Easter - Under Attack - Really?

Is it just me or is the assault upon Christianity intensifying.  We have seen the video clip over and over of Joy Behar, one of the hosts on the ABC program "The View", and her rank against Vice President Pence because he declared that he talked with God and God talked with him.  For her, that was a sign of mental illness.  I guess she has never prayed before - perhaps she doesn't need to because she seems to have life all figured-out.  But I believe that someday Joy Behar will be in a position where she will strongly want to hear from God. 


This past week, Thomas Gallatin wrote an amazing article for the Patriot Post.  You can read the entire article at: www.patriotpost.us/articles/55089-leftmedias-deliberate-mischaracterization-of-Christianity.  The author writes: "From National Public Radio to NBC News to CNN, the mainstream media's ignorant misrepresentation of basic and central Christian beliefs and doctrines would be understandable if it wasn't for the fact that Christianity is the religion practiced by some 70% of Americans.  On Good Friday, MPR published an article that addressed a report that Pope Francis had denied the existence of hell.  NPR originally described Easter as 'the day celebrating the idea that Jesus did not die and go to hell or purgatory or anywhere at all, but rather arose into heaven.'  After receiving much deserved blowback, NPR corrected the piece to read, 'Easter - the day Christians celebrate Jesus' Resurrection.'  How could NPR get one of the most foundational beliefs of Christianity so terribly wrong?


"Far worse, NBC News marked the sacred occasion with a piece entitled, 'On Easter Sunday, Christians must remember how easily and often our faith is used to defend white supremacy.'  The article relays a story of a bunch of white southern racists who murdered several blacks and other defenders of Reconstruction one Easter Sunday in 1873 in Colfax County, Louisiana.  It is indeed a horrific story, but it is far from emblematic of Christian beliefs or practices.  And it was 145 years ago.  Ironically, the article does exactly what it condemns - it seeks to co-opt the Christian message, ignoring its central teachings, so as to promote an anti-Donald Trump pro-leftist political cause.  The question once again is how did the MSM get the Christian doctrine of Easter this wrong?


"But then there was what may have been the worst understanding of Easter - this one from CNN.  In an article title, 'How Easter became a #MeToo moment,' which was not listed as an opinion piece, author John Blake asserted that Jesus was a victim of sexual humiliation as a result of being hung naked on the cross, and therefore 'if linking the Easter story with the #MeToo movement is offensive and bewildering to some, perhaps that is fitting.'  Additionally, Mary Magdalene was a #MeToo victim of male authority.  Blake continued, 'The Easter stories in the Gospels have a jarring, unexpected quality about them as well. ... The stories are enigmatic and elusive.  They continue to yield surprises even 2,000 years later.  They are, in some ways, much like the figure of Jesus himself.'  While attempting to sound profound, Blake reveals once again a shocking amount of ignorance of what Easter is actually all about."


Friends, these stories - and they could be multiplied countless times over - are evidence of how our culture has turned against God and the truths of His Word.  How could anyone possible get Easter wrong?  It is very easy if you take God out of the picture.  Then the death of Jesus becomes nothing other than a strong case of injustice.  The death of Jesus becomes a "poster-child" for the cause of social justice.  Instead of Jesus being "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" He becomes merely a means to an end. 


Then I read an article yesterday posted by Fox News.  It can be found at: www.foxnews.com/us/2018/04/03/christians-and-white-people-get-unmerited-perks-live-easier-lives-George-Washington-university-seminar-says.  Friends, this article is alarming and very revealing of what the attitude is on many of our secular university campuses.  "George Washington University is hosting a seminar on combating 'Christian privilege' in America.  According to an event description, students in a 90-minute training sessions will learn about ways American Christians receive things they don't deserve and are not worthy of getting: 'How do we...acknowledge that Christians receive unmerited perks from institutions and systems all across our country?'  The Multicultural Student Services Center (MSSC) at GWU is hosting 'Christian Privilege: But Our Founding Fathers Were All Christian, Right?!'  According to the website, MSSC Associate Director and LGBTQ Resources Director Timothy Kane will discuss how American Christians have 'easier' lives and get 'built-in advantages over non-Christians' as well as making 'room for all religious and secular identities on an equal playing field.' ... 'These trainings equip students and staff with the necessary skills to promote diversity and inclusion in the different environments in which they find themselves frequently,' the website says.


"Former Secret Service Agent, Dan Bongino, tweeted about the 'disturbing' story as reported by The College Fix, saying, 'Someone should've told the martyrs about 'Christian privilege.'  Another person on Twitter, Chad Prather, tweeted that with martyrdom, beatings, and beheadings they should host the workshop in Libya, Ethiopia, Iran or northern Nigeria.  'I think America has too much 'university privilege,' Prather wrote."


I want to share one more article that really wrestles with the core issue.  It was written by Emilie Kao and can be found at The Daily Signal website.  It is titled, "Americans Grapple With Evil Amid Decline in Religious Faith."  Let me quote briefly some of the highlights.  "Blaise Pascal once described a 'God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man.'  But in modern-day America, few statements can raise eyebrows more swiftly than expressing faith in the transcendent. ... In a world where we can drive vehicles, communicate globally, and change the temperature of our homes with the touch of a finger, it is easy to believe that we have mastered our physical environment.  Yet we are stumped when the age-old problem of evil rears its ugly head.  It's no surprise, then, that in the aftermath of the Parkland tragedy, we fixate on a material solution - gun control - to solve what we assess as a material problem.  But what if the problem is much deeper than raising the gun-buying age by a few years or making it harder to get certain types of guns?  What if the roots of the problem are actually internal and moral, and even spiritual?"


The writer of the article continues by quoting from Professor emeritus of psychology at New York University Paul Vitz.  Dr. Vitz "attributes teens' skyrocketing anxiety, self-harm, suicides, and school shootings to their poor spiritual health.  Despite being born into a world with more material comforts and mental health resources than ever, the next generation seems increasingly drawn toward self-destruction.  Vitz observes that without belief in objective truth, goodness, and beauty, including the belief that they are created in the image of God, the next generation clings to external sources of identity: social media, sexual experiences, and material possessions.  In a sea of ever-changing cultural and social trends, such flimsy sources of meaning can predictably leave some of them bewildered and overwhelmed.  'Countless young people...feel there is nothing for them to believe in,  Emotional numbness is one of the consequences.  They...no longer find self-worth in their efforts to lead lives based on truth and love.'  Vitz proposes that Americans re-examine the value of faith and its power to help people live happier, healthier, and longer lives."


This is the world in which we live.  This is the world that I am leaving behind for my grandchildren.  How vitally important it is that parents, grandparents, and the church do all it can to help prepare those children and grandchildren to have a faith that is anchored securely to the Rock Christ Jesus.