The greatest story never told…
Hello I’m Michael Hambrick…….at Save America’s Freedom Foundation….or SAFE….at SAFE We Still Believe….
It is indeed the Greatest Story Never Told…that is the global war on Christians
According to a report ordered by the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. The killing of Christians around the world has reached “genocide” levels,
Indeed…in depth research consistently reveals that Christians are “the most widely targeted religious community on the planet. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that acts of violence and intimidation against Christians are becoming more widespread with each passing day.
The Home Secretary’s report tells us the increase in the severity of anti-Christian persecution is particularly extreme in China, parts of the Middle East, and Africa. It is a matter of record that the “vast scale” of the violence and its perpetrators’ declared intent to eradicate the Christian community, has led to several Parliamentary declarations in recent years in the UK that Christians continue to suffer genocides again and again…that according again to the definition adopted by the UN.
Despite the efforts of academics, journalists and religious leaders (both Christian and non-Christian) the global persecution of Christians is “an urgent human rights issue that remains underreported. An op-ed piece in the Washington Post stated: “Persecution of Christians continues… but it rarely gets much attention in the Western media. The Post piece goes on to say even many churchmen in the West turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the Christian carnage.
At SAFE we believe it is time to stand up for Christian victims of persecution. We believe it is time for America to take the moral leadership role in the world and do whatever is necessary to stop this Christian genocide.
Of the 196 nations surveyed, between 2012 and 2014, the U.K. report concluded that religious freedom was compromised in 116 of those countries, and that persecution, violence, and systematic discrimination were commonplace.
And the crisis facing Christian does not stop there. The NGO Open Doors (OD) revealed in its 2019 World Watch List Report on anti-Christian oppression that “approximately 245 million Christians living in the top 50 countries suffer high levels of persecution or worse. That is up 30 million from the previous year.
Tragically Open Doors states that within five years the number of countries classified as having “extreme” persecution of Christians had increased from one (North Korea) to 11.
The eradication of Christians on pain of “the sword was revealed to be the specific and stated objective of extremist groups in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, north-east Nigeria and the Philippines.
The killing and abduction of clergy represents a direct attack on Christian structure and leadership. Where these and other incidents meet the tests of genocide, America should demand the governments of said countries do whatever is necessary to bring the Christian killers to justice. And demand extreme preventive measures be instituted to stop future carnage.
At SAFF we believe it is time for America to come to the rescue of Christians targeted for extinction around the world.
How likely is that to happen. Sadly, not very…why you might ask.
Well, let’s look at that question.
Recent reports of this Christian carnage has reached the U.S. Congress. But what has been done? Some have voiced concern. Resolutions condemning the persecution have been passed….but little else. Still the carnage continues. Pushing papers around in Congress and working with the bureaucracy of countries that allow the killing to continue is like taking a garden hose to a California wildfire. Neither are effective.
Why is not more being done to stop the killing Christians? Could it be that America is becoming less and less of a Christian nation with each passing year?
Let’s take a look at some statistics.
The religious landscape of the United States continues to change at a rapid clip. In Pew Research Center telephone surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019, 65% of American adults describe themselves as Christians when asked about their religion, down 12 percentage points over the past decade. Meanwhile, the religiously unaffiliated share of the population, consisting of people who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular,” now stands at 26%, up from 17% in 2009.
Both Protestantism and Catholicism are experiencing losses of population share. Currently, 43% of U.S. adults identify with Protestantism, down from 51% in 2009. And one-in-five adults (20%) are Catholic, down from 23% in 2009. and 17% of Americans now describe their religion as “nothing in particular,” up from 12% in 2009.
Furthermore, the data shows a wide gap between older Americans (Baby Boomers and members of the Silent Generation) and Millennials in their levels of religious affiliation and attendance. More than eight-in-ten members of the Silent Generation (those born between 1928 and 1945) describe themselves as Christians (84%), as do three-quarters of Baby Boomers (76%). In stark contrast, only half of Millennials (49%) describe themselves as Christians; four-in-ten are in the no religion category
Only about one-in-three Millennials say they attend religious services at least once or twice a month. Roughly two-thirds of Millennials (64%) attend worship services a few times a year or less often, including about four-in-ten who say they seldom or never go. Indeed, there are as many Millennials who say they “never” attend religious services (22%) as there are who say they go at least once a week (22%).
While the trends are clear – the U.S. is steadily becoming less Christian and less religiously observant as the share of adults who are not religious grows of the population.
The share of Americans who identify as white and Christian has dropped below 50 percent, a transformation fueled by immigration and by growing numbers of people who reject organized religion altogether. So that could be one answer as to why precious little is done by America to stop the wanton killing of Christians. America is becoming less of a Christian nation.
And what about government Congress and the Judicial branch?
The first amendment to the United States constitution begins, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …”
First of all, what is religious freedom?
Religious freedom is more than the “freedom to worship” at a synagogue or church. It means people shouldn’t have to go against their core values and beliefs in order to conform to culture or government.
Religious freedom protects people’s right to live, speak, and act according to their beliefs peacefully and publicly. It protects their ability to be themselves at work, in class, and at social activities.
In our Socialist dominated federal government and deep state just how safe is our religious freedom?
Well just last month the U.S. Supreme Court issued a shocking and rare late-night decision that dealt a severe blow to religious liberty, as our nation confronts overcoming the covid19 pandemic that’s now blazing into a full-blown constitutional crisis.
In South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom—the High Court rejected a California church’s challenge of the state’s new pandemic-related rules on religious services.
In its 5-4 vote, the Court’s opinion on an emergency motion upheld California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order which singled out places of worship restrictions not imposed on many secular organizations and businesses.
So how safe is our religious freedom….less and less safe with each court ruling.
Going all the way back to 1962…when we lost the prayer in school battle… …when the United States Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and encourage its recitation in public schools.
School District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania v. Schempp (1963)
The Court considered whether a Pennsylvania law and policy of the Abington School District requiring public-school students to participate in classroom exercises involving daily Bible verse reading violated the religious freedom of students under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. In an 8-1 decision, the Court found that the Pennsylvania law and school-district practice violated the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. (Citation: 374 U.S. 203)
Stone v. Graham (1980)
The Court considered whether a Kentucky state law mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
the Court found 5-4 that the Kentucky law was unconstitutional, because it had no secular legislative purpose. The Court also found that by mandating posting of the Commandments under the guidance of the legislature, the state was providing official support of religion, which was a violation of the Establishment Clause.
And there are other cases in local communities..
The Chief of Atlanta’s fire department was fired for publishing a book in which he affirmed his sincerely held religious beliefs about a biblically orthodox understanding of human sexuality. He was initially suspended after a copy of his book, which only even mentions homosexuality in two sentences, made its way into the hands of city officials.
A fertility doctor in California was forced to provide artificial insemination services to a gay couple, even though to do so violated his religious beliefs, and even though there were many other fertility specialists in the area who were willing to perform the procedure.
I could go on and on with examples of obliterating our religious freedoms in America….but it is clear that efforts to repress religious freedom is not just an attack on individual liberty and human dignity, but on the very foundation that has made America strong.
Let’s take a quick look at our partner Christian nation Great Britain and how is it fairing in the era of suppressing religious freedom.
Well it is shocking to learn that only 6% of adults in the UK are practicing Christians and very few of them decided to become Christians during adulthood, according to a new survey.
The study defined ‘practicing Christians’ as people who read or listen to the Bible at least once a week, pray at least once a week and attend a church service at least once a month.
The responses suggested that most people who call themselves Christian are ‘cultural Christians’. Only 42% of Christians who took part said they ever read the Bible; 26% went to Church more than once or twice a year; and 28% called themselves ‘an active Christian who follows Jesus’.
The survey also revealed how young many Christians are when they first adopt the term. A total of 85% said they became Christians during childhood, and 64% said it happened between the age of zero and four. Just 24 of the 8,150 respondents said they decided to become Christian after the age of 44.
So, it is clear in the two leading Christian nations of our time….Christianity is on a trend to lose its influence.
When we couple these trends court cases with derogatory remarks from our elected officials regarding Christian beliefs…President Obama’s disparaging remark saying when in time of trouble “they retreat to their bibles and guns…being one.
So, is it any wonder that America is not stepping up to take the moral leadership role in stopping the killing of Christians around the globe?
Pushing paper around…passing resolution after resolution… Please….this persecution of believers is not about ISIS and other groups suing Christians and taking them to court. We’re talking savage murder at genocide levels. The time for paper pushing has passed. Christians are dying. In states where that is officially allowed and supported and, in some cases, officially executed by the states…America should declare those countries terrorist states and official categorize the killing of Christians acts of terrorism. Congressional resolutions will do little to combat the resolve of those intent on eradicating Christianity. Stronger measures with a greater resolve than the enemies of God are what’s needed. Immediately.
This is Freedomline. I’m Michael Hambrick at Save America’s Freedom Foundation
