State of Universal Persecution (Part 4)

 

Persecution is a topic of high priority because it's universal issue that effects everybody regardless of there beliefs or views.

Editor's Note: I originally wanted to keep the whole piece as one article. However, with the inclusion of the links, the articles exploded in size. As a result, this will be a multi-part series.

Misunderstanding Jesus
Jesus realized that persecution would come to him. It would have to in order for his beliefs to be fulfilled. However, Jesus wasn't seeking it. Jesus was in deep pain contemplating the journey that he would have to go through. He wasn't boasting about his suffering or seeking bragging rights.

While he wanted people to remember why he suffered on the cross, the intent of his suffering was to highlight his teachings and beliefs, and not be focus on the pain. The actual pain was a side-show to the massive spiritual pursuit of bringing  God's Kingdom and Salvation to those who have no hope.

One could make the safe assumption that Jesus didn't see his suffering as a contest either. It would be very safe to assume that Jesus wasn't making boastful claims bragging about his suffering on his cross and that it made him "more Christian" as a result.

We need to defend our faith in case that situation comes. Jesus calls on us to do it. The reason for defending our faith is done so that we can build that stronger relationship with Jesus so he can guide us through the hard times, and anything outside of that reason is testing God. If anyone comes up to do challenge that faith, defend it.

However, with modern American Christianity, the idea of the persecution complex is en vogue.  Your not a true Christen unless you been in or purposely created a awkward situations were faith was tested. Even in situations were there isn't a conflicts of faith, one will be purposely create that conflict to provide a reason to defend that faith. Not for the glory of God, but for there own ambition.

Persecution comes to those that feel the weight of the world over them, and not to those seeking it as if it was a drug. When people see persecution in this light, it serves as a distraction in Jesus's ministry. Instead of providing spiritual outreach or lending a hand to those in need in the community, many are consumed with being more quote "Christian than others".

What would have happened if the criminal that was crucified next to Jesus just kept constantly highlighting there own pain, oblivious to what Jesus was dying for? Would Jesus thought that they were taking his suffering serious? Are we taking Jesus's suffering seriously when see persecution as a contest instead of a act of deep suffering? It's necessary to defend God's word when in that situation. However, God's word is misused when one seeks persecution to fulfill there own spiritual ambitions without recognizing the reason why Jesus horrible suffered for and died on the cross.

Why did he suffer on the cross. Jesus spent the vast majority of his time providing spiritual outreach in order to reflect God's love. He reached out to those who have been marginalized by society as a whole. His message of God's love was for Jews, Samaritans, and Romans. He would preach God's love to the multitudes and in the synagogues. That didn't stop there. He preformed miracles to demonstrate God's power to those in witness to remind them of who he is. 

Who is Jesus? He's God's Son, and he died on the cross so that all that believe in him will have Salvation. This message is lost when several uptake there own ambitions to have bragging rights or fulfill political slants. Jesus made prophesies, but they didn't consume his ministry 24-7 because if they did, it would have served as a distraction. His ministry wasn't political in nature because politics would have served as a distraction in spiritual outreach. The ministry recognized that there is always a pressing need to have that spiritual relationship with God, because everyone goes through there own deep trials and tribulations in there lives.

Those that died in his name because they were part of unfortunate circumstances that were beyond there control need to be remembered to the highest as well. Those that got killed by the bombings in Sri Lanka are with Jesus because of there faith. A faith that they embrace because they wanted that relationship with him, not because they were trying to prove something or declare that there suffering was a sport.

Doomsday Cults
Unfortunately, it's en vogue for modern American Christians to embrace the persecution complex. Combine this with passing if political slants as church views, a very ugly picture is painted. The book of Revelation is a book of prophecy and future events. I believe that the words of the book are real. I also believe though that these words can be illustrated in any number of ways, because the book is open to interpretation.

The books incorporates descriptive language, metaphors, and figures of speech. The book of Revelation can have a wide range interpretations depending on who's doing the interpretation. This isn't a problem in itself. However, one thing that needs to be realized is that a personal interpretation of Revelation is just exactly that, a personal interpretation, and not validated fact. This isn't a issue in itself, but with modern Christianity, it's common for many to push there interpretations as validated science for others to conform to.

Often though, most modern interpretations often have a modern political slant favoring one political party and pushing a pariah or conspiracy theory. They usually involve a secret committee plotting something fiendish as portrayed in Kirk Cameron movies. Anything that people want there to be in Revelation will be there if they want to see. If people want to see a political party take away people's guns, outlaw Christianity, and send them to concentration camps, then it's there for the one reading the book in this. If one person thinks that the "End Of Days" was set into motion when Jesus ascended into Heaven, then the read will read Revelation in this manner. If another person thinks that the "End Of Days" was set in motion because of "evil liberals", then that is there for that reader. Revelation allows any reader in insert whatever pariah that they want. If someone thinks that Hillary Clinton, Trump, Pat Robertson, George Soros, or the Cookie Monster is the Anti-Christ, then that is true to the one reading the book in that manner.

Most modern readers are interpreting the book in a manner that conforms to there own personal anxieties about the future. A lot of the time, Christian media plays into these fears about the future. A lot of these movies could be seen as the spiritual equivalent of exploitation films in that they are exploiting people's anxieties about the future. Stereotypes and tropes about how all college professors are Godless atheist that are intent on destroying a person's faith are universal fact to the viewer. Some diabolical villains in fancy suits are pulling the strings. In a world where no villains are necessary because life itself can be a villain at times, modern conspiracy theories have influenced church and congregation opinions and views at times. They become common because they often play into the fears and anxieties of many. Several embrace them because they feel that they confirm there worldview. If stereotypes and biases become the norm, horrible things could happen. People will believe that the government is intent of destroying them. Often though, those who embrace the fears often do far more damage than those that they perceive to be the villain. They want Armageddon to happen in there manner because if it doesn't, then they end up looking like idiots to there followers.

The events in Waco 1993 are a result of this thinking. David Koresh manipulated various people into following his violent interpretation of Revelation. Even though both sides made horrible decisions during that standoff, at the end of the day, it wouldn't have mattered. There wasn't going to be a outcome that was going to result in a happy ending. Koresh wanted his violent, bloody interpretation of Armageddon to happen. His beliefs wouldn't have been validated if they didn't occur.

He was going to do whatever possible to make them happen, even if it meant forcing the government's hand in the matter. Many children would burn to death, among others, because a madman and his violent will was to be fulfilled in God's name. What makes the situation more depressing was that none of the people there needed to die. There beliefs were not compromised and they weren't being asked to surrender there faith or die because of it. However, Koresh had a powerful grip on his followers to lead them to a violent end that many were willing to through.

I feel that covering the Waco event is necessary. The idea of the persecution complex has taken hold of modern, American Christianity. It's different for those who were part of unfortunate experiences tat were beyond there control. Yet, I feel that many spiritual leaders want horrific things to happen to believers because it would validate there own ideas about there particular interpretations to occur. If horrible things happen to Christians in foreign countries, then they highlight it. Not to draw awareness to those suffering, but to confirm there worldview and provide that "I told you so" moment. If Christians aren't sent to concentration camps by godless liberals, then there beliefs aren't being validated. They want this pain and suffering to occur for there beliefs to be confirmed. They want there slants, biases, and stereotypes to be fulfilled. They want to believe that any story showing any Christian suffering, regardless of whether the actual event has occurred or not, to be true so that it confirms there beliefs.  

When God's word is misused in this manner, there are very real consequences. Those that see persecution as a game of ambition could lead others down a horrible demise. Those that use the claim of persecution for there own benefit will see themselves as martyr, but a fool in God's eye.

Conclusion
Satan is real. It's called paranoia. Paranoia breeds extremism. Paranoia creates this fear that everybody is out to get them. This fear breeds needless anger and hostility. This fear causes people to embrace there prejudices, biases ,and stereotypes. They will seek anything that confirms there worldview. This fear causes many to ignore the spiritual, moral, and ethical shortcomings within the church. The targeted attack of a particular group will cause many to think that persecution is a specific issue that only happens to a certain group, despite it being a universal issue afflicting various groups. The call for a interfaith response falls on death ears.

This Satan can easily be found. Just walk into any room in the house with a mirror in it. The person in the reflection is the biggest threat facing Christianity today. The biggest issue facing Christianity today isn't Islam or Secularism, but we ourselves when we let paranoia take over.

Articles of Interest
State of Universal Persecution (Part 1)
Kixmiller Pigeon
 RKIXMILLER.DUDAONE.COM

State of Universal Persecution (Part 2)
Kixmiller Pigeon
 RKIXMILLER.DUDAONE.COM

State of Universal Persecution (Part 3)
Kixmiller Pigeon
 RKIXMILLER.DUDAONE.COM

A Troubled Response
Kixmiller Pigeon
 RKIXMILLER.DUDAONE.COM

Christian Persecution – Fact or Fiction
Patheos
WWW.PATHEOS.COM
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/blackwhiteandgray/2013/06/christian-persecution-fact-or-fiction/

“God’s Not Dead” and the Angry Atheist Professor: That Was Not My Experience
Christ And Pop Culture
CHRISTANDPOPCULTURE.COM
https://christandpopculture.com/gods-dead-angry-atheist-professor-experience/

“God’s Not Dead,” But this Trope Is
Christ And Pop Culture
CHRISTANDPOPCULTURE.COM
https://christandpopculture.com/gods-not-dead-but-this-trope-is/

Waco: The Inside Story
FRONTLINE
 WWW.PBS.ORG
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/waco/

Waco Siege
WIKIPEDIA
 EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco_siege

Branch Davidians
WIKIPEDIA
 EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branch_Davidians

David Koresh
WIKIPEDIA
 EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Koresh

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WeatherStar 4000 Simulator For Windows (Part 1)

Image
  It's time to get the weather forecast, 90's style. A couple of months ago, I reviewed the WeatherStar 4000+ simulator for web-browsers. This simulator, created by Mike Battaglia, is a open-source, on-line simulator of the WeatherStar 4000 hardware used by The Weather Channel during the 1990's. This simulator ran without issue on both Firefox and Chrome on Windows 7 (Home PC) and Firefox on Windows 10 (Dell Optiplex).  It also runs great under Chrome on my Android devices as well. I use the online simulator when I'm on the road.  Now, I'm going to look into the WeatherStar 4000 simulator for Windows offered by Taiganet. This simulator offers a lot of features and can be customized in various ways. When I'm home, I use this program most of the time. Now, there is one notable hardware requirement. First, to run the Windows (and Mac OSX/Linux ports as well) simulator, you will need a computer that supports OpenGL 3.3. My home computer ha...
Read more

Classic Systems Emulated: Windows 95 (Part 1)

Image
  Start Me Up! Windows 95 (Chicago Beta Build 189 released September 1994) running under PCEM What would eventually become Windows 95 was affected by several turn of events that occurred during its development. Windows 95, code-named Chicago, had been several years in the making. Microsoft had already been planning the next version of Windows right after they got 3.1 out the door on March 1992. What would determine the course of the new OS? DOS Compatibility for one as it was still deemed essential at that point. One has to remember that even though Windows 3.0 had been the most successful version of Windows to date, the GUI in general was still a novelty at that point. Most used Windows 3.0 for simple task like typing list, letters, or playing solitaire. Most PC users who needed to work on major projects were still running DOS applications like WordPerfect or Lotus 123. However, the transition to GUI's would begin in earnest.  The 486 processor ...
Read more

Classic Systems Emulated: Windows 3.1 OEMS

Image
  The OEM's Want In On The Action The PC Market of the early 90's was a very competitive one. As such, having a easy-to-use environment was a must for these companies pushing there hardware. Hardware has caught up to software, and as such, it was now time to push the command prompt out of the way for the GUI. Several of these companies spotted opportunities to make  deals with Microsoft to pre-install Windows on there computers. This phenomenon didn't start with 3.1 though. Even in the late 80's, both Compaq and IBM often preinstalled Windows 386 for corporate customers that brought there 386 systems. Windows 3.0 was bundled with a lot of systems too. It was preinstalled on the IBM PS/1 budget PC's and various Tandy models. It came with the Amstrad MegaPC and various other PC's offered by ZDS (Zenith Data Systems) as well.  The number of OEM partners grew with the Windows 3.1 release. Some of them were familiar faces, like Compa...
Read more

Old Hardware Emulated :Psion Model 3a Emulated On DOSBox Windows

Image
  Psion 3a and 3c Psion Series 3c Handheld Computer (Wikipedia) Psion 3a As mentioned in the previous articles, the emulators for the Psion 3 exist only on DOSBox. I decided to take the challenge of setting up a emulated configuration. What must one do. There is already a very good guide on the internet titled "PocketBook II emulation..." which is linked below in the article. Highly recommended. Setting up a emulated Psion 3 takes a little bit of effort, but it's possible and is a good exploration of setting up a DOSBox configuration. I'm making the safe assumption that the fast majority of those reading this are using Windows systems, but DOSBox has been ported to Mac OS X and Linux as well, so this guide might work on those systems.  The first thing I did was created a folder called dosbox_psion3 (Folder naming is based on personal preference). Make the following new folders within dosbox_psion3; psion3, a, b, and m. With the f...
Read more

Classic Systems Emulated: OS/2 Version 2.0 On PCEM

Image
  The Arrival Of 32-Bit Power For The Masses The past couple of these PC articles have been very Windows-centric. This isn't a surprise as Windows 3.0 was a major release that made a very massive impact on the marketplace. Windows 3.1 sold 3 million copies in 6 weeks. 1992 was a very different time. Back then, it was possible to request a PC without an operating system. If one did want an OS, they could choose between OS/2, DOS, or the DOS+Windows combination. I've had not forgotten OS/2 in these articles. The 286 versions of OS/2 had already been covered in my articles about the IBM PS/2 family of computers. The messy IBM-Microsoft "divorce" had been covered in detail as well. To quickly recap: Microsoft didn't like the direction that IBM wanted to take OS/2. Microsoft envisioned OS/2 as being the "next-generation" OS, while IBM simply saw the OS as a tool to sell more hardware. OS/2 did terrible in the marketplace. The ...
Read more

Old Hardware Emulated - Windows Mobile 5.0

Image
Working title for this post was "But Mama, That's Where The Fun Is!". Appropriate as by the middle 2000's, Windows Mobile was where all the action was at. The sky was only getting brighter for Microsoft as Palm was slowly imploding on itself. With Microsoft's mobile offerings becoming more widespread by the day, the Redmond Giant followed up with the newest version of WM, version 5.0, on May 2005. On the surface, it appears that little changed. However, the biggest change were "under the hood" with the incorporation of the .NET Compact Framework, which is basically the mobile version of .NET. Also, WM 5.0 introduced newer power-saving capabilities which often improved the battery life of devices by as much as 50%. WM backed up everything to flash memory. WinMobile would use a combination of RAM and flash memory to preserve battery life. This wasn't noticeable by the user.  As such, their is no data loss if power is lost.  Windows Media Player was upd...
Read more

Old Hardware Emulated : Pocket PC 2000/2002

Image
  Windows CE On The PDA Pocket PC 2002 starting up. For the remainder of the 90's, Microsoft had a tough time gaining a foothold in the handheld market. Windows CE 2.0 was well received on the palmtop PC's. However, that market-share was small compared to there PDA counterpart that were rocking to the tune of PalmOS. The first incarnation of WinCE on the PDA seemed sparse compared to Palm. At this point, the PDA port of Windows CE was re-branded as Windows Mobile. Around this point, Microsoft's fortunes began to change. For the first time, the Palm platform had that "Oh Crap!" moment when Compaq released the iPAQ in April 2000. The PDA came with the new Windows Pocket PC 2000 operating system. This version of Windows CE was specifically geared towards PDA's in particular. The iPAQ line of PDA's became must own devices for those that wanted the latest and greatest. As how Compaq made IBM look silly in the 80's and 90's...
Read more

Old Hardware Emulated :Einstein emulating the Apple Newton (Part 3)

Image
  NewtonOS Android in Action! Einstein emulating the Newton Messagepad on a Amazon Fire HD7 tablet. Einstein Seriously, did you not expect me to run a OS designed for a classic handheld device on a modern tablet!? It's interesting running Einstein on a PC, but I want to try this platform out on a handheld that was similar in form-factor to the original device. Einstein had been ported to Android as well. It's not as recent as the current builds available for iOS, MacOS, and Ubuntu Linux, but it works well enough. Running the emulator means doing a few things before hand, like loading the Android package, ROM, and other needed files. The apk file that I downloaded was "einstein.05.01.2013.apk", which can be found at a archived version of the code.Google.com page (link posted below). You will also need a ROM file named "717006" that needs to be placed in the "/sdcard/Downloads/Einstein/" directory of your Androi...
Read more

Classic Games Emulated: Revisiting NFS High Stakes Modding

Image
  Modding On The Mind! As anyone who's read my NFS:HS article or watching my uploads on YouTube, one can tell that they're two things that I'm a fan of: NFS:HS and Virtualization. I like contained environments that allow me to run beloved games from the past on far more powerful configurations. It only seemed natural for me to embark on the journey of getting NFS:HS running under VMware Player. I had a original copy of the game on CD-ROM which was installed on my guest setup. The guest configuration had two cores allocated to it, 2GB's of RAM, and 3D acceleration via my Nvidia GTX 950. The guest OS running was Windows 7 32-bit. After installing HS, I copied the patch, and started to burn rubber. After that, I duplicated the game folder so I could have two installations: one stock and another one for mod. Within the NFS:HS folder, their are various directories. The "DATA/CARS" folder has both the racing and traffic cars. The first t...
Read more

OS/2 Warp 4

Image
(Any blogpost where I don't have to cover politics is a win in my books!) OS/2 Warp 4 was a very noble endeavor. It was IBM's statement to the world to demonstrate there commitment to the OS/2 operating system. However, when it arrived in 1996, OS/2 Warp 4 was dead on arrival. A lot had happened between the launch of Warp 3 and Warp 4, with the biggest of them being the arrival of Windows 95. Microsoft, making the most of their OEM connections, started to lock OS/2 out of the OEM markets prior to the launch of Windows 95. With threats of either not receiving the latest Windows or paying much higher license fees, many OEM's relented to Microsoft's pressure. Warp 3 struggled against Windows 3.1 along with the soon-to-be-tidal wave that would be Windows 95. Not only that, Microsoft had a vendetta against Big Blue for previous acts.  Lotus 123 For OS/2 Warp 4 Faced with accusations that Microsoft incorporated OS/2 source code into Windows 3.x which would have violated the j...
Read more