In recent months, we have presented the stories of many Christian people who were arrested, summoned at court, kicked out of their jobs or even school because of their belief in Jesus, Biblical truths and the simple laws of nature simply because their position is against the fashionable Neo-Marxist Woke-ideology with its "unquestionable" credentials.

We talked with Josh Alexander, a Canadian teenager who was suspended from his Catholic school and arrested several times by the police after advocating that God created two genders and that drag shows are not for children at all. We also asked the former Anglican pastor, dr. Bernard Randall, who was removed from his position and reported to a British government counter-terrorism agency, after sharing the Bible's position on marriage and gender identity with his teenage students in a sermon. We interviewed a Maltese Christian singer, Matthew Grech, who could face fines and even jail time after publicly sharing how he left his homosexual lifestyle with the help of Jesus, and Akil Pano, a well-known Albanian Christian public figure, who pointed out in his televised appearance discussed the father and mother, and the dangers of redefining marriage, and was immediately accused of hate speech, and Jacob Kersey, who had been a police officer for just a few months, did an outstanding job, yet his bosses gave him an ultimatum after he stood up for the biblical definition of marriage on his social media page.

FAITH IS A PROBLEM NOT ONLY IN THE EAST, BUT ALSO IN THE WEST

When we talk about Christian persecution, the African, Middle Eastern and Far Eastern countries where the followers of Jesus have to pay for their faith with physical suffering and even brutal death in many cases are rightly given more emphasis. At the same time, we see that a parallel process appears to be emerging in the West, in which the lives of those who adhere to ancient truths, rights arising from human dignity and institutions designated by God (marriage, family) are being tried to be made impossible by somewhat softer means.

In the Western world, laws that ensure freedom of religion and speech and protect human life are still part of many legal systems, with the help of which it is still possible to fight for the protection of Bible-believing people.

Those Christians who did not experience communist oppression could get used to comfort, freedom and undisturbedness in the last decades. The majority was apparently surprised to note that it is possible to suffer because of faith and they reacted to it in different ways. They conformed to the expectations, remained silent, or in a relatively small number, decided to resist, realizing that one day they would have to give an account of their lives before their God and they feared him more than earthly retortions. And with this, they joined the ranks of people called heroes of faith by the Bible. When the people of Israel were dragged to Babylon, a distant land and they tried to oblige them to honor the local gods, the majority submitted but there were four young people who were not willing to do so. Shadrach who was in a high government position, Meshach and Abednego who chose the burning fiery furnace instead of denying their faith, while Daniel prayed to God three times a day with an open window, even when this was forbidden by law and was thrown into a pile full of lions for his devout.

The fate of the Old Testament prophets also clearly shows that publicly standing for God's Word, especially if it is not exactly positive in regards to political leadership, is not life insurance.

We might think that the situation improved in the New Testament and in the time of Jesus and the first church, but not much. Jesus himself warns his followers: "Take heed to yourselves: for they will hand you over to tribunals, and they will beat you in the synagogues, and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake" (Mark 13:9). He adds that he sends his followers out like sheep among wolves, calling them to be wise as snakes and gentle as doves. “Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to tribunals, and scourge you in their churches; they will bring you before governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to themselves and to the Gentiles" (Matthew 10:17-18).

In the lives of the apostles, we can see many suffering, life-threatening situations, arrests, prisons and violent deaths, which befell them only because they bravely stood up for the faith.

In light of all this, it would be foolish to think that Christians who are faithful to the truths of the Bible and God can live it undisturbed nowadays.

At the same time, Jesus adds: standing up for the truth brings happiness and Christians will not be left alone in difficult situations. “But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what to say; for it shall be given unto you in that hour what ye shall say. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Fathers who speaks in you."

NATURAL LEGAL PROTECTION

Obviously, according to the Bible, the Spirit of God is the most reliable lawyer and protector of Christians but nowadays many organizations and associations have been formed, which set as their main mission the protection of biblical values and the believers who stand by them. As the world's largest legal organization, the Alliance Defending Freedom, which has been operating since 1994, takes an active role in the legal defense of Western Christians who are attacked for their faith.

They committed themselves to pursue five generational wins: protection of life, religious freedom, free speech, marriage and family and parental rights. Since 2010, with the help of 4,700 lawyers, they have more than 1,500 legal victories behind them and operate in a total of 104 countries. ADF International is also accredited by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the European Parliament and Commission, and the Organization of American States (OAS). The mainstream media describes it as the engine of conservative Christian lobbying, which has taken a decisive role in the biggest sociological issues of the past 20 years, and they refer to it as the 800-pound gorilla of the Christian right.

Religious freedom ensures that every person has the right to explore life’s deepest questions and to live out one’s religious convictions in the public square, just as in the home or a place of worship. It's rooted in human dignity and the constitutional principle that government should have limited power over its citizens. These guarantees cannot depend on cultural popularity or political power. 

- claims the international organization.

Within the framework of the Areté Academy, it organizes annual online and personal training for outstandingly talented young people in order to provide philosophical, communication, political and biblical munition, as well as a  professional network of connection so that participants around the world can be prepared to promote the above-mentioned goals and effective legal to be able to fight in defense for their fellow Bible believers.

At this year's conference, among other things, the participants could learn about human dignity, the relationship between society and the state, the impact of law on culture, the origin of freedoms, the foundations of postmodern critical theory, the conflict between woke ideology and the biblical worldview, Daniel and his faith, and they could have been inspired by the example of the Babylonian governor adviser who openly accepted even in the face of death, and William Wilberforce, the British Christian politician who successfully fought for the abolition of slavery.

(Translated by Anett Harmath)