While the world is grappling with the opening of the Paris Olympics, expressing outrage at the insult to Christianity I am in Croatia. I am o serving from afar.
Was the opening insulting…yes. But America has been insulting Christians for years. The gay and transgender ideologies are no more or less insulting to a Christian if it is delivered by a School Board or by the Paris Okympics. To expect the Olympics to not do what is common practice in the US is hypocritical. If you are a reside t in a country that holds Christian ideals up, I can understand the outrage.
I say this because, in part, I am in Croatia looking at Diocletians Palace. Diocletian is credited for the most violent persecution of Christianity in the early years of the Church. At that time 10% of the Roman Empire was Christian, but the Christian religion was not recognized or legal. From the blood of martyrs came the Church. Christians have always been a day away from persecution. Our lives and ideals, our truths and our ways are a threat to the world. Paris acknowledged that and brought it into the open.
The Christian response has been forgiveness and understanding. While certain Christian group want to claim outrage, embracing that outrageous in everyday life will cause you to feel like an outcast everywhere. Anti Christian sentiment is everywhere, even inside our own centers of worship. The Methodists are the most recent group to succumb. Where is the outrage over that?
Christians are a light. We stand out. If the world mocks us , it’s because they can see us. It’s because we pose a threat to them. Diocletian didn’t succeed, instead the Roman Empire shortly after, make Christianith the state religion. That didn’t happen because of outrage, that happened because people saw the jristian response and saw the True God therein.
So pray for those who persecute us. Let the world see a strong Christian response. That response will convert the unbelievers.
The musings of Peter 