Fundagelicals love them some persecution. Of course, they aren’t actually being persecuted. They love to believe they are being persecuted. In the same way, a wannabe hipster wears faux-vintage clothing, Fundagelicals dress in faux persecution to become wannabe martyrs. Since they aren’t being fed to the lions anymore, they have to find new ways to be martyrs.
One example of faux persecution is the Fundagelical claim they aren’t allowed to pray in public schools. Fundagelicals claim Madalyn Murray O’Hair, founder of the organization American Atheist and labeled as “The Most Hated Woman in America” by the religious right, brought a court case that stopped students from praying in school. Fundagelicals never let facts get in the way of their false narratives and being persecuted is one of their favorite stories. The O’Hair case didn’t remove prayers from schools. In 1962, the Engel v. Vitale case made the forced recitation of the Regent’s prayer[1]unlawful in schools. In 1963, Abington School District v. Schempp made compulsory readings of the Bible and recitation of the “Lord’s Prayer” unlawful. Murray v. Curlett (1963) Challenged Bible reading and prayer recitation in Maryland public schools and was a related case.
The truth is that students are allowed to pray in school. They can even pray in organized groups. The annual event “See You At The Pole” is an example of Christians doing exactly the thing they claim they are forbidden from doing. So where is the persecution? The persecution is that Fundagelicals are no longer allowed to force other students to pray or read the Bible or participate in religious activities if the student doesn’t want to. Fundagelicals feel persecuted because they can’t force their Fundagelical religious beliefs down the throats of other people.
Just as a side note, Fundagelicals claim that all the bad things in America, like school shootings, is because we have removed God from schools. Apparently, the Fundagelical god is a vampire and must be invited in or he can’t do anything. So much for omnipresence.
Being persecuted is part of the Fundagelical narrative. They even have a go-to Bible verse. “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.” (Matthew 5:11 KJV) This verse has been so twisted thatFundagelicals believe any criticism, any pushback, or negative response they receive is proof that they are doing Jesus’ will.
Watch a street preacher. Quite frankly they are obnoxious jerks. They belittle, demean, antagonize, and act in ways that would make my Southern Baptist grandmother have the vapors. She knew how to judge people in a quiet, respectable way. When street preachers provoke people with their attacks and get attacked back, they believe they are being persecuted for their righteousness and that the world hates them because they are Christians. The reality is the world hates them because they’re assholes.
The Huffington Post ran a great article on how to determine if your religious liberties are being violated. Go take a look. I’ll wait. . . Back?
Sunday morning, I went to my house of worship. (In a shopping mall!) I sang worship songs, prayed, read scripture, and preached a sermon. The government didn’t care. Everyone there chose to be there of their own free will. The fact that I can do all these things means Christians aren’t persecuted. Do you know who was unhappy? Fundagelicals. They were
All I can say about that is glad to be of service to help you with your persecution fantasies. Let me know how I can be of further help.
Don’t forget to subscribe (Unless you’re feeling persecuted)and thanks to all my current subscribers. You can catch me at Rev’s Reelsover at YouTube vlogging.
[1]“Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence on Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country.”