Book Review: Persecution: How Liberals are Waging War against Christianity, by David Limbaugh, Washington, D

This book chronicles discrimination against Christians in American society. While tolerance is touted as the highest virtue in our popular culture, Christians are often subjected to scorn and ridicule and denied their religious freedoms. Anti-Christian discrimination, even persecution, occurs constantly throughout our society, in our schools, government, and media.

Page after page of this book describes outrageous conduct by liberals against any expression of Christianity. There might be a few exaggerations or misrepresentations, but there are so many bald facts of persecution in this book, as to convince even the most hardened skeptic, that Christians are a persecuted class.

The Bible says that “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution,” II Timothy 3:12. Also, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all,” Psalm 34:19.

Today, there is much hue and cry about the “separation of church and state” supposedly implied in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. However, the words “separation,” “church,” and/or “state,” are nowhere mentioned in the First Amendment. It actually says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” A judge in Alabama, wanting to display the Ten Commandments, is not Congress, he is not making a law establishing a religion, yet he has been deprived of his exercise of religious freedom. The First Amendment forbids the federal government from setting up a national church. At the time the Bill of Rights was ratified, most of the states already had an official state-sponsored Church. The First Amendment did not change that. Today, atheists are using the supposed separation of Church and State doctrine to separate Christianity from public life in this country.

I know what persecution is like. Centuries ago, my German Mennonite ancestors were forced to leave Prussia to live in Russia, because they would not serve in the Prussian military. Much later, also for religious freedom, they were forced to leave Russia for the Americas.

About 1970, I had an unusual experience that I will never forget. I lived in southeast Portland, Oregon, and was walking, carrying my Bible, one summer Wednesday evening, intending to cross the bridge over the Willamette River to southwest Portland for a Church Bible Study. A car dealer from a lot about a block away spied my Bible, and ran over to me, ridiculing me and calling me names. In his eyes, I was a religious freak, merely for carrying a Bible. I just kept walking.

During those years in Portland, I was frequently accosted by prostitutes trying to drum up business, and drug dealers, who bought and sold illegal drugs, unhindered and in full view of policemen driving by. But, carrying a Bible, was “bad”! Most of the stories in Limbaugh’s book, Persecution, are just as crazy and absurd. Read this book, and prepare to get angry.

David Limbaugh, lawyer brother of radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, concludes his book with a stirring recounting of our nation’s history, showing the Christian foundations of our Republic.

So, where does that leave us today?

The power of anti-Christians has made significant inroads into the Sabbath-keeping community. Seventh-day Adventists have long been on the side of those who want to remove God from the public square. According to them, and others in various Church of God groups who are like them, Christianity must be a private affair. Marvin Moore, editor of the SDA mainstay publication, Signs of the Times, said in a recent editorial, on January 2004, that it was fine with him that the words “under God” be left out of the Pledge of Allegiance. Some in the various Sabbath-keeping Churches of God, believe that it is great that the government permits abortion, and divorce for any reason, claiming that before abortion was legalized, we had less religious freedom. The opposite is the case. All laws are based on a moral foundation. Today, the Christian moral basis for most of our laws is being thrown out, and our freedom goes out the door as well. Freedom cannot exist without God’s Law. By government legalization of sinful activities like abortion, easy divorce, homosexual “unions,” and the like, our religious freedoms are being seriously eroded, and the world is being set up for a totalitarian system. How ironic it is, that Adventists fear the government of the USA becoming the Beast, while they unknowingly help it to become the Beast by taking Christianity out of our government.

At a recent Feast of Tabernacles, a member from California told me that he would be in favor of Hillary Clinton becoming President someday. She sneers at Christian faith, supports abortion, homosexual marriage, and other perversions. We have met the enemy — and it is us!

If this book does not jolt you out of your complacency, you are spiritually dead. Our response is generally not in the political arena. We do not vote in Presidential elections. I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because I love it, and will continue to share the Good News with others, as long as I have breath in me. Persecution? So what? Let us be about our Father’s business.

— by Richard C. Nickels Ω