It is no longer a matter of if, but rather when we will begin to see organized governmental opposition and persecution of the church in the United States. The new Hate Crime Bill in congress will give those who oppose the church a template or mechanism by which serious legal challenges can be brought against Christians, Pastors and ministries that make public declarations against homosexuality.

The freedom of the church in the United States is now on the edge of a knife. The freedom, for the Christian to read and interpret the Bible and to develop a systematic theology about what the Bible is saying, now faces the most severe threat in the history of our nation.

Remember a few articles back I was saying that it has gotten to the point in our society that the rights and freedoms of the various groups and interests within our society would begin clashing with each other. And, that we would eventually see one group denied certain rights and freedoms in order for another group to be able to express theirs. Well, I announce to you as of this posting, that day has arrived and it has come in the form of the Hate Crime Bill.

There is much debate about this bill, its meaning, its intent, its purpose. But, I can tell you, after doing research on this matter, it appears that in some regard, the very formulation of this bill was to set up a device or mechanism within government that would give the homosexual community the tool they needed to go after conservative, evangelical Christians. And, I can tell you plainly, once the Hate Crime Bill becomes law, they will have everything they need. The homosexual community knows this very well. Let’s take a look at some recent events and statements.

In an MSNBC article titled “D.C. gay rights march misses mark” dated October 10, 2009 we read that “March organizers have said they’re no longer willing to quietly wait for Democratic office holders to make good on decades-old promises”. This comment is the “canary in the coal mine” concerning all things about gay rights. We are hearing that some of the leaders of the homosexual community are no longer willing to wait. And, it is what they are waiting for that presents a gravely serious challenge for true Christians.

Upon reading the many news reports covering President Obama’s speech to the Human Rights Campaign one cannot help but be alarmed by the many statements made not just about discrimination against homosexuality but rather, an outright acceptance of such lifestyle. In other words, to hear the thoughts of many of the leaders of the gay community, you get the feeling that even if you think that being gay is wrong, then you are committing a crime. The intensity and ferocity in the tone exhibited toward those who disagree with the gay lifestyle is unfortunately an indicator of things to come. We are headed for a rocky road.

What the Hate Crime Bill will do is give the gay community a template within the government to bring serious legal charges against Christians, the churches they attend and ministries. It will no longer be a question of “can they do it?”. With the Hate Crime Bill, it can and will be done. You will see individual suits and class-action suits brought against Christian ministries.

The sobering reality is that once law, the Hate Crime Bill will allow such lawsuits and then the Christian or Ministry being sued will be at the mercy of the legal interpretation of such law and the charges brought forward. It will no longer be the question of “if” such a thing can happen. It will happen and by and large, most courts are going to rule against Christians and Christian ministries. Christians are getting ready to see how important the U.S. Supreme Court nominations really are.

Some will interject at this point, “but what about the Muslims and their rejection of homosexuality. I doubt we would see such a law because of the conflict and tension this would create with them”. True, Islam does not accept homosexuality and in some Muslim countries, homosexuals are dealt with severely. But, the real truth of the matter is, the Muslims in America aren’t really too worried about all of this. Because, when “push comes to shove” the Muslims are going to do what they want to do, anyway. In a sense, the Muslims have a degree of autonomy from our legal system already and this autonomy will only increase.

Furthermore, most Western governments are fearful of the Muslim culture. The point is, I doubt very seriously if you are going to see a Muslim Imam thrown in jail for speaking out against homosexuality. Never, in the United States will you witness such a thing. On the contrary, you are getting ready to see Christian Ministers thrown in jail for speaking out against homosexuality. This objective, for the larger part, has become a primary motivation for getting the Hate Crime Bill passed. This bill would allow formal charges to be brought against said Christian Minister that he would then be forced to defend against in court, and then after giving his defense, be subject to the interpretation and judgment of such court. This, my friend, is a game changer. Christians in America have never faced such a thing. The gay community and their advocates are simply “looking the other way” when it comes to Islam and the issue of homosexuality. They are thinking that somehow, Muslims in America will assimilate into our culture of freedom and social diversity, which includes gay rights. However, when you consider the overall socio-religious climate of the world, this strategy appears short-sighted.

The Hate Crime Bill could in a sense be described as a device designed to give one group within our society certain “rights” while at the same time, taking away such “rights” from another group. To put it in street, “For me to have the right to openly and publicly do what I want to do, I have to take away the right of another to openly and publicly criticize my behavior”. Never has such a precedent been set in our legal system.

It won’t simply stop with homosexuality. If this can be done once, it can be done twice. I envision that the legal environment could become so hostile against Christianity that if a Pastor were to read John 14:6 and by his interpretation of such scripture make the statement that “Jesus is the only way to get to Heaven”, even this could be construed as “hate speech” in the sense that such a statement creates tension in society and fosters hostility between different groups within our society.

My purpose for writing this post is to exhort Christians to first of all be aware this is going on. Secondly, Christians better start preparing for the challenges we will be facing in the days ahead. Every Christian needs to dig deep into the things of the Holy Spirit. Every Christian needs to have a well developed theology from the Word of God. Every Christian must know what they believe and why they believe it. The hour is late for a Christian to not know where he or she stands on this issue.

Take for example the introduction speech given by Joe Solomonese at the recent Human Rights Campaign dinner at which the President spoke. You can go to You Tube at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWraxDFU8Aw or, type in “HRC President Joe Solomonese Speaks Before President Obama” and watch this now on You Tube. In his remarks, Solomonese talks about “hate violence”, “a time of great impatience”, “enemies of change” and at the 3:54 mark of this video he makes a most telling remark as he refers to “hate rhetoric”. OK, let’s try and define “hate rhetoric”. Is it when someone says hateful things in the course of acting out violence against another person? Or, could you interpret “hate rhetoric” as someone saying something against homosexuality that could be considered inflammatory or perhaps as possibly inciting violence if someone hears it.

OK, let’s cut to the chase. Let’s say a Preacher is in his pulpit on a given Sunday morning and decides to preach from Romans 1:27 and I Corinthians 6:9-10. After reading these two portions of scripture, the Preacher states that according to his interpretation of these scriptures and according to his moral conviction he believes homosexuality is a sin. Sounds simple and clear cut, right? Not so. Under the Hate Crime Bill, this Preacher could be sued and brought to court for hate speech which incites violence against homosexuals. This is exactly, by and large, the intent of the Hate Crime Bill. And, I guarantee you; in fact, I prophesy to you that it will be used for this purpose.

It doesn’t stop here. Go back to You Tube at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B_uLSHniik or, type in “Andrew Sullivan Blasts HRC’s Joe Solomonese”. Some of you may be familiar with Sullivan. He is often found on news talk shows. He is intelligent, super-articulate, speaks with a very nice British accent, very insightful on the issues, he is a Roman Catholic, a political conservative, and……he is gay. That got your attention. In the video you can see Sullivan saying that the Joe Solomonese and the rest of the gay leadership have failed in their efforts on gay rights. At one point, Sullivan says “We gay people are being betrayed by our leadership”.

So, what are we hearing by this and other comments such as Solomonese’s “this is a time of great impatience”. We are hearing that the hour is upon us when the gay rights agenda is going to move forward in a very big way. It is no longer “if”. It is only weeks away that this bill is going to be introduced in the U.S. Congress.

For the serious Christian, this gets even more complicated. I cannot, for the life of me, understand why certain camps within conservative, evangelical Christianity are so silent on this impending development. For example, I just read in the October 2009 edition of Charisma Magazine, on page 23, where C Peter Wagner has an article entitled “The Case For Dominion”. This article is a response to the question on the Rapture of the Church (which it seems Wagner does not hold the view of orthodox Christianity) and in this article we see Wagner make a striking statement when he says in the last paragraph “We are aggressively retaking dominion and the rate at which this is happening will soon become exponential. The day will come when The Kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ and He shall reign forever and ever”.

First of all let me say that I believe Jesus has all power and authority in Heaven and on the Earth and that He reigns from Heaven above. Having said that, I must also direct the reader’s attention to what Wagner is referring to when he says the kingdoms of this world and dominion eschatology. To capsulate, what Wagner is talking about is Kingdom Now or Kingdom Dominion theology. It is also known as 7-Mountain Doctrine. Basically, this doctrine teaches that there are 7 pillars of control/influence in a given society. These pillars are also referred to as “mountains” thus “7-Mountain”. And, the 7 Mountains are: Government, Media, Arts and Entertainment, Education, Family, Religion and Business.

There is supposed to be a leader or head authority over each of these seven areas of influence. And, the objective is that Christianity will not only gain influence in all of these areas but, eventually out-right control. And, once Christians are in charge of all these areas of influence and control, then, Jesus can return. Note I said “can”. This is the very serious problem with this doctrine. But, that discussion is for another day and I want to keep my focus on this article. Oh, by the way, what was it Jesus said “My Kingdom is not of this world”.

My point is, it looks like someone has been “asleep at the wheel of the Government mountain” or someone has been “asleep in the guard shack at the base of the Government mountain”. What I am saying is, how in the world can Wagner claim that Christians are “aggressively retaking dominion” and this retaking rate will soon become “exponential”? How is this so when you look at what is getting ready to happen in the U.S. Congress with the Hate Crime Bill? How can these guys claim all this power, influence and authority in our society when the most serious threat to our religious freedom since the existence of our nation is just about to come into law? It is double-talk. This group is saying one thing but, the world and its governments are going exactly the opposite.

I can assure you, by taking the above stated position that I will be put into category of the “anti-Christ”. That’s OK. It won’t be the first time. You know what, the truth can withstand examination. So, I challenge the reader who opposes my assessment of this doctrine to systematically and theologically defeat my position. I can tell you now; I won’t be losing any sleep. I am warning my Christian brethren, there is a severe price to be paid if you buy into this particular theology.

So, getting back to my question and bewilderment at the absence of voice of some of these so-called leaders concerning the Hate Crime Bill. I am going to ask a very bold, but not so far-fetched question. Could it be that one of the reasons we are not seeing a ground-swell of specific resistance to the Hate Crime Bill is because there still remains within the leadership of the various prophetic groups some who are sympathetic toward the gay rights movement? Sympathetic either because of their personal desire to gain power and influence by not offending such a large and politically active (and wealthy) segment of our society and/or perhaps there are some within the leadership of these groups who are gay.

Before you get out of shape by this suggestion, you only need to look at the recent history of Christian leadership within the ranks of these particular Dominionist groups to understand the qualification of my question. It is a question, and, I will leave it at that.

Because the Hate Crime Bill so intertwines politics and religion, I could write for a week and still not cover all the issues involved. This is an enormous development in our society and nation. It will affect us all. I am afraid though, that I have only touched on the easy part of the debate in this article. I am fearful for our country in that I believe the Hate Crime Bill, once passed, will turn out to be a “nation-breaker”.

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