessons learn about how to behave well in the public arena. Our record is not a stellar one. We have often acted like our only options are either to give up on the larger society or to try to take it over. There is another alternative: to recognize that in our increasingly pluralistic culture we are called to make our way in-to borrow wonderful phrase from the Mennonites-"the time of God's patience."

God is not calling us to win the cultural wars. What is required is that we remain faithful to our deepest convictions while also showing, as the Apostle puts it, "gentleness and respect" toward those who challenge us to make a case for what we believe (I Peter 3: 15). Obviously, when it comes to matters of public policy we must also ask others to respect our convictions as well-especially our right to raise our children in the fear of the Lord without having the deck stacked against us by educators and the shapers of popular culture.

But we must resign ourselves to the fact that it will never be easy for us to make our way through the dangerous landscapes of contemporary life. Things are bad these days. Indeed, there are many parallels between our own time and the days when the early church was surrounded by an overtly hostile culture.

But that is also good news in a way: it was under conditions of severe persecution that the early Christian flourished and grew strong in the faith--a pattern that has been repeated in more recent times in situations where the church has survived under oppressive conditions.

The truth of the matter is that the New Testament does not give much hope to Christians who expect to be well-treated by the dominant culture. Readers of David Limbaugh's book would do well to remember that Jesus seemed to take the fact of continuing persecution of his followers for granted. "Blessed are you," he told his disciples, "when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you becaue of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5: 11).

This does not justify our cultivating a persecution complex. But it is a good reminder that the time for Christians really to start worrying is when we find ourselves winning too many popularity contests.