Why
do the nations rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set
themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against
His anointed, saying, "Let us tear off their bonds and cast away their
ropes from us."
Psalm 2:1-3, Modern English Version (MEV)
The history of Christianity is filled with examples of rulers, nations, and others, attempting to eradicate it from the face of the earth and, failing that, to control it in some form or fashion. All those attempts, while causing great hardship and harm to Christians, failed to wipe them out. Despite this long history of failure, we see the same sort of efforts continuing today to various degrees, to which we can only ask, why? Why, when compared to most of the rest of the world's religions, is Christianity singled out for extermination?
The answer, of course, is that we are seen by these "powers" as a threat, not necessarily a physical threat, but a threat against their control of the hearts and minds of their people. They fear being exposed for what they really are, puppets of the evil one, which could cause them to lose their positions of power and authority. They fear their people being given the truth. They fear their actions being seen in the light of Truth. This is a spiritual war being fought in the spiritual realm, by the principalities and powers against God. The nations, rulers, and powers of this earth are only tools in the hands of those powers doing battle against God.
We should not be surprised when we see even the government of the United States, and the various states and localities, taking actions and making laws that seem to go against Christians. Instead of reacting with anger, we should recognize things for what they really are and fight this battle in the only effective means that is available to us, on our knees. Neither politics, nor politicians, will "save" us and our "rights." Only God can do that. Our spiritual enemy can only be fought with spiritual weapons. We need to stop hating and vilifying those who are acting against us for they truly do not know what they are doing because they are nothing but tools in the hands of the enemy.
Having said all that, there is a darker side that we must not ignore, and that is the increasing tendency of some Christian striving to take the reigns of civil power unto themselves. This is, of course, nothing new. Ever since the time of Emperor Constantine, the church has involved itself in civil politics, such involvement rarely ending well. There is much truth to the old maxim that “power corrupts.” We have only to read church history to see the truth of that. It is often difficult to blame civil authority from desiring to throw off the bondage of ecclesial authority.
Psalm 2:1-3, Modern English Version (MEV)
The history of Christianity is filled with examples of rulers, nations, and others, attempting to eradicate it from the face of the earth and, failing that, to control it in some form or fashion. All those attempts, while causing great hardship and harm to Christians, failed to wipe them out. Despite this long history of failure, we see the same sort of efforts continuing today to various degrees, to which we can only ask, why? Why, when compared to most of the rest of the world's religions, is Christianity singled out for extermination?
The answer, of course, is that we are seen by these "powers" as a threat, not necessarily a physical threat, but a threat against their control of the hearts and minds of their people. They fear being exposed for what they really are, puppets of the evil one, which could cause them to lose their positions of power and authority. They fear their people being given the truth. They fear their actions being seen in the light of Truth. This is a spiritual war being fought in the spiritual realm, by the principalities and powers against God. The nations, rulers, and powers of this earth are only tools in the hands of those powers doing battle against God.
We should not be surprised when we see even the government of the United States, and the various states and localities, taking actions and making laws that seem to go against Christians. Instead of reacting with anger, we should recognize things for what they really are and fight this battle in the only effective means that is available to us, on our knees. Neither politics, nor politicians, will "save" us and our "rights." Only God can do that. Our spiritual enemy can only be fought with spiritual weapons. We need to stop hating and vilifying those who are acting against us for they truly do not know what they are doing because they are nothing but tools in the hands of the enemy.
Having said all that, there is a darker side that we must not ignore, and that is the increasing tendency of some Christian striving to take the reigns of civil power unto themselves. This is, of course, nothing new. Ever since the time of Emperor Constantine, the church has involved itself in civil politics, such involvement rarely ending well. There is much truth to the old maxim that “power corrupts.” We have only to read church history to see the truth of that. It is often difficult to blame civil authority from desiring to throw off the bondage of ecclesial authority.
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