Are We Living in an Age of Christianophobia?

Are we living in an age of Christianophobia?

But just as then the child born according to the flesh persecuted the one born according to the Spirit, so also now.
(Galatians 4:29 HCSB)

Have you been noticing the same strange stories coming out these days? Just this week, a German judge tried to use the Koran as the basis for her decision, even though in Germany, the basis should be the rule of law. There have been Catholic priests raising money for mosques, popes having a problem expressing their correct view about Islam, and even Muslims fighting each other and being intolerant of those who say anything that might be wrong with their religion. There seems to be an increase in the amount of intolerance by Muslims directed at others.

But that doesn’t stop these Muslims from persecuting Christians. And apparently, we as Christians seem to be encouraging this persecution to continue with our silence. Are we catching the symptoms of Christianophobia?

You can check the Twitter hashtag #Christianophobia.

Does the persecution of Christians come from a fear of them? Yes. As a matter of fact, people are so fearful of Christ that it can quickly turn to hatred. Jesus warned that this would happen. He also said that we should not worry. Paul warns us here that this Christianophobia is not just limited to the “sons of Ishmael.” Instead, it includes everyone who is not “born according to the Spirit.” In essence, the entire world will fear Christianity and eventually, that will lead to hatred of Christians.

This kind of hatred is derived from fear, but the fear is misplaced. Christ never hated anyone. He was popular and that caused some people in power to fear him. These are the same people we see today in people who attack Christians. The “children born according to the flesh” will soon know that Jesus will rule over them. Therefore, will do anything to change that – including attacking the followers of Jesus Christ.