A Timely Collect

Anyone who does not know that the traditional Book of Common Prayer is inspired by God Himself needs to examine this week’s collect and then repent.  Yes, the Collect for the 5^th Sunday after Trinity is that timely right now:

Grant, O Lord, we beseech thee, that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by thy governance, that thy Church may joyfully serve thee in all godly quietness, thought Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

And the peace of the church is now endangered, not only in many areas of the world where the flames of persecution rage, but now in the United States as well.  Churches are under attack by woke totalitarians.  Taylor Marshall spells out well our current situation.  (Yes, there’s some popery in this video, of course.  He is nonetheless right on persecution.)

Don’t put in your head in the sand.  God’s holy church is a chief target of these woke totalitarians.  Totalitarians always target the church.  So pray and prepare.  This week the Book of Common Prayer gives us an excellent and timely prayer.

A Timely Ember Collect From the Sarum Rite

When I pray the Daily Office, I sometimes supplement it with the collects from the Medieval English Sarum Rite.  The collect for today, Ember Friday, struck me as especially timely (Pearson’s translation from the Latin):

Grant, we beseech Thee, Merciful God, that when Thy Church is gathered together by Thy Holy Spirit, she may in no manner be hurt by the assaults of her enemies.  Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

I doubt that most who prayed this in Medieval England feared enemies actually breaking into church and attacking those worshipping (although that did happen – ask Thomas Becket and King Henry VI, whose obit was on Monday the 21^st).  But in too many areas of the world today, particularly countries like Nigeria with mixed populations of Christians and Muslims, this is a real and present danger.

Let us indeed pray for those who have the courage to worship the Lord and go to church when and where those are dangerous acts.

So Bernie Sanders Thinks Being an Orthodox Christian Is Not Okay

There has been a *cough* remarkable exchange between Senator Bernie Sanders, Socialist from Vermont, and Deputy White House Budget Director nominee Russell Vought.

Sanders: Let me get to this issue that has bothered me and bothered many other people. And that is in the piece that I referred to that you wrote for the publication called Resurgent. You wrote, “Muslims do not simply have a deficient theology. They do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ, His Son, and they stand condemned.” Do you believe that that statement is Islamophobic?

Vought: Absolutely not, Senator. I’m a Christian, and I believe in a Christian set of principles based on my faith. That post, as I stated in the questionnaire to this committee, was to defend my alma mater, Wheaton College, a Christian school that has a statement of faith that includes the centrality of Jesus Christ for salvation, and . . .

Sanders: I apologize. Forgive me, we just don’t have a lot of time. Do you believe people in the Muslim religion stand condemned? Is that your view?

Vought: Again, Senator, I’m a Christian, and I wrote that piece in accordance with the statement of faith at Wheaton College:

Sanders: I understand that. I don’t know how many Muslims there are in America. Maybe a couple million. Are you suggesting that all those people stand condemned? What about Jews? Do they stand condemned too? Vought: Senator, I’m a Christian . . .

Sanders: I understand you are a Christian! But this country are made of people who are not just — I understand that Christianity is the majority religion, but there are other people of different religions in this country and around the world. In your judgment, do you think that people who are not Christians are going to be condemned?

Vought: Thank you for probing on that question. As a Christian, I believe that all individuals are made in the image of God and are worthy of dignity and respect regardless of their religious beliefs. I believe that as a Christian that’s how I should treat all individuals . . .

Sanders: You think your statement that you put into that publication, they do not know God because they rejected Jesus Christ, His Son, and they stand condemned, do you think that’s respectful of other religions?

Vought: Senator, I wrote a post based on being a Christian and attending a Christian school that has a statement of faith that speaks clearly in regard to the centrality of Jesus Christ in salvation.

Sanders: I would simply say, Mr. Chairman, that this nominee is really not someone who this country is supposed to be about.

So if one believes Jesus when he said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” that is just not acceptable to Bernie.

The push of the Left to marginalize traditional Christians continues.

How to Proceed Now 3 – Flee?

One evening last week, it occurred to me that Athanasius, a favorite saint who persevered under persecution from heretics and from the state, might have something to say relevant to our current time.  And, lo, I came across and read Apologia de Fuga, his pungent defense of his flight from the Arians.

It is a good read and not a long one.  Athanasius had a pen that was both golden and very sharp.  And he never spared heretics when using it – one reason they wanted to do him in.  So do go read it for yourself soon.

Athanasius addressed the canard that he was cowardly when he fled from Arians.  Part of his reply is that his Arian accusers were only upset that they did not catch him and do to him what they did to other faithful.  And he documents some of the more egregious – and deadly – examples of the Arian persecution of his time.

Some guidelines in dealing with persecution after reflection upon Apologia and scripture:

It is not cowardice to take precautions and at times flee during times of persecution, particularly when more than mere self-preservation is at stake.  Even our Lord did so on a number of occasions as did his parents when Jesus was a small child.  Moreover, there are a number of times in scripture when the Lord commands certain of his people to flee.

One instance of this is when Jesus, while sending the twelve out to preach, instructs them that if they are persecuted in one town, flee and preach to the next.  This indicates that one good motive for fleeing or other precautions is to continue and/or resume ministry.

Now, some perspective.  With few exceptions, persecution in the West is not yet deadly and is unlikely to become so in the near future.  So fleeing is certainly not as necessary as in other times and places.  But we are at the point where precautions should be taken. 

For example, does your church or business rent out space for weddings?  Or does your minister marry those outside your church?  I urge that such policies be reviewed and fast if one does not want to choose between participating in a same-sex wedding and a lawsuit.

I will say that some states are more hostile to religious freedom than others, Oregon and California come to mind.  Fleeing them should at least be considered.  (A bonus of that is those states would no longer be getting your tax dollars.)

Some of the zealous may say that we should stand our ground and if we are persecuted or even martyred then so be it.  We should certainly stand our ground by being faithful.  Both scripture and tradition make clear that one thing you do not do is deny Christ.  Nor do we willfully disobey him by giving in to the culture and sanctioning sin.

But both scripture and tradition also teach that martyrdom is not to be sought or courted through recklessness.  Remember Jesus instructed his disciples to flee persecution to the next town and preach there.  St. Paul fled more than once.  We are to take precautions in order to continue spreading the gospel and serving God.  During Roman persecutions, the church discouraged those who practically asked to be martyred.  And in Apologia, Athanasius wrote that the normal pattern of even the martyrs is:

When persecuted they fled, while concealing themselves they showed fortitude, and when discovered they submitted to martyrdom.

More can be said (And I haven’t addressed the responsibility to protect one’s family.), and Athanasius said more.  Again read the Apologia de Fuga.  It is very instructive on this subject of taking precautions under persecution.

But do not think that taking precautions at a time such as this is faithless or even cowardly.  Taking precautions in order to be able to continue to serve God is what a wise and faithful servant would do.

How to Proceed Now 2 – Standing Your Ground Amidst Divisions

Not unlike Roe v Wade, Friday’s Judicial Coup has already made our divisions worse – which is to be expected.  When one closes off constitutional democratic means to address an issue, the losing side becomes angry and resentful (and rightly so) and the winning side is tempted to become insufferable in victory, to put it nicely, and often gives into said temptation.

As Rebecca Hamilton writes, this has already affected even relationships.  Perhaps I should say this has especially affected relationships:

The Supreme Court sent a number of people my way since last Friday, all of them looking for solace in the face of personal attacks they had suffered because of the decision on gay marriage. They called me on the phone, approached me after mass, in checkout lines and while I was running errands. I also had internet encounters of the same type that went far beyond the boundaries of my community and my personal friends.

Here’s the summarized version of what they told me:

There was a lot of yelling and screaming in certain circles this weekend. It was directed at Christians in their personal, and, heretofore, safe personal relationships. It was also directed at priests who spoke about the decision from the pulpit. One friend, who gave me permission to discuss this, witnessed an ugly blow-up at a longstanding poker game she and her husband go to. The people there hold diverse opinions about matters of faith and morality, but they’ve been meeting for this friendly get-together on a regular basis for years.

This week, the atheists in the group refused to practice civility. They cursed the Lord, called Christians bigots and homophobes and were otherwise verbally insulting. According to my friend, this began with a celebration on the part of the atheists over Obergefell. She said she felt like, “OK, you won your deal, have your celebration.” She said the Christians at the table kept silent.

But when the celebration turned to repeatedly cursing the Lord and calling Christians ugly names, she said one of the Christian men told them to shut up. It devolved from there into two men squaring off to fight one another. At that point, my friend stood up and told them to stop it.

She said, “I’ve never forced my faith on you. I don’t come here with a Bible telling you what to do. But you are disrespecting me and my Jesus and I will not stand for it. You stop this now or my husband and I are leaving and we won’t be back.”

My friend is the most soft-spoken Hispanic woman you’d ever meet. I’ve never heard her raise her voice. Not once. Not ever.

She said the room fell silent and everyone sat back down. But she doesn’t think she and her husband will be back for more fun next week. They are through with the group.

I’ve heard stories of spouses calling one another names and people walking out of mass on their priests.

I, too, may have lost at least one friend of over 15 years.  He posted an obnoxious post on Facebook saying last week was a bad one for bigots.  I let him know that constitutional democracy was the presenting issue and that his post was deeply offensive.  Instead of engaging with me at all, I’ve discovered he’s un-friended me.  I’ve since messaged him that I thought better of him than to act that way.  But I am not very hopeful of reconciliation.

But in times like these, you discover who your real friends are.  And you discover some “friends” really don’t even respect you:

I heard a discussion this weekend in which someone more knowledgeable in these matters than me said that these kinds of attacks on the integrity of another person’s soul are always an indicator of disrespect. They do not respect you and your right to believe as you believe.

Disrespect at this level is disrespect of you as a person. You have a responsibility to yourself, to God and to the person attacking you not to accede to this. Mutual respect is the beginning of genuine trust. It is the foundation on which all good human relationships are built.

If I cannot trust you to respect me as a person enough to allow me the dignity of making my own choices in matters as profoundly personal as faith and morality, then I can not trust you at all. There can be no friendship, no true relationship, without this basic level of respect and the trust that comes from it.

And it’s difficult to let friends and family go.  You keep on loving them.  But if they disrespect, even hate you so deeply that they insult you and walk away, then basic dignity requires you to let them go.

As Hamilton writes, you stand your ground regardless.  You do not wimp out on Jesus or on his word.  If that loses friends and family then so be it.

Oh, being a Christian means losing friends and family?  Often, yes.  And Jesus told us so:

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Matt. 10:34-39

You stand your ground on the truth, take up your cross of rejection and persecution with the rest of God’s faithful Holy Church though the centuries, and follow Him.

How NOT to Proceed Now

What I am about to say will seem obvious to most.  But, particularly since I do not know who might read this, it needs to be said.

There is a time to be angry.  And Friday’s Judicial Putsch was such a time.  But we are to “be angry but do not sin.” (Eph. 4:26)  There is a time to be angry, but we are not to be consumed by anger.  We are to “fret not . . . it tends only to evil.” (Psalm 37:8)

As any number of Psalms tell us, including that Psalm 37 and the two Psalms I read today for Morning Prayer, 2 and 3 (I find it interesting how providential liturgy can be, but that is another post for another time.), God will deal with evil tyrants – and He knows best how to deal with evil tyrants.  We are not to presume to hasten God’s timing in that regard with our own violence.

Yes, this is a time for anger.  It is not a time for violence.  We Christians are to be the Church Militant.  We are not to be the Church Violent.

But a reader may say they believe neither in God nor in Christ.  (And, who knows, a Christian or two may disregard the above admonition.)  So they themselves will go give tyrants what they deserve, thank you.  I urge any such to sit down, calm down, and think it through.  Has any lasting good come out of violence perpetrated against the Federal Government in the United States in recent decades?  Think about Timothy McVeigh.  Was he right to be angry about Ruby Ridge and Waco.  Yes.  Did any good come out of how he acted on that anger?  No.

Moreover, Bill Clinton and the Left cynically used the Oklahoma City bombing to smear their opponents with not a little political success.  McVeigh’s violence, profoundly evil in itself, also enabled the evil of the Clinton Administration.

Any violence committed now against Obama, the Supreme Court majority, or their supporters will also feed the false Leftist meme that Constitutionalists and the Right are the real danger to Americans.  So far, the Right has exhibited remarkable restraint in the face of anti-constitutional tyranny.  Let’s keep it that way.  And, remember, we won in 2010 and 2014.  Let’s win hearts and minds for the crucial 2016 elections, not repel them with foolishness and worse.

As for Christians, for the sake of the gospel and of our country, what people must see for themselves in the coming months and perhaps years are peaceful Christians being unjustly attacked by the Left and by tyrants and conducting themselves faithfully and well anyway.  What they must not see are Christians being the attackers or even being mean. (Mea culpa.)  Yes, the Left and the Democrat news media will try to portray us as such.  Let us follow St. Peter’s exhortation and give said portrayals no credibility whatsoever:

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.  For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

1 Peter 1:12-15

And, not so by the way, “the emperor” at that time was no sweetheart either.  And there was far less hope of peacefully throwing off his tyranny than we have now.

Will Christians suffer unjustly in the coming time no matter how peacefully they conduct themselves?  Yes.  But again St. Peter exhorts (Emphasis mine.):

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.  If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.  But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. . . . Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

I Peter 4:12-19

For God knows how to take care of his people . . . and of those who persecute them.  And if He chooses to be more patient with evil tyrants and persecutors than we are, then thank God for that, too.  Didn’t God have to be patient with us?

Our business as Christians is to be faithful, to be lights in the darkness, not rashly to take matters into our own hands and make the darkness that much worse.

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Addendum: I am no pacifist for any who wonder about that.  Is there ever a time for violence?  Yes, but only after all peaceful avenues are exhausted, if even then.  Is that now?  Emphatically, no.

The Mundanity of Madness

I have long resisted the allures of Netflix.  But I finally have given in, particularly now that my knee has given me an excuse to watch more TV.  I am not quite a binge watcher and hope I never become one.  Besides, I hardly have the attention span for that.  But I do enjoy (if that is the appropriate word) the WW2 and Nazi documentaries.

Something that has struck me as I watch these is how societal madness and profound evil can and often does seem normal, mundane even, when one is in the midst of it.  Indeed, for the average German, life did not seem that much out of line until bombs finally began dropping on Germany.  Oh, the flag was different; Nazi propaganda was everywhere.  But, if anything, life superficially improved for many – the economy improved after the 1929 crash and the following depression that strengthened the Nazis politically; there was certainly more national pride.  As long as one was not Jewish or on the wrong side of the Nazi Party, life seemed relatively good and orderly, especially when compared to the chaos of the Weimar Republic.  At the very least, life went on.

Beyond the Nazis, there is a tendency to think episodes of societal madness and evil happen at other times or in other places.  It is hard to grasp that one is in the midst of such an episode.  Most do not want to comprehend it if their own country is mad and evil; it would not be a pleasant realization.  And it is not too hard to fool oneself to keep from such a realization.  If one is surrounded by dysfunction, it seems normal if that is what surrounds you all the time and one gets used it.  And people can be remarkably adaptable - even (especially?) when they should not adapt.

At times lately I wonder if we are going through such a time now in the U. S.  Yes, I know that surely seems alarmist.  No one I’m aware of wants to send Christians or freedom-minded people to camps, at least not openly.  But look at the sudden change of political discourse in very recent years.  There is a large contingent in this country that acts more like Brown Shirts than Americans, smearing and attacking as bigots, racists, homophobes those who disagree with their once radical agenda and seeking to silence them, to put them out of business, and worse.  Now it has even gotten to the point that seeking to quietly practice one’s religion is attacked as “discrimination.”

Have we not gone mad when cake makers are required to bake a wedding cake for a gay “wedding” or face ruinous fines?  And when a substantial part of the population and leading corporations and politicians (including, yes, Hillary) approve and even cheerlead such persecution?

But, lets admit it.  Even while this is going on, everyday life does not seem that much different, not even for most Christians.

Of course, I recognize that every country has its excesses and bouts of madness even.  And often people respond and/or muddle through, and the society pulls back, at least for a time, before it falls into profound and systematic evil.

But more than we may like to admit, societies, even “civilized” ones, do give into insanity and evil.  And usually it happens with enough subtlety and mundanity that it seems not a big deal . . . except to those who are the victims and to those who later wonder how a society could have gone so wrong.

We are fools if we think the United States is immune to such societal sickness, especially now.

Help a Persecuted Christian Family (but Boycott GoFundMe)

Many of you are familiar with the plight of the Klein family in Oregon.  Their Sweet Cakes by Melissa business had to close their store and retreat to their home.  The business car has been vandalized and broken into twice.  And now they face a $135,000 fine.

Why? Because their Christian convictions would not allow them to participate in a Lesbian wedding by baking a cake for that.  And the Gay Rights Pink Shirts and allies, for whom the gay agenda trumps just about everything, including freedom of religion, would not tolerate the Klein’s Christian choice.

“Choice” is for those who wish to abort their babies or marry the same gender, not for those who wish to live according to their Christian convictions, don’tchaknow.

But people rose up to help out the Kleins by using GoFundMe.  But the Pink Shirts would not tolerate that either.  So they pressured GoFundMe to remove the campaign, and GoFundMe caved.

Oh, GoFundMe abused a company policy against “heinous crimes” to explain their decision to pull the fundraising campaign for the Kleins.  But their explanation is an obvious fig leaf to try to cover up that they caved to the Pink Shirts and joined the persecution of this Christian family.  Only to Pink Shirts and allies is refusing to bake a cake for a gay wedding a “heinous crime.”

Therefore, I urge all readers to boycott GoFundMe.  They have caved to fascists to stop a legitimate campaign to help persecuted Christians. Christians should therefore withhold any fundraising from GoFundMe.

I do nonetheless urge helping out the Kleins and other persecuted Christians, whose numbers are increasing here and around the world.  Samaritan’s Purse is doing just that.

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MORE:

Well, isn’t this interesting.  It turns out the owner of another Portland area baker – a competitor? – was one of those pushing GoFundMe to pull the campaign:

GoLocalPDX reported that a Portland baker, Lisa Watson, of Cupcake Jones, started her own campaign to contact GoFundMe and report the Sweet Cakes campaign as being in violation of their terms of service.

"This business has been found GUILTY OF DISCRIMINATION and is being allowed to fundraise to pay their penalty," Watson said in a post on her Facebook page. "The gofundme terms of service address hate speech, bigotry, criminal activity, and sexism among other things in their campaign...The amount of money they have raised in a matter of a few hours by thousands of anonymous cowards is disgusting."

Speaking of disgusting, a brief perusal of her Facebook page reveals her to be a Pink Shirt indeed.

Pope Recognizes Armenian Genocide, While Obama . . .

Sunday, Pope Francis called the torture and slaughter of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 “the first genocide of the 20^th Century” and called upon the international community to recognize it as such.

Predictably, the government of Turkey, which has a long and despicable  history of denial, had a temper tantrum and withdrew its ambassador to the Vatican.

I first became interested in this awful chapter in history and Turkey’s denial of it when I read this excellent (but disturbing) article in the Daily Mail back in 2007.  And let there be no mistake, this genocide contained a strong component of Muslim persecution of Christians.

Guess which side Obama is on in this controversy?  Oh, he told Armenians he would call this genocide a genocide when he wanted their votes.  But since then and now? Not so much.

Obama Administration Again Ignores Persecution of Christians

When ISIS, Boko Haram, al-Shabaab, and other Islamonazis massacre Christians because they are Christians, why cannot the Obama Regime bring itself to acknowledge it?

Just as they did when ISIS beheaded 22 Coptic Christians in Libya, Obama and his hacks are ignoring that the Garissa University attack by al-Shabaab systematically targeted Christians.

This repeated and willful omission by Obama and his regime is despicable and un-American to the core.

Also note that the Regime also goes to pains to label the Islamonazis as “violent extremists.”  Considering that Obama and his Brown Shirts oft label his opponents as “extremists” should send a chill down one’s spine.

In Obama’s world, Christians are never victims, and “extremists” are always the bad guys.  Note and prepare.

“I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

During Holy Week, especially Maundy Thursday, the church often focuses on the last discourses of Jesus to his disciples before his arrest as recorded in the Gospel of John, chapters 14-17.  At my parish, if we follow past practice, we will read these during our post-Communion vigil tonight. 

In recent years, that focus each Holy Week has become my practice as well. And I am always moved by how these passages reveal the heart of Jesus towards us.

But I must confess I invariably focus more on other passages in these chapters than I do on the following for reasons that will become clear.

If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. (John 15:18-20)

Not very pleasant reading, is it? Imagine how the disciples felt hearing it on that night.  But if Jesus thought it needful to tell his disciples this on the night of his betrayal and if St. John saw fit to record these words, we best pay attention.

We Christians in the West may be lulled into complacency by the relative freedom we have had for decades and more.  But only a glance at the headlines, which this Holy Week include attacks on Freedom of Religion even in the United States and more direct attacks on the lives of Christians in Kenya, shows Jesus’ words are as relevant and true as ever.

For each of the disciples who remained in the Upper Room, following Jesus meant being hated, even with a hate that would persecute, enslave and kill. 

Yes, there have been lulls of that Satanic hate in history.  But now we must open our eyes and prepare to be hated.  For we are in no such lull today.  To these also of Jesus’ words that dark night we must pay heed.

Joseph of Arimathea

In some Anglican and Orthodox calendars, today is the Feast of Joseph of Arimathea.  There is some disagreement about the proper day for his feast.  The Romans have it on March 17^th.

Joseph has some fun legends about him.  I particularly enjoy the story of his founding the church of the Isle of Glastonbury.

But the reason he comes to mind this year is the relevance of his good example.  In the midst of hostility to Christ and his followers, he went out of his way and risked his reputation and more to honor Him in His death by having him buried in his tomb.  To the urging of the Jewish leaders (and Joseph of Arimathea was a devout Jew) and of the mob and by the order of Pilate, Jesus was very publically executed as a criminal.  Yet Joseph went to the same Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus so that he may give him an honorable burial.  And that when many of Christ’s followers were already in hiding.

Moreover, Joseph of Arimathea was a “rich man” as Isaiah 53:9 prophesied.  Taking up for executed criminals usually is not good for business.

Today, there is more and more hostility – and persecution – of Christ and his followers.  Western culture is certainly becoming more hostile to practicing Christians.  (Although, as I’ve mentioned before, this is nothing compared to the outright genocide against Christians committed by several groups of extreme Muslims.)  Yet we are all the more called to honor Christ in the midst of an opposing and derisive culture.  Christ’s honor comes before our own honor, comes before the culture’s approval.

May God help us to follow the good example of Joseph of Arimathea by putting Christ and his honor first no matter the risk to our reputations and livelihoods.

Merciful God, whose servant Joseph of Arimathea with reverence and godly fear prepared the body of our Lord and Savior for burial, and laid it in his own tomb: Grant to us, your faithful people, grace and courage to love and serve Jesus with sincere devotion all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

The Letter of ISIS Genocide

Along with many others, I have changed my twitter account icon to this symbol, the Arabic letter nun.  I’ll let Rorate Caeli (who may have begun this suddenly viral practice) explain its significance:

Nun, the 14th letter of the Arabic alphabet (the equivalent of letter N in our Roman alphabet), is the first letter of the word Nasara (Nazarenes), the way Muslims have called Christians since the beginning of their invasion of the Christian world in the 7th century -- Christians under Muslim rule never called themselves thus, since the intent of Muslims was to portray Christians as a contemptible and disobedient sect.

In their genocidal physical elimination of Christians from the Mesopotamian city of Mosul, Muslim terrorists marked each Christian-owned institution and building with this letter, for the extermination of holdouts and expropriation of their belongings.

And Rorate Caeli’s post contains photographs of said markings.

My thoughts and prayers have particularly been with Christians driven from their homes by ISIS Islamonazis.  And as St. Paul wrote, if one of us suffers, we all suffer.  Hence my modest decision to join those taking upon ourselves that letter of anti-Christian genocide.

The collect for this week, of the Fifth Sunday after Trinity, has struck me as particularly timely during this awful period of anti-Christian persecution in the Middle East.

GRANT, O Lord, we beseech thee, that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by thy governance, that thy Church may joyfully serve thee in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

“If I am already persecuted for Christ … and you deny it … you wound me again.”

“If I am already persecuted for Christ … and you deny it … you wound me again.”

This and other comments from an Egyptian Presbyterian serves as an excellent follow-up to my post Tuesday on the mainline Presbyterian Mission Agency Board denying the existence of widespread persecution against Christians today.

The gentleman’s remarks are far more eloquent and from personal experience than anything I can write.  So I will simply urge thoughtful readers to go read.

OUTRAGE: Presbyterian Agency Denies Christians Are Persecuted

It never fails.  Several times a year, the mainline Presbyterian “Church” does something that makes me glad I left that putrid denomination decades ago.  But the latest act is outrageous even by Presbyterian standards.  I am at a lack for polite words, so I’ll get right to it.

In response to a resolution addressing worldwide persecution of Christians, the Presbyterian Mission (HA!) Agency Board (PCUSA) responded thus:

The Church is called to prayer for those who suffer due to their faith. The Presbyterian Mission Agency reminds commissioners and advisory delegates the suffering of the church in the world is not only due to “persecution”, but there are many factors involved. These include geopolitical and economic factors. The General Assembly should consider all the factors that result in and contribute to sectarian violence. Use of the word “persecuted” mischaracterizes the nature of the maltreatment of Christians in the world, and in many cases would be an unhelpful exaggeration.

So Christians aren’t really persecuted, and saying they are is often “an unhelpful exaggeration”?  To get an idea what an outrageous statement this is, go to Open Doors and look around for a few minutes if you have the stomach to handle it.  For a “church” to deny that Christians are being persecuted in the world is vile.  It is not only unchristian; it is inhuman.

The church has long honored its martyrs and suffering confessors, both past and present.  For a Presbyterian agency to deny the nature of their suffering today . . . . Oh that’s right.  The PCUSA is no longer part of God’s Holy Church.  It proved that decades ago.