The most extreme example of religious persecution in modern times happened during World War II when six million Jews were murdered by Adolph Hitler and his Nazi collaborators. That monstrous act had its roots in a propaganda campaign that began soon after Hitler rose to power in 1932 – well before the beginning of the war. Jews were portrayed as a problem and accused of being the reason for German economic difficulty. The official newspaper of the Nazi Party, Der Stürmer, had as its motto: “The Jews are our misfortune.” By May 1933, books written by Jews were being burned and there was an economic boycott of Jewish businesses. By October 1933, Jewish editors were banned from newspapers. In May 1935 signs began to appear in restaurants and shops that read “Jews not welcome.”
By November 1935 Jews were legally barred from public business life and their political rights were redefined. Jews were legally prohibited from marrying non-Jews. Jewish children were prohibited from using the same playgrounds as other children and from utilizing the same locker rooms. In 1937 the systematic confiscation of Jewish property began. In July 1938 Jews were forced to accept national identity cards and Jewish passports were confiscated. It was in 1938 that Jewish children were expelled from schools and all Jews were banned from Berlin. In 1939 the war began and Jews began to be forcibly taken to extermination camps and confined in ghettos. Only seven years elapsed between the beginning of anti-Jewish propaganda in 1932 and the actual slaughter of the European Jewish population in 1939.
I am not predicting this level of persecution for Christians in America but I would not rule it out as a long-term possibility. The question that begs an answer is what kind of Christianity is it going to take to stand and survive any form of persecution. The lukewarm will fold up like a cheap tent and flee the Christian label faster than a powerful thoroughbred leaving the starting gate! The moment it becomes uncomfortable to be a Christian, the lukewarm Notional Christians will cease to have the notion! A carnal church will be totally ineffective and flounder as it struggles to regain a solid foundation in God’s truth.
What kind of faith do you have?
No comments yet.