People and In this world of being woke and protecting your fellow human, one global group doesn’t enjoy human rights and mutual adoration because of Christian hate.
Look around. Watch the news. Talk to your friends. Do you hear of not-for-profit organizations sticking up for young Christians in school? What about the many Bible-believing people on the job who get bashed for their faith? Does anyone applaud businesses for supporting the Church?
There is a problem, and there needs to be more media coverage. It’s just too bad no one seems to care what it is.
Meet Steve Happ, founder of a Memphis-based ministry called Indigenous Advance. While he is partnering with indigenous ministries in Uganda and worldwide, Bank of America determined they’re “operating in a business type [they] have chosen not to service.”
This sounds like a typical business venture gone wrong, but something stinky is afoot:
- B of A sent Happ several letters announcing a 30-day close despite having $270K in their account.
- When asked by Happ, “What type of business do you think we are,” the bank didn’t initially answer. When The Christian Post called the Bank of (not all parts of) America, its spokesperson shared, “We cannot give you that information.”
- Upon getting initial blowback, B of A doubled down on their decision, stating that “religious beliefs [were] not a factor in any account-closing decision
If this unwarranted situation doesn’t smack of Christian hate, what could it be, Bank of America? Debt collection practices. Wait, what?!
“Our U.S. division that serves small businesses doesn’t offer banking services to organizations that provide debt collection services for various risk-related considerations and doesn’t serve small businesses operating outside the United States.”
The story goes on, but $10 says you probably haven’t heard about this issue on your local newscast or talk radio station. That’s because if this were a case of locking up funds, and then Muslim, LGBTQ+, or other underrepresented groups couldn’t feed their families thanks to this mess, there would be national outrage.
These were Christians, so “Meh!”
Call it whatever you want. This is about bigotry, prejudice, and angst against people who believe in Jesus Christ. The majority of the time, these stories are ignored and avoided. If not, they are shared by a small sect of the media and influencers. Either way, nothing changes.
Why?
Targets of Christian Hate
Meet the victims of Christian hate. People and businesses worldwide target faith-based groups and non-profit organizations. However, when funds are locked up, places are picketed, or the media pummels their reputations, the people they serve suffer the most.
Anti-anything groups enjoy using hyperbolic and inflammatory language toward affronts against their cause, like “assault on our rights,” “hatred against our people,” and “against all that the U.S. Constitution represents.” Politicians to professionals, action groups to social organizations–they all have necessary talking points for their causes, and people should pay attention. Those words create change for people who can’t fight for themselves.
He’s got the whole world…
For Christians, it’s a groundswell of crickets. We get pastors, televangelists, and what else, Fox News on Sundays? In case you haven’t heard, here are some of those issues you probably didn’t know and the people suffering because of this one-sided angst:
- For religious reasons, Hilton has fired employees who didn’t want to work on Sundays.
- Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby boycotts happen every other week for their conservative stances on marriage. However, Christians are now boycotting Chick-fil-A because of “weakening those stances.”
- Kroger terminated employees who didn’t want to wear a gay pride pin on their apron.
- PayPal/Venom has shut down numerous accounts for violating its “Acceptable Use Policy.”
Numerous situations have been underreported and underrepresented, and the world keeps on spinning. Gas prices keep fluctuating, the middle class continues struggling, and the Kardashians are still being kept up with on TV.
Yet, the targets of this Christian hate are people who want to do their work, stand for what they believe, and go on about their business. If this is the country so in tune with those being disenfranchised by bigotry and prejudice, where are those voices to speak up for the Body of Christ?
“Violence begets violence; hate begets hate; and toughness begets a greater toughness. It is all a descending spiral, and the end is destruction — for everybody. Along the way of life, someone must have enough sense and morality to cut off the chain of hate.” ~Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Preach, preacher!
Sources for story list: FirstLiberty.org
Treachery of Christian Hate
What’s so blatant about Christian hate is that no other community is in the crosshairs without awareness. Bigotry exists in the world against all creeds and cultures. They each have their bold and courageous defenses, too. For example:
- Black people have the NAACP
- Hispanics have LULAC
- Jewish people have the ADL
- Asians have the AAPI
- LGBTQ+ have GLAAD
- Most other religions have the ACLU
- Shoot, PETA protects every animal
Each one of those acronymic and dynamic organizations has national news on speed dial to ensure the world knows about their plight. Christians get the community church and poorly written news releases. We get lost in the alphabet soup while prayer is belittled in school, Jesus is mocked on national TV, and every dynamic church on the corner is compared to fallen televangelists from two decades ago.
People don’t compare celebrities to each other. An actor who stands up for mentoring young child actors isn’t berated with snide comments like, “Uh oh. Kevin Spacey?” Even-minded people don’t yell at a local Imam standing up for the Muslim community on the news with “He hates folk as Farrakhan does.” And, let’s be honest, how come no TV show, movie, or sports game features someone cursing, “Buddha damnit!”
That’s because it’s okay to hate Jesus. And here is the kicker: The reason is that it’s easy to generalize, stereotype, and target Christians.
Don’t believe that? Stick around a church for a minute. Some overbearing hypocrites will greet you “in the Name of the Lord” and shun you with the soles of their Nikes. Do ingrates like that exist in every place, company, mosque, synagogue, business, or school on the planet? Absolutely! But Christians wear the bullseye because we had a Christ who effectively spread a message of faith, hope, and love.
Others show their love, and it’s welcomed. Christians show their love, and it’s expected.
Hate crimes focus on hate against any group of people, including those in the Body of Christ. It’s up to Christians to understand why we remain in the public eye of dissension, stand up for what’s right, find different methods to communicate disapproval, and boldly defend the Church.
And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:12 NKJV)
Persecution will never stop coming. The Bible tells us that. Nonetheless, it doesn’t mean we have to be okay with it–nor continue to be the reason for it. We’re not all ultra-conservative voting, red-state living, gun pride and toting people. We are children of God, first and foremost. And that’s the thing about children–they love without reservation. Be like Christ but defend the Church like a nasty linebacker. Or, as a noted scholar once said, “Be wise as serpents and yet, harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16 NKJV)
Why? Christian hate is still hate, and that’s never okay.
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