But recently, the direct attack against Christian principles, and indeed the Christian faith itself, has taken on a new intensity. This is particularly evident as the president of the United States, himself, tries to implement bureaucratic rules designed to literally force us, as Christians, to participate in things which violate our consciences. What we have is the government, literally, trying to establish a religion, contrary to the first amendment of the United States Constitution. While the president, obviously, doesn’t see his decree as an attempt to force his religion on the people of the nation, this is exactly what he is doing.

The president has, from his initial presidential campaign, declared himself to be a Christian. However, it all depends on what you mean by the word “Christian.” If you mean that the church he attended had the word Christian in it, then perhaps he can claim to be a Christian on that basis. But if you mean that his actual belief system is based on the Christian faith, then he is no more a Christian than is Mitt Romney.

President Obama follows a religious belief system which is based on Liberation Theology. Liberation Theology is not traditional Christianity. Rather, it is Marxist ideology dressed in Christian terminology. When they speak of God, they are referring to a nebulous transcendent being who is focused on liberating people from material oppression, not the God of the Bible whose focus is liberating people from sin. They do not see human beings as fallen and in need of a Savior, but as material creatures who deserve to be free from the oppression of some oppressive force. They believe that the focus of this life is to achieve social justice (wealth redistribution from the oppressor to the oppressed), not to know a relationship with God. And they believe that the best way to accomplish social justice is through a socialistic or communistic political system, not by individuals following the leading of God in their lives. This is not Christian theology!

The result is a belief that asserts that it is okay for government to take from some and give to others – and it is the government leaders who get to choose. It makes no difference whether or not the consciences of other citizens are violated. This is an example of the president’s religion on display and how he is trying to force everyone else to adhere to it.

The truth is, it is not just Christians who are under attack, even though we are the recipients of this current assault. If this religious approach can be forced on the nation, there is no limit to what other decrees can be foisted by the government on the people, no matter their particular moral convictions. The people who are the beneficiaries of this round may be the victims of the next when new leaders step into office.

The only solution is for us to become grounded in our faith and stand up against the attacks on our consciences. If this is not done, and done now with strength and conviction, the past attacks against us will seem very mild compared to what is coming.

Last week, President Obama decreed that, based on the Obamacare law, he had the right to implement rules which would force the Roman Catholic Church to pay for contraception and abortions of employees of catholic institutions; contrary to their long held doctrinal beliefs. When the outcry became strong enough, he “compromised” and changed the decree so that instead of religious organizations having to pay for these services directly, insurance companies would have to pay for them. So now, instead of just the religious institutions having to pay for these services, everyone, regardless of their religious beliefs, has to pay via insurance premiums.

As much as I personally disagree with this policy, there is another matter that is even more scarey. By forcing these rules on the American people, the president is attempting to shift the very worldview foundation that this country was founded upon. Instead of operating from a Judeo-Christian worldview foundation which values individual rights and freedom of conscience, he is attempting to shift us to a worldview based on Naturalism where the decrees of the government (the beliefs of those in positions of power) hold precedence.

The problem with this is not so much the stated goal of the president (to provide affordable healthcare to everyone). I believe that pretty much everyone agrees with the goal. The problem has to do with the policies created to implement the goal. Rather than developing a method which facilitates individuals and incentivizes companies to hold down prices, this administration wants to force individuals and companies to bow to its will using government decrees.

In this case, Obama wants to be the one to define for everyone what “affordable healthcare” means. To him, that includes free access to contraception and abortion. The only problem is, it is not free. We all pay for it either though higher insurance premiums or taxes. In the process, everyone, even those who find this morally offensive, are forced to support it by paying for it.

Our current governmental system is designed to facilitate individual freedom. If the president gets his way, this freedom will be taken away and replaced by a system in which government bureaucrats can dictate every part of our lives – including what we must believe regarding our religious faith.

Regardless of one’s view on the particular issues of abortion and contraception, we cannot allow the government to create a system where people are forced to do things they are morally opposed to. If it can be done in this instance, there is no limit to other issues this can be applied to. This is one matter that every Christian ought to be willing to go to the mat on and fight until the entire approach is abandoned.

In the survey, both liberal and conservative Christians expressed the opinion that Jesus’ views on morality-related issues would be stricter than theirs. The particular issues that they saw as important were different for the liberals and conservatives, but both acknowledged discrepancies between their political views and the religious teachings of their faith.

So, what does this tell us? It tells us that, in general, the personal beliefs of most Christians do not align with a truly Christian worldview. If these people truly held a Christian worldview, their actions would be guided by their faith rather then by personal desires.

What is it about the human condition that lets us think it is okay to live life based on selfish desires, even when we know they are wrong?

The solution? Make our personal relationship with God so real and personal that we come to the place where we “want” to do what we know is right.

Regardless of the truth or falsity of the priest’s statement (which is actually true), the idea that an observation in a sermon about the state of society as it relates to the church could be dealt with as a hate crime to totally absurd. But that fact doesn’t stop these kinds of things from happening. The worldview which informs this kind of thinking allows it.

What we are dealing with is a religious point of view which has no objective frame of reference. Humanism is an expression of Naturalism which does not recognize the existence of any kind of supernatural reality – no God. So, the only place morality can come from is the opinions of individuals. So, if this Humanist finds himself offended, his own opinion is all he needs to file a complaint to try and have the priest sent to jail.

“But that’s over there,” you say. “That could never happen here.”

Oh, really? This kind of thing is already happening here. Vanderbilt University just issued a decree late last year to ban Christian campus organizations from excluding non-Christians in their leadership. Just last week, they doubled down on this. Recently, a young lady studying counseling at Eastern Michigan University wanted to refer a homosexual client to another counselor (a common practice in that profession). She didn’t feel she could effectively help this person because of her religious beliefs. She was kicked out of school because she refused to change her stand. The new Obama healthcare plan has decreed that religious institutions which serve people outside of their faith (ex. hospitals, adoption agencies, etc.) must offer contraceptive and abortion services as a part of their health insurance program even if that is against the tenets of their faith. Those not in compliance can be fined or shut down. The list of examples could go on and on. If things do not turn around soon, you will begin to see Christians put in jail simply because they say and do the politically incorrect.

The solution to this problem is not merely to become politically active. There is, certainly, a place for political activism. But the long term solution is not political – it is spiritual. The problem exists because a large number of people follow a non-Christian belief system which allows for these kind of rules and laws. The solution is to lead them to a worldview belief which takes them down a different path.

People who are like this need Jesus Christ. The only way we, as Christians, are going to make an impact in this arena is to become proficient at sharing our faith. MarketFaith Ministries has lots of resources to give you help in this area. Spend some time on the website and grab the ones that will strengthen your faith.

Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts

In 1997 Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts starred in a movie titled “Conspiracy Theory”.  Gibson played a paranoid cab driver named Jerry who believed in a host of conspiracies and was constantly reading and warning people about them.  Then one day he suddenly realized someone was trying to kill him.  Apparently one of his pet conspiracies was actually true and they really were out to get him.  His problem was, however, he didn’t know which one. Well, if the theorists are correct, he would have a lot to choose from.

I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have gotten letters and emails warning of some new (or recycled) theory.  For example in the mid 1970s a petition circulated in churches warning that atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair was conspiring to get all religious broadcasting banned from the nation’s airwaves. The petition was a hoax but still shows up even now nearly forty years later on websites and emails (even though O’Hair has been dead since 1995).

Here is the short list of some of the various global cabals that I am aware of supposedly plotting to rule the world, control the international economy, corrupt our national morals, or promote hate, etc. There is the World Communist Conspiracy, the World Jewish Conspiracy, the World Neo-Nazi Conspiracy, the World Satanist Conspiracy, the World Government Conspiracy, the World Bank Conspiracy, the World New Age Conspiracy, the World Illuminati Conspiracy, the World Masonic Conspiracy, the World Catholic Conspiracy, the World Humanist Conspiracy, the World Atheist Conspiracy, the World Skull and Bones Conspiracy, the World Tri-Lateral Commission Conspiracy, the World UFO Conspiracy, the World (oops)…the North American Union Conspiracy, etc.

Now, no doubt there are people in this country and around the world that espouse many of the goals of the above movements and may even hatch plans to do devious things. However, in most cases the numbers of adherents are so small, or the plotters so unorganized, that they truly present no real threat to anyone.  In fact, sometimes those claiming to expose such conspiracies are the ones posing the greater danger believing their paranoid delusions justify bad behavior done to constrain their imagined foes.

There is an old saying, “A conspiracy is very hard prove and impossible to disprove.”  Or as Gibson’s character Jerry says,   ”A good conspiracy is unprovable. I mean, if you can prove it, it means they screwed up somewhere along the line.”   The conspirators who really do pose threats (radical Islamic terrorists for example) are not secret at all.  They are well known to the world’s governmental agencies who work constantly to monitor their actions to prevent their violent attacks.    Unfortunately, too many people, even some Christians, are busy  jousting with windmills rather than focusing on the country’s real spiritual issues.  The way to solve our nation’s problems is not by blaming them on some invisible human entity but by proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ and getting involved on local and national levels.

First, a group of Atheists in England have proposed a 151 foot tower in London to celebrate “new atheism.” This tower is being proposed as a “Temple to Atheism.” Now why would Atheists need a temple?

The second story is the account of an upcoming Atheist rock festival at the Ft. Bragg military base called “Rock Beyond Belief.”  This event was created, in part, as a response to a Billy Graham Evangelistic Association event that was held last year. Obviously, the Atheists didn’t want their religion left out. On top of that, they have created a promotional video which features a church-burning and uses a song that is billed as the “Atheist Anthem.”

The truth is, the worldview belief that there is no such thing as a supernatural existence is a religious (faith) stance. There is no science to demonstrate its most basic beliefs. On top of that, human beings are spiritual creatures who are going to express their spiritual side, even if it is based on false beliefs which do not represent the true nature of reality.

As Christians, we need to be careful how we respond to these kinds of things. It is easy to become indignant and simply denounce their efforts. But instead, we ought to feel compassion. These are people who have a deep spiritual need that they are trying to fill using a false God. If we can come to truly understand the worldview which motivates their Atheistic worship, it can provide a tremendous opportunity to share with them the truth about Jesus Christ.