Why the War Against Christianity?

There is an unparalleled hostility against Christianity within the American culture. Just last evening I heard a television report concerning a policy within the public school system of New York state forbidding the display of the nativity, representing the birth of Jesus Christ, while allowing the symbols of Judaism and Islam to be on display on school grounds. There have been recent accounts of local judges threatening to prosecute high school students for the public mention of Jesus Christ. Other similar assaults against the free expression of Christianity have been reported. The question is why?

Why is Christianity deemed such a threat? Is it because Christians are seeking laws establishing Christianity as the only religion to be recognized by the government of the United States? I am not aware of such an effort. Is it because Christians have a well-established history of physically persecuting those who oppose them? Is it because Christians would advocate the abolishment of the American system of government?

It is sad that there is such a prejudice against the history of Christianity's contributions to our society. Far too many young people are ignorant that the vast majority of original American universities and colleges and hospitals and orphanages and benevolent organizations where founded by Christians of the "old school". By that I mean Christians who sincerely believed the Bible to be God's infallible Word, Jesus Christ to be God-incarnate and man's only hope of peace with God, and our second highest moral obligation to be that of loving our neighbors as ourselves (the highest moral duty being to love God with the totality of our beings). These are the kind of Christians that have come to be so despised. Yet, the fingerprints of true Biblical Christianity are all over our Constitution. The things, which have made America so free and prosperous, are rooted in the ideals of historic Christianity. Nonetheless, there is now a mounting hatred for Christianity and increasing prejudice against Christians. Why?

I suspect that the prejudice is rooted in two indispensable elements belonging to Christianity: first, the insistance that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ — is the only true God; second, the condemnation of the sins which God Himself condemns in His Word. People are increasingly bold in declaring their hatred for these claims. But, why is that? Islam and Judaism make similar claims, yet few feel threatened by them. Americans pride themselves in being open-minded in accepting these and other religious systems notwithstanding their claims of exclusivism. Not so with Christianity, why is that? It is because the human conscience bears witness to the claims of Christianity and not to the claims of other religions! People know in their hearts that the God of the Bible is indeed the only God. They also know in their hearts that the requirements of His Law are true and right. Thus, they are convicted and threatened by Christianity. Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and other non-revealed religions produce no such conviction and are thus not threatening.

But, what is gained by silencing Christianity? Will that change or eliminate God? Will it alter the nature of sin or the inevitability of God's eternal judgment upon it? No! Silencing Christianity will only deny perishing people the only message of hope — the Gospel. The loss of freedom to Christianity is the everlasting loss of souls.