Recently, I led a marketing campaign to sell concert t-shirts benefiting persecuted Christians in the Middle East and I realized how hands off Christianity is here in the United States. Last Friday, the "Day of Silence" promoted by pro-homosexuality campaigns to fight bullying, led to the doors of a San Francisco Catholic school who stated they would not participate. Regardless, the campaign made it onto the school campus and the five Dominican Sisters of Mary who taught there walked off the campus that day. The public, outraged, claimed the sisters were pro-bullying and liars. The ironic bullying and slander of the nuns contradicted the organization's statement that they opposed all bullying, including religious bigotry. Of course, Christians don't count because our church continues to hold the stance that homosexuality is inappropriate.
What blows my mind is that this incident is rare. Where are we, in our call to arms? In Iraq, 7 year old children are being beheaded for loving the Lord, and here we are, afraid to say a word and face the repercussions of labels such as "homophobe," "hater," and "freak." Now when I say call to arms, I am in no way advocating any kind of hatred or violence in defense of our faith. The simple act of five nuns walking walking off campus to make a peaceful point caused a stir. We can love others, fight bullying, but we must also remain true to our faith. This means action. No longer can we sit passively and duck our heads when the debate comes up, but how?
The first thing to do is pray. If we truly wish to glorify the Lord, we must follow him and stay unified with his will. He speaks to our souls personally when we come to him. Only then can we expect to be prepared for battle, for the battle for our souls is raging more than ever in the culture.
We must be vocal. Whether this is an issue of contraception, abortion, or homosexuality, we cannot call ourselves Christians when we refuse to stand for what that means. This means studying the catechism and literature of the Church to fight the strongest weapon in the enemy's arsenal: our ignorance.
We have the truth on our side, and the truth is a powerful thing. If the San Francisco media outlets had truly had ammunition against the sisters, they would have paid attention to what the sisters said and responded fairly. The reason today's culture looks so bad leads straight back to the power we have if only we choose to use it. While many souls succumb to the enticing pressures of laziness and self-obsession, we fight a winning fight as the culture grows more desperate and persistent in its attack against Christians. We must love, and sometimes that means standing up and speaking the truth, even to those who hate to hear it.
Do not think I sit here on my soapbox preaching about what others should do while I remain steadfast and strong. For years, I remained passive and shy in my pursuit of truth. Now, my brain woke up and it's feeding my soul. In 2 Timothy 2:15 we read, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." I'm tired of being ashamed of the stereotype that goes along with being anti-gay marriage. I love all people in that they were made in the image and likeness of God. I do not love gays, or straights, or Christians, or atheists; I love them for who they are, not what they believe. This is hardest when I look at people involved in movements such as ISIS, dictatorships, or even those who try to fight my believes with the misuse of the word "tolerance," but I am not on this earth to pass judgment. I am here to love first and foremost my God, fight for him, and fight for the souls of each and every beautiful creation of his, no matter if they view my beliefs as hatred. The only harm I cause others is their misunderstanding of the truth. It is not my truth, or someone else's truth, it is the truth. Our truth.
Be silent no more.
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| This organization is helping persecuted Iraqi Christians directly. You can reach them at helpiraq.org |
What blows my mind is that this incident is rare. Where are we, in our call to arms? In Iraq, 7 year old children are being beheaded for loving the Lord, and here we are, afraid to say a word and face the repercussions of labels such as "homophobe," "hater," and "freak." Now when I say call to arms, I am in no way advocating any kind of hatred or violence in defense of our faith. The simple act of five nuns walking walking off campus to make a peaceful point caused a stir. We can love others, fight bullying, but we must also remain true to our faith. This means action. No longer can we sit passively and duck our heads when the debate comes up, but how?
The first thing to do is pray. If we truly wish to glorify the Lord, we must follow him and stay unified with his will. He speaks to our souls personally when we come to him. Only then can we expect to be prepared for battle, for the battle for our souls is raging more than ever in the culture.
We must be vocal. Whether this is an issue of contraception, abortion, or homosexuality, we cannot call ourselves Christians when we refuse to stand for what that means. This means studying the catechism and literature of the Church to fight the strongest weapon in the enemy's arsenal: our ignorance.
We have the truth on our side, and the truth is a powerful thing. If the San Francisco media outlets had truly had ammunition against the sisters, they would have paid attention to what the sisters said and responded fairly. The reason today's culture looks so bad leads straight back to the power we have if only we choose to use it. While many souls succumb to the enticing pressures of laziness and self-obsession, we fight a winning fight as the culture grows more desperate and persistent in its attack against Christians. We must love, and sometimes that means standing up and speaking the truth, even to those who hate to hear it.
Do not think I sit here on my soapbox preaching about what others should do while I remain steadfast and strong. For years, I remained passive and shy in my pursuit of truth. Now, my brain woke up and it's feeding my soul. In 2 Timothy 2:15 we read, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." I'm tired of being ashamed of the stereotype that goes along with being anti-gay marriage. I love all people in that they were made in the image and likeness of God. I do not love gays, or straights, or Christians, or atheists; I love them for who they are, not what they believe. This is hardest when I look at people involved in movements such as ISIS, dictatorships, or even those who try to fight my believes with the misuse of the word "tolerance," but I am not on this earth to pass judgment. I am here to love first and foremost my God, fight for him, and fight for the souls of each and every beautiful creation of his, no matter if they view my beliefs as hatred. The only harm I cause others is their misunderstanding of the truth. It is not my truth, or someone else's truth, it is the truth. Our truth.
Be silent no more.
