Dakota Beacon

England is officially a Christian nation. The Queen, as head of the Church of England, is sworn to uphold the laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel. In fact, England was once the missionary base for the entire world. Today, unfortunately, England, and to some extent our neighbor Canada, is increasingly anti-Christian in practice.

Disquietingly, what was once Christian Europe, and particularly England, is being displaced increasingly by Islam. Although Islam, for its part, aspires to be a religion, it is much more. Separation of church and state is not part of its theology. Islam comprises a legal, political and social system and all three are inseparable from the spiritual.

In 2008 five Sharia courts (Muslim tribunals) were established in London, Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester and Warwickshire and were sanctioned with the full power of the judicial system.

More explicitly, Sharia law in Islamist thought is a full service legal code that governs all personal, social and political matters. For this reason, jihad, or struggle, seeks to instill Sharia throughout every society. Sharia is believed to be a necessary component for converting a society to Islam. It “opens the eyes.”

Does recent British experience portend the future of the United States? Will America go the same route as England?

Certainly, in the US we recognize separation of church and state. Concurrent with separating church and state, the federal government is obligated by the First Amendment to place no obstacle in the way of “religion” in general and the Christian world view (the foundational thought of the Republic) in particular. That places the responsibility for the propagation of Christianity directly on the people -- if they choose. If they abdicate, the foundation crumbles.

Is American Christianity up to the task of propagating the Gospel? Or, with the steady advent of secular progressivism, are we at war with the Gospel? Either way, Islam and Sharia law is prepared to fill the vacuum.

The multicultural and political correctness mind set places the Christian, who tries to be a Christian in the workplace, at risk. Disciplinary action, sensitivity training, promotion delays and passovers and challenges by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are frequently invoked.

A government that continues to foster multicultural and PC agendas will spawn class warfare and division. Preferential treatment for sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, gender and creed while redistributing wealth of top wage-earners increasingly shuts out the majority Christian, Caucasian wage-earner.

The government is well on the way toward criminalizing Christian speech and practice: to wit the war on Christmas, prayer in schools and other public places, the eradication of Christian symbols in the public square and forcing private organizations such as the Boy Scouts to accept stipulations transgressing Scouting principles.

Meanwhile, women may wear jibabs, hijabs, niqabs and other religious garb but the display of crosses on walls, bibles on desks or the Ten Commandments in the public square is verboten. It’s surprising how many Christians today placidly accept this trend.

Sharing the Gospel openly is even more frowned upon. Can hate crimes enforcement be far behind?

There is a tremendous move by secular lobbyists to privatize Christianity. Christian legal organizations are forced into constant litigation to defend against anti-Christian bigotry.

The point: You may keep your faith if you keep it to yourself and it doesn’t affect you in the workplace. Closets apparently have revolving doors -- gays out, Christians in; same sex marriage out of the closet, one man one wife passé.

Small rural towns like those in North Dakota won’t feel the immediate effects. But, as with many federal programs such as highways, education and Medicare/Medicaid, once in place the laws ensnare from the top down.

In a sense, Christianity brought this situation upon itself. Rather than salting the culture, the culture has salted the church. Instead of serving as a light to the world, Christianity has withdrawn, placing its light under a bushel.

If American Christians continue to ignore the handwriting on the wall, Islam will advance with government and media assistance giving it protected status while denigrating Christianity and further eroding the American Christian base.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at P. O. Box 337, Stanley, ND 58784 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).