Be Still and Know

April 25th has been officially designated "Day of Silence" by countless public high schools throughout the U.S. It is promoted by lesbian and gay activists to bring attention to the presumed plight of harrassed homosexuals. Students are encouraged to remain silent throughout the day, explaining it by means of a printed card.

Multiple school districts have gotten behind this movement while others happily let it pass without notice. Some Christian organizations are recommending that parents keep their children home in protest or to relieve them of the absurd embarrassment of being publicly identified as unsupportive of gay rights if they don’t remain silent.

Several New Jersey districts are featuring this day of silence, which is seemingly at odds with the educational process since only teachers and non-gay rights promoters would be vocal. This is the same New Jersey where some years ago, a moment of silence for prayer was judged to be unconstitutional as dangerously moving toward a government-sponsored support of religion.

In East Brunswick, N.J. in October 2005, Marcus Borden, who had been the high school football coach since 1983, was restrained from bending his knee and bowing his head while his players had pre-game prayer. Although he did not verbally pray and the players’ prayer was only for safety and sportsmanship, Borden was forbidden from taking part. He first resigned rather than conform. He later sued, and the U.S. District Court for New Jersey ruled that his actions were legal. Last week, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed that decision, and Borden’s quiet genuflect is once again judged illegal. His lawyer says this needs to go to the U.S. Supreme Court. We hope it will.

Meanwhile, Mount Vernon, Ohio school teacher John Freshwater was recently asked to remove the Bible he had kept on his desk for 18 years. He refused. In support, several students brought their Bibles to school and some wore tee shirts with crosses and other religious symbols and some with "Fresh H2O." In a written statement, Freshwater said, "Would our government ask a follower of Islam to remove her burqa in order to teach school? Would we ask a science teacher to remove The Origin of Species from his desk merely because the origin of man has never been proven? I cannot with a clear conscience follow a directive that makes religion and the religious viewpoint any less credible by those who deem themselves more enlightened."

A notch or two higher on the academic scale is Ben Stein’s movie documentary "Expelled," in which he catalogues numerous dismissals or restraints placed on science professors who believe in divine creation or even the less doctrinaire idea of Intelligent Design over the theory of evolution. Professional careers are being demeaned and positions lost when one believes in creation or, in some instances, is even presumed to believe.

Christian persecution in America is not as overt as in some darkened places on the planet, but the pressure to conform to shaky science dogma is as equally dangerous as disputing a cruel godless dictator. This drumming out of dedicated believers may be the wrenching harbinger of direct sweeping persecution where the "thought police" force universal conformity to secular thinking. In any event, we need revival, which, as someone once said, either prevents disaster or prepares for it.

For those who only read about persecution in blogs like this one, I urge fervent prayer for all those who are in any political chain of command—from the local level to national government to international leaders. A good pattern would be II Chronicles 7:14 followed by Joel 2:12-14.

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

"‘Now, therefore,’ says the Lord, ‘Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.’ So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him…?’"

For those stifled souls or illegally pressured churches or individual believers, I recommend contacting the Christian Law Association. Their address is PO Box 4010, Seminole, FL 33775, and the phone is (727) 399-8300. They handle thousands of cases each year.

Dave Virkler