Churches – American Conservative Movement

American Churches Are Eerily Silent When the Country Needs Them Most

Brandon Smith — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 18:21:57 +0000

I had a relatively marginal Christian upbringing as a child and really didn’t become interested in questions of a metaphysical nature until later in life. My relationship to organized religion has always been to meet it with skepticism. I appreciate the fundamental moral messages and the aspirations to care for your fellow man, but I often wonder if a theocratic system would just end up becoming another form of tyranny. There are so many elements of organized religion that can be exploited by evil people who want to use it for their own ends. Collectivism is collectivism, is it not?

I don’t think I became truly immersed in the concept of a creatively engineered universe until I started studying quantum physics and Jungian psychology – Then I realized, there was FAR too much synchronicity in the world, far too much evidence that there is some kind of design, some kind of plan to life. I might not understand what the plan is, but I can see the mathematical and psychological fingerprints of what one might call “God.”

It’s the reason I could never take atheism seriously. The claim of atheism has long been that the philosophy has nothing to do with faith and everything to do with evidence. Yet, every time I see an atheist confronted with evidence of creative design, they dismiss it blindly. This kind of ignorance has always been more horrifying to me that anything else – The notion of “scientific cultism” and tyranny hiding behind false claims of logic and rationalism.

I’m explaining my position on this issue to drive home the fact that I do not hold any affiliation to any particular church or religious group. I will defend Christianity when I feel it deserves to be defended, and I will criticize Christianity when I feel certain groups or church leaders have gone astray. For example, anyone who reads my work knows I have outlined evidence that the Pope is an utter fraud and a globalist puppet. There are wolves in sheep’s clothing within every belief system.

So, when I say I hear a deafening silence among Christian churches when it comes to the political and social climate today, this is coming from someone who is NOT quick to call for theocratic intervention. Even I find the lack of faith…disturbing.

But maybe I need to qualify my concerns a little more? How about the sudden rise of Unitarian and progressive groups making a mockery of churches and co-opting Christian ceremonies to include woke propaganda, LGBT Marxism and moral relativism? Where is the organized response from Christians on this development?

These are not isolated incidents – The woke cult is creating their own religion by hijacking the religions of others. Not because they want to find inner peace, but because they see the church as a center of power and they want a piece of that action.

Why isn’t there a mass call for Christian churches to reject the woke invasion? Why isn’t there a consortium of Christian leaders moving to denounce these fake churches, making sure that the public knows they do not associate with these groups? Where is the call to action? If it exists, I’m not seeing it anywhere. And let’s be clear – If there was ever a time for the Christian community to gain a wider membership, it would be now as the world enters a state of perpetual chaos. Yet, their response is muted and scattered.

Consider for a moment the proliferation in the western world of ideals which I can only describe as luciferian in nature – The notion that pride and narcissism are virtues and that human beings are meant to be gods. The notion that children’s bodies are a gender fluid laboratory for insane medical practitioners that deny the unassailable laws of biology and engage in mass sterilization. The notion that humanity must one day be replaced by machine thinking that disregards reason and moral compass for the sake of cold and sociopathic “efficiency.”

Woke is a vehicle, a mask for a greater monster, and it is being forced into the public consciousness. There has been an active and violent attempt to condition the populace to far-left ideology, and this ideology is deeply hostile to Christianity. You would think there would be a nationwide effort to take a stand on the part of the various denominations to ensure that this cult does not continue to gain ground.

I’ll be the first to argue that the liberty movement (as we sometimes refer to it) is an array of different movements joined together by a singular value – basic freedom.

Not the hedonistic freedom that the political left promotes, which asserts that conscience and reality are subjective; making all behaviors no matter how evil acceptable. No, natural freedoms are what we value, along with the non-aggression principle which dictates that you cannot harm me or take my freedoms unless my behavior is directly damaging the life and liberty of other people.

But what if the love of freedom alone is not enough to rally humanity together to fight the darkness we face today? What about the love of future generations? What if you and I have to fight and die for a freedom we will never personally enjoy? What if what we do today does not benefit us, but it benefits the next generation? What about the act of struggle and sacrifice for a greater cause, even a divine cause? Maybe the liberty movement needs a guiding hand – Maybe we need more Christian groups to step into the fray?

Let’s be honest, Christians have never been the cool kids, but it’s hard to deny that Christians and conservatives are swiftly becoming the new punk rock in the face of a wave of leftist authoritarianism that seeks to control how we think, how we feel, what we can say, who we can associate with, where we can work and how we participate in the economy. Only a couple years ago these people were trying to tell us they have the right to destroy us if we refused to take a pointless vaccine that doesn’t stop transmission or stop infection for a virus that 99.8% of people will easily survive.

In my mind the millions of people who fought back against that agenda are rebel heroes. However, we need to be doing more, a lot more, and that requires organization. Christian churches already have the fundamental structures to make that happen, but they aren’t working together. I see more organized actions from Muslim groups in the US than I do from Christians, and they’re only 1% of the population.

The elephant in the room is, of course, 501C3 status that churches use to remain free from federal taxes, but it’s a devil’s bargain. Specifically, 501C3 pertains to political advocacy or “issue advocacy” and churches risk losing their coveted tax exempt status if they are determined to be “influencing” legislation or elections in a partisan manner. Well, who gets to determine if a church is acting partisan? The IRS does, of course. In other words, the IRS can act arbitrarily to punish churches it views as a political threat to the prevailing agenda.

The only real solution is for churches to abandon 501C3 status en masse, or possibly form a peripheral organization outside of their respective houses of worship that they encourage their members to join – an organization that can act politically and does not rely on tax exemption to function.

It’s make or break time for Christians, I know that much. And even among those who are evangelical or prone to notions of Apocalypse, the people who argue that they will be whisked away by God’s hand in a rapture before the conflict ever reaches them, consider this –

Ephesians 6:10-15

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”

Article cross-posted from Alt-Market.

Violence Against Churches Is up 288%: Where Are the Headlines?

Barbara Simpson — Sat, 20 May 2023 05:10:12 +0000

There’s no question that the news media focus on violence in our society. That is “news” – right?

But do the headlines report all kinds of violence? Sometimes that’s a valid question. One area that might fit that would be the ongoing, and increasing, violence against churches, mainly Catholic churches. How often do you read or hear about that?

The latest report issued by the Center for Religious Liberty at the Family Research Council (FRC) addressed the growing assaults against churches. The study said the increase “contributes to an environment of hostility toward Christianity.”

The study showed that there were 69 attacks against churches and places of worship during the first three months of this year compared with 24 during the same period last year.

That’s a 288% increase. These attacks ranged across 29 states and the “reasons” for them were broad, from activism to just senseless acts of destruction. The threats and attacks included arsons, bomb threats, vandalism and sacrilege.

The author of the report, Arielle Del Turco, is assistant director of the Center for Religious Liberty at the FRC. As reported in The Wanderer, the report stated that “American churches are increasingly bearing the brunt of anger and aggression, whether from political or other motivations.”

The report shows that the number of church attacks this year is the highest in six years, already exceeding the total in 2018 and 2020. The month of January this year alone, had more attacks than any single month in the last five years.

When we’re talking about attacks, we are really talking about everything from pure vandalism to severe damage and threats. There has been spray painting of building facades, statues, signs and even the interiors of the churches themselves in addition to actual church burnings.

Just between January and March, there were three bomb threats, including a pipe bomb discovered inside the 127-year-old St. Dominic Catholic Church in Philadelphia.

The report showed that between January 2018 and March 2023, there were 543 attacks on 517 separate churches. The attacks include church burnings, along with vandalism, other arson, gun- related incidents, 14 bomb threats and 25 miscellaneous acts of aggression.

It’s interesting to note that the increase of attacks seems to parallel news incidents – for example, after the Supreme Court Dobbs decision, after Black Lives Matter riots and after certain political actions – for example, transgender legislation recently passed in Kentucky.

It’s not surprising that there is disagreement between Democrats and Republicans on this issue, with Democrats accused of being too lax on enforcement concerning the violence.

In January, the GOP-controlled U.S. House, passed H. Con. Res.3, which noted that abortion extremists had “defaced, vandalized, and caused destruction to over 100 pro-life facilities and churches in 2022 – yet the Biden administration did nothing to take action in response.”

The Senate has taken no action on the bill.

With the election upcoming and political issues taking over headlines, the church violence problem will continue. Whether or not it makes the headlines will depend on the politics of the reporters, the editors and the newspapers themselves.

Follow Barbara Simpson on Facebook.

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Attacks on U.S. Christian Churches Exploding in 2023

Bob Unruh, WND — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 01:45:23 +0000

The number of attacks on Christian churches exploded during the first quarter of 2023, with 69 documented “acts of hostility,” putting the nation on course for potentially the worst record in years.

“This steep increase is a cause for concern,” explains a new update, “Hostility Against Churches: Supplemental Report – First Quarter 2023,” by the Family Research Council.

The report says “criminal acts against churches have been steadily on the rise for the past several years, and the first quarter of 2023 has continued the upward trend. The first three months of 2023 saw approximately three times the number of acts of hostility perpetrated against churches in the same timeframe last year.”

From January through March, 69 acts of hostility against churches have already occurred, the FRC said, and, “If this rate continues, 2023 will have the highest number of incidents of the six years FRC has tracked.”

There were 53 acts of vandalism, 10 arson attacks, arson attempts or fires with unknown causes, three gun-related incidents, three bomb threats and two “other” situations, like assault.

Several situations fell into more than one category.

“Twenty-nine states experienced acts of hostility against churches. North Carolina had the most incidents, with seven. Ohio and Tennessee each had five. Florida, Missouri, and Pennsylvania each had four. No incidents were found in 21 states or the District of Columbia,” the report said.

Arielle Del Turco, FRC’s director of the Center for Religious Liberty and author of the report, noted, “The problem of acts of hostility against churches in the United States is widespread and growing. Increasing anger and frustration directed at church buildings points to a larger spiritual battle and a growing climate of hostility toward Christianity. The motivations for some of these acts of vandalism, arson, gun-related incidents, bomb threats, or other acts appear political while many more seem completely inexplicable.

“Yet, all of these incidents represent a deeply concerning trend and have the potential to be intimidating. In response, Americans should be united in our affirmation of religious freedom and the ability of all people to worship and live out their faith freely–without fear that their church or religious community will be targeted.”

Among the more serious situations were the gun incidents.

“Three gun-related incidents occurred on church property in the first three months of 2023, including the shooting at The Covenant School. In one incident, two adults and two juveniles shot 50 rounds from 9mm pistols at a Mennonite church building in Versailles, Missouri; the property damage was charged as a hate crime. In another incident, a late-night shooting took place in the parking lot of the Praise Temple Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana, sending four individuals to the hospital.”

This article was originally published by the WND News Center.