When headlines announced the burning of Bibles and American flags on our own cities’ streets during the riots, many Christians saw these events as a sign of the times. A day they thought they would never see in their lifetimes had arrived. Reminiscent of Adolf Hitler’s mandated burning of the Hebrew Bible,[i] passages of prophetic Scripture came to believers’ minds, and a whole new level of apocalyptic reality hit home. For many, figuring out how to respond was the focal question.[ii]
As Antifa burned Bibles in the same streets where their demonstrations wreaked havoc over much of the summer of 2020, their anti-fascist proclamations became increasingly anti-Christian. We may wonder how the torching copies of Scripture relates to the professed issue behind the riots, and it’s vital to follow this trail of thought lest our freedom of speech becomes jeopardized. Here’s the sequence: Antifa and similar organizations claim an anti-fascist stance. As mentioned, they aren’t as much “for” anything as they are “against” other things. Working “against” specific things is a limited effort, in that their cause focuses only on that issue.
As Antifa and similar organizations joined the movement against racism, they began to fold all forms of perceived hate together into one metaphorical envelope of issues protested during these demonstrations. It’s no secret that modern culture has the desire to interpret truth subjectively.
Do you see how quickly the baby is thrown out with the bathwater, with circumstances escalating until an angry crowd tosses Bibles on to the fire—when the Holy Scripture isn’t even related to the reason for the protests? And, as hatred becomes more outlawed (which is happening rapidly), Scripture could, again, be heaped onto the pile of things that must be—mandatorily, next time—disposed of.
The Christian faith suffered an additional attack during the shutdowns of COVID-19 during 2020; the circumstances reveal a certain measure of where our rights to gather as the Body of Christ may be headed. Across the nation, the only exceptions to mandated closures were businesses and facilities deemed “essential.” The list of exemptions did not include churches, but it did include grocery and convenience stores, liquor stores, marijuana dispensaries, gas stations, and restaurants (for delivery, takeout, and curbside service only, at least for a certain length of time). A variety of other types of businesses, such as medical facilities, construction companies, pharmaceutical corporations, and manufacturing plants were allowed to remain in operation, and public charities such as homeless shelters and food pantries were also listed as permissible.[vi]
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