On the prowl, looking for souls to devour

Erick Erickson at The Resurgent has a piece that I would consider pretty much must-read today on the two big developments on the Christianity-hatred front.

Her actually begins it with an anecdote from the second century that sets the table for his overall point:

In 155 AD, Roman authorities ordered a man named Polycarp to burn incense for the Roman Emperor. Witnesses say the local authorities begged Polycarp to comply, some even acknowledging it was a meaningless act. But Polycarp refused. "Eighty-six years I have served Christ, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” Polycarp announced. The Roman proconsul had a pyre built to burn Polycarp.

Eyewitnesses say Polycarp told the proconsul there would be no need to tie him to the stake as he would not flee. Others claim the flames would not touch Polycarp so the proconsul ordered him stabbed through the heart. 

Then he segues to this week:

You will probably not have heard of Russell Berger. He is a orthodox believing Christian, pastor, and, until last week, was the Chief Knowledge Officer of CrossFit. A local CrossFit gym (they call them boxes) did not want to have a gay pride event and gay rights activists subsequently began harassing the owner of the gym. Berger, on his personal Twitter feed, tweeted, “As someone who personally believes celebrating ‘pride’ is a sin, I’d like to personally encourage #CrossFitInfiltrate for standing by their convictions and refusing to host an @indypride workout.” 

He continued, “The intolerance of the LGBTQ ideology toward any alternative views is mind-blowing. The tactics of some in the LGBTQ movement toward dissent is an existential threat to freedom of expression. The lack of tolerance for disagreement, which has been replaced with bullying Twitter mobs promising ‘consequences’, should be a concern regardless of your political stance.” The LGBTQ community then proved him exactly right and demanded his termination. CrossFit bowed to the mob and terminated Berger for daring to express his personal views on his personal Twitter presence.

The other case was, of course, the Masterpiece Cake Shop SCOTUS ruling, which has been discussed here at LITD.

While observers across the spectrum have used the term "narrow" to describe the ruling, perhaps it behooves us to look at just how taken aback Justice Kennedy was by the toxicity emanating from the Colorado Civil Rights Commission:

Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing a 7-2 decision for the Supreme Court, sided with Philips. The Court found that one commissioner described Philip’s faith as “one of the most despicable pieces of rhetoric that people can use.” Kennedy noted that disparaged Philip’s “religion in at least two distinct ways: by describing it as despicable, and also by characterizing it as merely rhetorical —something insubstantial and even insincere. The commissioner even went so far as to compare Phillips’ invocation of his sincerely held religious beliefs to defenses of slavery and the Holocaust.”

This isn't just a culture-level war. It's a war between the father of lies and the Lord.

It's not just taking place in the nation's courts, bakeries, schools, on its streets and its social-media venues. It is a war between principalities on the level beyond space and time.

But it does require correct choices from us as we maneuver through space and time. What they cost us on this plane is nothing compared to the glory that multiplies without end in the realm where it counts.