Oscar Romero Phil Robertson Dietrich Bonhoeffer
As the saying goes "one of these things is not like the other". Phil Robertson is a fine guy. I've never personally met him, but I enjoyed the I Am Second video with his and his family. I love hearing stories of people who turned from their reckless life and embraced God. So while Phil is a Christian much like the other two names above there is one major difference. The difference is Bonhoeffer and Romero were martyrs. They were men killed for their faith. Bonhoeffer for teaching that Christ not Hitler was king and Romero for teaching that serving and following God's will was more important than following the orders of a corrupt government. Phil Robertson while he seems to be a great guy doesn't share that same label. Phil Robertson is simply the latest in a line of false martyrs in American Christianity.
You see in some parts of the world, people pay a cost to follow Christ. They are imprisoned or even sometimes put to death. When viewed through that lens american Christians have it pretty easy. Do you believe in Christ? Yes. Okay great. Do you believe in Christ? No. Okay great. There is no cost to be a Christian in America. You see part of the problem lies with many american christian's awareness of the true martyrs of the gospel in Asia and other places. Americans need to feel like we are paying a cost for our faith but not actually pay one. How do you do that though? You create a straw man.
American Christians create these straw men or false martyrs. We create people who have been "persecuted" or "suffered" for their faith or beliefs. It makes us feel like there is an actual cost to be paid for being Christian in america without actually having to suffer. We feel the need to suffer for our faith. It's Biblical because Christ tells us the world will reject us for following him. It's the same reason Christians in America cry out about the "war" on Christmas. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your reaction to someone wishing you "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" is doing way more to hurt Christmas and Christians everywhere than some atheists taking out an anti Christmas ad in Times Square.
We have got to be honest with ourselves. Christians in America have it easier than any other Christians in the world. I often wonder if so much of the push back and creation of false martyrs we see in american Christianity is because those who create them are worried about having to actually stand up for their faith and possibly pay a real cost to follow Christ.A millionaire being suspended from a tv show is not persecution. Some Salvation Army Bell Ringer wishing you "Happy Holidays" is not persecution. This whole Duck Dynasty situation reveals a greater problem than simply someone's words. We want to feel like we are paying the cost to follow Christ that Christ Himself tells us it will cost without actually paying any cost. I know it can be hard to decide in the media infused world whether or not you are being persecuted as an American Christian.With some time and some sweet MS Paint skills, I created the handy little flow chart below to help. Take a moment and look it over. When you're done, let's commit to calling out the creation of false martyrs. Let's commit to ending phony "wars" that aren't really wars at all. Let's commit to maybe actually paying a real cost to follow Christ that makes us uncomfortable, poor, unemployed, or alienated from our family.
