The battle for religious freedom never ends

Series: Why Should I Encounter Persecuted Christians?

I need to encounter persecuted Christians to show me that the fight for religious freedom is never won, even in my own land.

As my plane touched down after a trip to the Middle East, I breathed a big sigh of relief. I was back where I did not have to watch my back, be careful what I said or where I went.
Whew.
I was back in a country that had religious freedom. I prayed: "Thank you for the men and women who fought to bring me this freedom. Thank you, Lord, that they won."
Then three incidents happened one after the other that made me think again.
I was at an art exhibition and looking at a painting entitled "Man startled on a horse." I sought out the artist and said: "Was that the Apostle Paul on the Damascus road you were depicting?"
I thought he would be pleased I had figured it out.
But he looked horrified, and glancing around he hissed: "For goodness sake keep quiet. Do you want me to get labeled as a religious artist? I'd never sell another painting if that happened."
Then I was talking to a priest in charge of a large church in my city. His church had just received a large sum of money from the state for the refurbishment of a church hall.
Then he said: "Well, we had to sign an agreement that the church would be available for everyone of any religion, and that we would not try to convert anyone. But we were happy to do that. We just want to be a community resource."
Finally, in the same week, I watched an interview with Prime Minister Tony Blair. The interviewer casually lobbed in this question at the end of a grilling on the policy towards Iraq: "Do you pray with President Bush?"
Blair, reportedly a devout Christian, blinked and said: "What you do mean pray?"
Frost replied: "You know, pray to God like Christians do."
Obviously calculating that his ratings would dive if he admitted he prayed, Blair said shortly: "Mr. Bush works for peace in his way, and I work for peace in my way."
Suddenly I became aware that I had to fight for religious liberty in my own country. I had thought that because certain toleration laws were in place, I was safe.
But no, it was clear from the artist and the prime minister that to admit one's Christian faith in a public context was professional suicide.
How did my society suddenly get so prejudiced?
And look at the priest blithely giving up his right to evangelize, without a thought to the long-term cost. Who was asking him to refrain from evangelizing? And how could he be so unaware of the freedom he just signed away?

Fragile freedom
It was a persecuted Christian in the Middle East who gave me the eyes to see that religious freedom always needs protecting, wherever one is.
"Freedom is fragile," she said. "Religious freedom is not about having the right laws to protect belief.
"No, religious freedom is protected not by laws, but by a climate of respect and openness that ensures the laws are correctly applied. A toleration law, for example, can be used for or against Christians.
"Christians always have to fight to ensure the climate is tolerant."
She added: "I don't care what country you live in, you also live in a culture that hates Christ.
"That's your fight, and every Christian on the earth has the same fight, whether you belong to a so-called Christian society or not."
She was right. A climate of prejudice against Christians has crept up by stealth in Western cultures, even in apparently Christian ones. We are in a battle in our own backyard.
Thank you, Persecuted Church, for awakening me to the fight!

Other articles in this series:

• Achievement or Sacrifice?
• Stop Complaining
• Our Debt to Spiritual Ancestors
• Hope for Hard Times
• Seeing the Bible through Persecuted Eyes
• Death Loses its Sting
• The Power of Song
• Simple Faith
• Key Ingredients in Hospitality
• The Beauty of Mystery
• Awakening to Struggle
• Obstacles to Instruments
• God is Not Safe
• Deliverance Comes Through Endurance
• Imperfect People Do God's Will