Christians Should be “Tortured” and “Persecuted” for their Faith, and for Good Measure, “Fed to the Lions.”
Since 1980 I have worked as a researcher and writer for American Vision (AV). Periodically AV gets some interesting correspondence from people who don’t like what we do. Most of the really bad stuff comes in the form of anonymous letters and emails. In the early days, people would leave profanity-laced voice messages on our answering machine. There were times when we got some death threats.
Sometimes we would get a real treasure.
A caller left a rambling message on our voice mail a few years ago. After piecing together some of the things the caller said, I realized that he had seen “Confronting the Judicial War on Faith” that was held in Washington, D.C., and broadcast over Public Television. Since it had been sponsored by Vision America, the caller went online and came to American Vision and thought we were the sponsoring organization. No one from AV spoke at the conference. He was confused, nevertheless, something set the guy off.
For years, AV has been trying to convince Christians that there is a competing worldview in America that sees Christianity as the enemy. While Christians are portrayed as a threat to life and liberty, it’s the secularists who are America’s greatest threat. An article appearing in Rolling Stone magazine titled “The Crusaders”1 shows the vitriol, anger, and pent-up hostility of the secularists. If these guys ever got in power without any moral checks and balances, heads would literally roll. They are the philosophical descendants of Robespierre, the “Voice of Virtue, who thought the guillotine was France’s salvation.
I want you to notice a few things from the transcript of the call AV received. First, the caller states that “this country is for every religion.” Later we learn that what he really means is that the First Amendment applies to every religion except Christianity. The hostility to the Christian faith is not because it’s a religion; it’s because it has a moral message. It requires obedience to an objective law that has been revealed by a sovereign God.
Second, the caller takes an image from the struggle for civil rights and wants Christians to take a seat in the back of the cultural bus. Quiet and submissive Christians are the order of the day. “Step out of line, the men come and take you away.”2
Third, and the most frightening, the caller wants Christians “persecuted” and “tortured.” This guy has some real issues. He even intimates that Christians should be fed to the lions, the ancient world’s guillotine. Entertainment for the masses.
Fourth, notice that there is no neutrality. By rejecting and eliminating the Christian religion, the caller substitutes the new religion “Science.” Science, given Darwinian assumptions, cannot account for morality. The caller’s views may be in the ascendancy today, but a time could come when a new worldview dominates society and all competing worldviews are eliminated, including his.
The following is a transcript from the distraught and disturbed caller. Note the numerous contradictions. Read it, weep, be afraid, and act:
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I’m calling because I just got finished taking a peek at your American Vision site. And I have to say, I am shocked that you think my Constitution has to do with your Bible. Let me tell you something. This country is for every religion. And as a matter of fact, whether I am Muslim or whether I am Jewish I probably have a better and more important stake in this country. As a matter of fact, Christians have a back seat in America if you know anything about history. So, get in the backseat you weirdo, psycho Christians. And understand something again. With you guys parading your faith on television, you look like a bunch of total weirdoes. Nobody respects that. Hiding behind a Bible? And the Bible isn’t the Constitution, and the Constitution isn’t the Bible. Think about it: The Constitution isn’t the Bible and the Bible isn’t the Constitution. Get your stinking church Sunday stinking messages out of my country. You belong out of this country. You’re the weirdoes. You’re the whackos. You’re the ones who lost the freaking Civil War. You’re the ones who freak….
Listen. You religious people have some nerve pushing your God on me. Get your God out of my backyard. Get your God out of my house. My faith is the one that’s important to me. And my God is better than your God anyway. So, do yourselves a favor. Stop embarrassing everyone: The President, the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, the Republican Party. Keep your 18 percent of [the] American population to your darn selves and get your religious messages out of this country. There is freedom of religion for every religion.
And as I mentioned to you before, you of all people should be in the backseat. You should be tortured for your religion. You should be prosecuted for your religion. Didn’t we feed you people to the lions? You weirdoes. Get your messages off the television. And get your stupid messages out of my house, and off the street and off the free public airwaves. Oh my God, you people are whacked. Totally whacked. Preaching, and preaching, and preaching. Meanwhile, all you do is . . . have sex, drink beer, gamble, and rob. And if you think you’re really Christian, read the whole text. Read all texts. Do you read from the Koran?
When is the last time you have had a chance to understand the readings of the Dali Lama? Or even the Pope? Pope John Paul … said that all these particular labor unions were great for America…. Great for people to get together outside of religion. I swear, it’s really embarrassing. Let me give you my number so you have an opportunity to call me back. I would love to get into this even further with you, you total weirdoes. Biblical worldview. There’s no such thing as your Bible; it’s just an old book. And it’s not even true! It’s a total lie. Check the carbon dating you knuckleheads. You fake prophets. You false prophets…. You readers of an old book. Science is the modern religion. Total nut jobs.
