So much fear seems to characterise this thread, it's quite depressing to see to many Christians dominated by such an spirit of fear, and often even hate in their lives.
A first point here that needs to be made, and very strongly, is that us Christians in Western orientated nations (baring a very few individual exceptions) don't know anything about real persecution, and the fact that some seem to equate some legal cases brought against some businesses etc with what our brothers and sisters outside the West experiences belittles and insults the real suffering they endure daily of His sake, and sadly shows how entitled those of us here in our comfortable lives have actually grown. In fact the reason for various political pressure etc is far more due to how much of evangelical Christianity is tied into various other aspects of contemporary culture and certain political affiliations and influences and has little to do with them being targeted because they are Christians, and less yet because of Jesus.
In fact it has been the experience of Christians throughout most of the past nearly 2000 years that they have know suffering and persecution, and that the Kingdom has come and the Church has grown in such ways, just as He promised, as they persecuted Him so shall they persecute those who follow Him, and the fact that is isn't the case in the West is troubling, nor is it any accident that the Church is growing rapidly in the very places were believers are being persecuted, just as has always been the case. The Church in the West increasingly made it's compromising agreement with Enlightenment Epircureanism through the 18th and 19th centuries, working with it's world-view and grew comfortable and secure in the results of that agreement, now that agreement isn't turning out so well, and for so many they are reacting like entitled toddlers throwing their toys out the pram, and demanding their 'rights' back.
For those, how did you think the Kingdom of God comes? Did you think it comes with legions of angels, great and glorious leaders taking over and forcing everyone to respect us Christians again? Did you think it comes with seeing Christians (well the 'right' ones, anyhow) put back on top, making sure the old securities are in place, and a new nation lead by the Christian 'good guys' (whomever they are), lording it over the public bringing new laws to ensure the nation is 'righteous' again, and setting the armies out to destroy the enemies of Christ? What did you expect to see? If you want such things the nations of the world have them in abundance, it is and has always been their way, the Kingdom of God comes through self-sacrificial love and service, those willing to take the scorn of others and seek to restore the lost and hurting, to return love for hate, forgiveness to those who attack us, to overcome evil with love. Those willing to take up their cross, deny themselves and follow Him to where it goes, and take His gospel and His love to wherever it is needed, whatever the cost, to love and pray for our enemies, even to torture, imprisonment, and death (and there is none of this in the West, but then I see precious little praying and loving for our enemies either).
Matthew 20:24-28:
When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, 'You know the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave -just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.'
This is not just atonement theology, this is the heart of Kingdom theology, of what it is to live as part of His Kingdom, of serving King Jesus, the Lord of Heaven and Earth (this earth). We are called to be as He was, indeed to be and bring Him to the world, we are called to self-sacrificial service and love, we already have all things through Him, grasping and demanding power, titles and rights for ourselves is not our way, indignant because we see ourselves losing our entitled positions the kingdoms of the world gave us, in fact we are to count it all joy when we face many trials (James 1:2), and I don't see to much of that either. We exercise His authority, and we do not in triumphalism, but in service and love, and it will be done, as He promised, and as it has always been, through suffering and sacrifice, following the way of the cross, We share His sufferings in order that His glory (Romans 8:17), this is nothing unusual, this is the very thing we are called into, this, suffering and self-sacrificial love and service is how the Kingdom comes and is manifest, by tears and mourning seeking to serve and heal the hurting and bring restorative justice and oppose the proud tyrants by that sacrifice, overcoming evil with love, painful love, and it's how it always has been. What is instead unusual, has been the marked lack of such persecution for the West, and what that might mean, particularly when I also look at how so many even in this thread react in fear and anger to their loss of some privileged protections and power they had, and there is not even the hint of true persecution, and little of it to do for suffering of His sake and to bring in His Kingdom, that has me far more worried for the Church in the West then anything to with supposed loss of rights. The fact is the West is increasingly no longer where God is moving strongly, our African and Asian brothers and sisters have overtaken us, and rightful so, just like Turkey and Northern Africa were once heartlands of Christianity and now there are very few Christians to be found there, so the same can happen here.
And perhaps what you fear and rail against is something that will happen to the Church, but it is something of God, He may be both allowing this, and may allow it to become more intense, perhaps to finally shake the church out of this compromise it has suffered under, and to finally remember whom it serves, not any government of one particularly shade of the political cause, conservative/liberal, left/right such were inventions of the Enlightenment, and tying you Christianity to one spectrum or another wholesale no longer serves King Jesus or His Kingdom, to serves the world-view of post-Enlightenment Epirureanism, and puts all you do under it's idol. Maybe finally the Church will remember who it is, and remember it's call to take up the cross and follow Him, remember it is called to a life of service and love to others, of sacrifice and suffering for Him, for the Kingdom and for others, of praying for and loving our enemies, of overcoming evil with love, of identifying with the outcast and the outsider, instead of casting them out, indeed being will to be scorned for going to them. And of responding to scorn with blessing, hate with love, blows by turning the other cheek and daring them to continue to exhaust their evil upon us if they dare, of going into the dark and broken places, to broken and hurting people and bring healing and restoration, forgiveness to end the cycle of hate and damage.
Perhaps we should thank God for this, and allow it to shake the church up, because otherwise I think the West may indeed in a different way still follow North Africa and become a place where the Church is hardly seen again. Perhaps God is again answering the pray 'may your Kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven', and while selfishly that does scare me (I'd be lying to say I like not being dragged out of my house in the night, beaten and imprisoned), when that happens the Church will grow rapidly again. Perhaps it might be enough for us (and I pray for our sake it is) to be taken away from this sense of entitled power that has in reality trapped and ensnared us with it's drug, paralysing the Church from being it's free, vital and vibrant self.
And with this I take my leave, may God truly bless you all and bring a revelation of His freedom, love, a spirit of wisdom, and of the fact that He and He alone has all power in heaven and earth (so you don't need to go out there getting it for Him).
And finally to end with a note of hope, indeed the certain hope, to all those worrying on and on about these things, Jesus Christ is raised from the dead, why do you let these fears touch you?
