Christians, be aware. The warning shots have been fired.
The average Russian Orthodox Christian did not think that after the October Revolution of 1917 he would veritably lose all rights to practice his faith. Do you think the average American in 2016, one year before the anniversary of the Revolution, thinks any different?
The problem with America and the west is that we already have “religious extremism” and have had so for years. The very ideas of “gay rights,” abortion in any form, contraception, in-vitro fertilization, euthanasia, multiculturalism, “religious tolerance,” acceptance of sinful relationships in public society, and so many other perverse and perverting ideas that are assumed to be “normal” and accepted by “good Americans” are in fact examples of a secular-pagan religious extremism which hates the Catholic Faith because it hates truth itself.
Persecution is coming. Someday this website may be forced off of the mainstream Internet simply for teaching what Jesus taught.
From the Barna Group:
Though it remains the nation’s most dominant religion, Christianity faces significant headwind in the court of public opinion. The decades-old trend that Christianity is irrelevant is increasingly giving way to the notion that Christianity is bad for society. … In sum, faith and religion and Christianity are viewed by millions of adults to be extremist.
Here are five facts that explain the emerging reality:
1. Adults and especially non-believers are concerned about religious extremism.
In the wake of religiously motivated terrorism—like the recent incidents in San Bernardino and Paris—it is no wonder that a backlash against extremism is reaching a boiling point. Currently, a strong majority of adults believe “being religiously extreme is a threat to society.” Three-quarters of all Americans—and nine out of ten Americans with no faith affiliation—agree with this statement.
2. Nearly half of non-religious adults perceive Christianity to be extremist.
The perception that the Christian faith is extreme is now firmly entrenched among the nation’s non-Christians. A full forty-five percent of atheists, agnostics, and religiously unaffiliated in America agree with the statement “Christianity is extremist.” Almost as troubling is the fact that only 14 percent of atheists and agnostics strongly disagree that Christianity is extremist. The remaining four in ten (41%) disagree only somewhat. So even non-Christians who are reluctant to fully label Christianity as extremist, still harbor some hesitations and negative perceptions toward the religion.
3. The range of what constitutes extremism is broad, ranging from behaviors that are almost universally condemned to more narrowly defined extremism.
The diagram below, which was included with the article, describes what Americans call “extremism” by percentage:
Note how in the highest category (80%+), those people define “religious extremism” as (my comment in italics):
-Using religion to justify violence (The Crusades, Reconquista)
-Refusing standard medical care for their children (such as vaccinations)
–Refusing to serve someone because the customer’s lifestyle conflicts with their beliefs (“Gay Cake” controversies)
The second category (50% – 79%) has the following characteristics:
–Demonstrating outside an organization they consider immoral (abortion clinic protests)
-Preaching a religious message in a public place (street preaching)
–sAttempting to convert others to their faith (Christianity 101)
–Teaching their children that sexual relationships are morally wrong (Christianity 101)
-Distributing religious material door-to-door (street preaching)
-Praying out loud in public for a stranger (street preaching)
–Believing that sexual relationship between people of the same sex are morally wrong (Christianity 101)
–Protesting government policies that conflict with their religion (pro-family protesters)