Like any other war the war against evil will have casualties. The problem is nobody wants to die or suffer! If Americans had that attitude in World War II….. The war would have probably been lost! Just like the war against evil is being lost right now. If we stand up against the evil in the world… sure, the attention will be placed on those standing up to it -but there is no other way! But don’t think your sacrifice is in vain. Anyone who stands against evil has got God on their side. Anyone who stands against evil weakens it! Just as anyone who doesn’t stand against it strengthens it!
A God of our own understanding. Like anything else this can be taken out of context even misused. It doesn’t say a God of our own liking, preference, interest or persuasion… I’m not sure where the modern day idea of a God of our own -separate from everyone else’s started out or came from -I hope it wasn’t from this. The idea of a God of our own understanding was not to bring separation among the masses but to bring more people to God. Eventually growing to know God as God is rather than what we would have him be. Like any person you meet for the 1st time you have some preconceived notions which later get replaced by facts through experience. At this point in my life I have not chosen a God of my own understanding but you understand God as God is -as much as I am capable with the time I have left on Earth. The people who started in Alcoholics Anonymous were Christians -the people who started coming later on were either christians who had problems with their faith or non christians (it was a mixture). But let’s be very clear about something… The people in the rooms judging people who are Christians who talk about a Christian God, or Jesus… they didn’t come first they came later. Some people try and act like it’s the other way around.
As far as christians being persecuted in the future… What has to happen is a whole lot of people of faith, or their children… have to start dropping off so that the christians then become outnumbered by the non christians, heathens, atheist, agnostics, people who have their own God like back thousands of years ago (ah yes, history repeats itself once again).