Hated for Christ

More and more, Furman University is adopting a spirit of anti-Christianity, and nobody is sounding the alarm. I sit through class after class that drags the word of God through the mud and delights in doing so. There is no fair chance to examine both sides of any issue that deals with faith in God or Jesus Christ. Now, it must be clarified that I am well aware that this is not a Christian university. I don't expect to begin classes with a prayer and a daily scripture reading - I don't even expect for the professors to share my faith or to agree with my views. But I do expect that my beliefs will be respected. To the contrary, Christianity is scrutinized and beaten down - bringing to fulfillment Christ's words to his disciples, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." This column is not written to the skeptics. Its point is not to begin a theological debate. (As far as I am concerned, there is nothing left to debate.) I'm writing this to fellow believers: those who believe that God is who he says he is, that his word is infallible and that his son is Jesus Christ. We sit in classrooms everyday and hear our faith questioned and belittled. We may even leave confused and feeling as if we have just been buffeted. Believers, let me assure you: contrary to what most professors and students here would have you to believe, our faith is not weak or incoherent. We serve a mighty God (see Revelations 4) and we must answer only to him. I want to encourage you to stand strong. I understand that some things may not make sense to our human mind - and it is okay to question, and not to be sure. But do not throw away your faith in the process. Seek the truth in faith, not as a skeptic.

I write with such conviction because I have experienced God's hand on my life. As a black American, I have an appreciation of God's work through the church during the Civil Rights Movement. Even so, I've struggled with believing. Yet God, in his grace, has always brought me through. We serve a good God, and I am sick and tired of seeing my faith watered down to be more acceptable to the very society that hates it. Truth offends, and yet it is eagerly offered to every single human being on this planet.

Many skeptics scoff at Jesus' teachings because he claims to be the only way, to hold exclusive authority and absolute truth. While I have found these claims to be true, others hate them, and subject Christianity to persecution and abject revulsion because of it. They silence and threaten us, saying that we our beliefs are politically incorrect or intolerant or offensive. Yet they do not at all mind their own offensiveness and intolerance when they refuse to allow for a fair evaluation of our faith. Surely, the laws of science follow a certain ordering and are not subject to change simply because I may take issue with one of them. Is it so ridiculous to believe that spiritual laws follow the same principle?

This persecution will not cease. What is happening here at Furman is a part of a world wide trend. We have brothers and sisters in Christ who are tortured for his name in other countries. Brace yourselves in God's word, for we will face only more and more opposition. It's all we need to bring us through.