Religious freedom could be at risk in the U-S if Christians remain quiet

USA (MNN) — The United States of America. It’s notorious around the world for being a Christian nation. According to the most recent research available, about 80-percent of Americans consider themselves to be Christians. However, a member of the World Evangelical Alliance says if Christians don’t get more engaged religious freedom is at risk.

Recently a federal judge ordered the closure of a Christian prisoner rehabilitation program in Iowa. Last week, a school prohibited a youth pastors from visiting his students at lunch on school grounds.

Doctor Joel Hunter is the pastor of the Northland Church in Orlando, Florida. He’s also the newest WEA’s North American Council board member. “Everybody’s trying to find the balance between openness for all and shutting down any kind of controversy or any kind of discomfort for any, and that’s a precarious balance. I think, to a large extent, that Christians in the U-S have kind of abdicated their political involvement.”

Hunter says Christians have a responsibility to be lovingly vocal about their faith, rights, and the law. He says if they don’t, the U-S could begin seeing laws that could limit religious freedom — like hate speech legislation that passed in Canada and Australia.

According to Hunter, however, all these circumstances are good. “God sometimes uses bad circumstances in order to provoke us to the responsibilities that we weren’t paying attention to before. So, ultimately, a sovereign God is going to work all of this for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”

Hunter believes this anti-Christian mindset in the U-S is in reaction to what may be something good. “There really is an over reaction here to Christians who are being very forthright about their faith, who are being witnesses. And we’ve almost got this thing (that says), ‘we want to make sure nobody’s offended.’ If you can stop an entire faith because they’re offended by it, something’s wrong in that scenario.”

Bottom line is Christians need to pray and then do what James 1:22 says, “Be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only.”