No Persecution | thebereancall.org

TBC Staff

TBC: A posting at the "Christianity Today" website pointed out the superficial perceptions of what is perceived to be "mainstream" evangelicalism.

We're Prime Time, Baby!

Evangelicals' new status means deepened responsibility.

When Jimmy Carter was elected President, Newsweek christened 1976 "The Year of the Evangelical." And if 1976 heralded the birth of the media reckoning with the crowd that took the Bible at least as seriously as did Carter, evangelicalism's 29-year-old public persona has come of age in 2005. Now we're on during prime time.

Except for cases still found in some places -- Lewis Lapham's "The Wrath of the Lamb" in the May issue of Harper's being one of them -- evangelicals can no longer complain about a media conspiracy against them. We're no longer overlooked, persecuted, discriminated against, and misquoted in the mainstream news media. Clarification: the term "news media" here doesn't include the opinion writers, whose voices in The New York Times , for example, still alternate between befuddlement at discovery of evangelicals (Had you any idea people like this existed?) and insulting them (They're the ones who believe that science and faith are mutually exclusive!). But enough about the continuing education of pundits like Frank Rich and Paul Krugman.

Turn on the TV during sweeps season, and what do you see? Our newfound status became poignantly apparent the evening of May 20. That's when ABC's 20/20 anchor and correspondent Elizabeth Vargas explored "what really happened" during the Resurrection of Christ. This is the same Vargas who last year employed too many words to hype little substance in the documentary investigating the groundless assertions of Dan Brown's page-turner The Da Vinci Code . (Did Jesus and Mary Magdalene have a romantic relationship? The answer after the break.)

This time, evangelical scholars such as William Lane Craig, Paul Meier, Lee Strobel, and Ben Witherington got the most airtime. And their claims about the empty tomb were corroborated by non-Christian experts. The usual skeptics got to throw in their two cents, but no more.

So, we've been mainstreamed. Now what?

First, we can thank God. Jesus Christ's unique message and values will gain a larger and more respectful hearing.

Second, as noted, we really can't play the persecution card anymore. As "players," we will be criticized sharply still, but that's just part of life in America (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/007/20.23.html).

[TBC: The editorial writers of "Christianity Today" should enjoy the illusion while they can. Contrary to their gross generalizations, persecution throughout the world is an all too real reality. Further, the Lord warned us that "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12). It is a reasonable conclusion that if the message seems to be accepted by the world, then it must have lost its savor (Matthew 5:13).]