by John D Carmack

Created on: July 24, 2011   Last Updated: July 25, 2011

Christians have faced various trials, tribulations and challenges down through the ages.  In today’s world, though, these challenges have often taken quite a different tone in the western world.  While there certainly are still Christians in some nations being openly persecuted and discriminated against, the battleground for Christians in the western world has often been more in the area of law and public opinion.

This was not always the case, naturally.  It used to be that Europe was very religious.  Not only was much of Europe Catholic, but the Protestant Reformation began in Europe.  Many immigrants to America came to the New Land because they sought the opportunity to freely worship God according to their interpretation of the Bible.

However, over time, philosophy and secularism began to entrench itself in both Europe and the US.  Everything was thrown into doubt, and that included most religious beliefs.  Finally, Charles Darwin came on the scene and published his book on Origin of Species, which was a theory that revolved around attempting to prove that creation did not need a Creator.  Like a virus, this theory took root and spread into the everyday thoughts and ideas of western societies and changed the philosophical viewpoint of millions of people.

In ancient times, the hostility towards Christianity in general usually came from religious origins.  Christians would often refuse to worship the king or emperor.  As F.F. Bruce writes in Claudius, “Gaius gave orders for the erection of his statue in the temple at Jerusalem, so that he might receive divine honours from the Jews as he did from his other subjects.”   As Christianity spread, it sometimes received a hostile reaction from leaders of the religions of that particular culture.  It is still true today that Christians in some societies can face imprisonment, violence or even death because of their beliefs or because of the sharing of those beliefs.

While few Christians in western societies today face violence over their beliefs, the source is often still religious in nature.  The difference in attitude, however, has more to do with hostility towards religion itself rather than the worship of a given deity.  Secular humanism has become the accepted religion amongst some who would wield their power and clout to abolish all religions if possible.  In a perverted twist, however, political correctness

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