The Real War on Christianity

So I haven't been very happy with most of our politicians lately.

The vitriol and fear being aimed at the Syrian Refugees has been nothing short of disgusting, and with a bunch of Governors and Presidential Candidates jumping up to say that they should be kept away (except if they can prove their Christianity, in some oh so generous cases) I was just ready to see the backlash against them.

I mean, there is going to be backlash, right? The idea of turning away people in as desperate need as these refugees is about as antithetical to the Biblical message as it gets. Over, and over, and over again the Bible stresses the important of caring for the poor, the orphan, the alien, the refugee. It says that people who are aware of such need, and ignore it, might as well be turning away Christ himself.

There is no wiggle room, no loose interpretation, no uncertain context. This isn't debateable. The Christian response to these refugees is to try to care for them in any way that we can, if not in memory of a time when we were lost without a home (as was the case given to the Hebrews in the Hebrew Scriptures) then because it was Christ's command in the New Testament.

So what is the backlash I see? Another stupid post about the stupid red Starbucks cup.

I often react to that kind of post with an eye-roll and and a shrug. Yes, there are places in the world where Christians are persecuted for their beliefs, but that simply isn't the case in North America. But though we aren't being persecuted, there is a War against us and our beliefs, being waged every day right in front of our noses and, most infuriatingly of all, often on our dime.

Every time someone suggests that we should be outraged over the iconography (or lack thereof) surrounding a commercial holiday, rather than caring for the poor, a shot is fired. Every time we are told that being disgusted by homosexuality is reason enough to keep a foster child from being placed in a home, a shot is fired. Every time we are convinced that the world is out to get us, and so circle our wagons and cry out about how we are persecuted, rather than seeing the need of the world and opening our arms to it, a battle is won.

There IS a war on against Christianity, and we are losing it.

We are losing to politicians who want us to be a predictable voting block, trained to froth at the mouth at predictable talking points while ignoring policy that actually has something to do with our faith. We are losing to media who want us to gobble up click-bait stories about how the world is out to get us and ignore the real trials and fears faced by people outside of our bubble. We are losing to civic planners who want us to shout and wail over an engraving of the Ten Commandments on a Courthouse instead of the state of the homeless.

We are losing to those who would rather us be frightened and biddable over informed and active.

We've already lost that battle in the perceptions of many outsiders, those who see us as nothing more than pampered anachronisms. And why not? We are at our loudest when we spend our money, and these days our money goes to ad campaigns against homosexuals, or women's health. We are loudest when we seize a loud speaker and run into the streets to froth at people about their sin. We are loudest because that is when the people who would control us hand us the microphone.

Fighting back will be difficult, because it won't make the headlines very often. Given the choice between Kim Davis and the Clerk who honors the rights of others, Kim Davis will get the headlines everytime. Between the preacher who proclaims acceptance and the preacher who calls for hellfire on all who are different, the hellfire gets the coverage. And a story about people who have been driven from their homes and need help doesn't get many clicks, but potential TERRORISTS who HATE US and WANT TO KILL US? Fear sells. And everyone's buying.

You have a choice, Christians. Right now. You can be the free thinking, justice-demanding, beacon of love in the world that Christ called upon you to be, or you can be the terrified, vengeance-seeking, cog of the machine the powers want you to be. They want to use you as a tool to prop up their power at the expense of others, and they are doing it while pretending to do so in the name of Jesus Christ.

The shots have been fired. Will you love your fellow humans as Christ called you to? It won't be easy, or glorious, and you won't get famous for it. You'll be glossed over in the press, ignored by politicians, and left watching as the focus goes to those who play the role the powers want you to play.

That is the real war we face, and the shots have been fired. Which side are you on, Christians?