In science, my faith is judged obscurantist; in ethics, mere animus; in practicality, irrelevant; in love, archaic. In the square, I am silenced; at school, mocked; in business, fined; at entertainment, derided; in the home, patronized; at work, muffled. My leaders are disrespected; my founder blasphemed by the new culture, new religion, and new philosophy which, to paraphrase Benedict XVI’s “Regensburg Address,” suffers from an aversion to the fullness of questions, insisting that questions are meaningful only when limited to a scope much narrower than my catholic range of wonder.
- R. J. Snell, "I Am Lonely"
First Things (14 October 2013)
Pope Emeritus Benedict once said that "Christians are the religious group which suffers most from persecution on account of its faith".
Christianity remains one of the world's largest religions. However, Christianity is increasingly moving to the global South, or what was once referred to as the "Third World" or developing countries. A growing number of Christians live in places such as Asia, Africa and the Middle East even as Christianity continues to decline in America and Europe, widely referred to as the "West".
In the post-Christian developed world, Christians are widely perceived as intolerant, bigoted and judgmental because of opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion. In the developing world, Christians live as religious minorities, persecuted by intolerant militant extremist groups.
Aliens and strangers in this world
Yet the Bible teaches that Christians are aliens and strangers in this world. Peter wrote:
No one can be a better example of this than Jesus Christ Himself. Despite being in very nature God, Jesus came down to as an ordinary man. He was insulted, mocked, ridiculed and ultimately crucified for standing for Truth.
Jesus warned His disciples that "[if] they persecuted me, they will persecute you also" (John 15:20). And they did. James was put to death by the sword (Acts 12:2). According to tradition, Peter was crucified upside down. Early Christians suffered intensely for their faith. We read in the Book of Hebrews:
Assimilated or Alienated?
In Singapore, the government jealously guards religious harmony in order to ensure that all religious groups may live in peace with one another. Christians, and all other religious groups, are protected from persecution, ridicule and discrimination.
But have we treasured our peace and freedom? Do we exercise our God-given talents faithfully?
Are you like that city built on a hill that cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14)?
When others look at you, do they see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16)? Or are you following the ways of the world instead of following Christ?
Are you assimilated or alienated?
Christianity remains one of the world's largest religions. However, Christianity is increasingly moving to the global South, or what was once referred to as the "Third World" or developing countries. A growing number of Christians live in places such as Asia, Africa and the Middle East even as Christianity continues to decline in America and Europe, widely referred to as the "West".
In the post-Christian developed world, Christians are widely perceived as intolerant, bigoted and judgmental because of opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion. In the developing world, Christians live as religious minorities, persecuted by intolerant militant extremist groups.
Aliens and strangers in this world
Yet the Bible teaches that Christians are aliens and strangers in this world. Peter wrote:
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us. (1 Peter 2:11-12)The Christian must always be conscious of the fact that he or she is in, but not of, this world. Jesus said:
I have given them Your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. (John 17:14-19)
No one can be a better example of this than Jesus Christ Himself. Despite being in very nature God, Jesus came down to as an ordinary man. He was insulted, mocked, ridiculed and ultimately crucified for standing for Truth.
Jesus warned His disciples that "[if] they persecuted me, they will persecute you also" (John 15:20). And they did. James was put to death by the sword (Acts 12:2). According to tradition, Peter was crucified upside down. Early Christians suffered intensely for their faith. We read in the Book of Hebrews:
Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated — the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and in holes in the ground. (Hebrews 11:35b-38)
Assimilated or Alienated?
In Singapore, the government jealously guards religious harmony in order to ensure that all religious groups may live in peace with one another. Christians, and all other religious groups, are protected from persecution, ridicule and discrimination.
But have we treasured our peace and freedom? Do we exercise our God-given talents faithfully?
Are you like that city built on a hill that cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14)?
When others look at you, do they see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16)? Or are you following the ways of the world instead of following Christ?
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