Truth and Consequences

Every time I think about this I get mad, so it must be time to write one of my banging my head against the wall screeds. I recently attended a very pleasant barbecue with a number of brethren in Christ visiting from a church overseas. These were thoughtful, well-spoken Christians who were in the states to attend a conference and to encourage a couple of families from their assembly who were planting a church here.

While we were chatting, the conversation turned to the state of the church and by way of explanation, the relationship of the citizens to their government in a communist tyranny I have personal knowledge of. My fellow Christian asked didn't they have elections in that country and I answered that ostensibly, yes, they do, but that they made no difference whatsoever in the government as you had no choice who to vote for. This serious, intelligent brother then said, "Well, I don't see that it is any different there than it is in the United States!" !!!

I couldn't believe my ears, so I said, "Huh? What do you mean?" "Well, he said, voting doesn't make any difference in what they do in Washington. America's no more free than [that country]." I was stunned. I pointed out that we were sitting out in the open, worshiping God together. That no one in America was afraid to worship or evangelize for fear of going to jail. That no one had been tortured for preaching. That no one in America was afraid of speaking the truth for fear there would be a knock on his door that night. That people had the right to choose their education and occupation. That we had the freedom to even abandon all institutional schools and teach our children ourselves - discipling them, when I personally knew people in other countries whose children were taught against the values the parents stood for in a way we don't even understand here and they had no choice at all - their children must attend public school by law. That we had the right to vote against politicians we disagreed with and see them lose their seat. "What in the world do you mean there is no difference?"

He'd never thought of it that way. He came from a pretty free country, and a liberal media that makes ours all look like moderates. He really didn't know that Christians in [communist tyranny] are horribly persecuted and have no freedom in the important things of life. He thought we in America had no control over our government, that it was totally under the control of our president, who had run amuck. He really didn't have any understanding that America was free and that our government was responsive to the people and that many of us supported our government's international actions based on principle.

Here's what makes me mad: my brother in Christ was rendered incapable of supporting God's people intelligently in prayer and of understanding the issues of world politics because of his source of knowledge about the world - his country's very biased media. From the very beginning of printing, Christians have been at the forefront of the information revolution. This is one reason why.

How can we depend on those who are opposed to all we are to provide us with the information we need to make decisions about the world? How can we depend on them to share the good news of Jesus Christ? How can we trust them to tell us the true state of the church? We can't. They will ever try to lull us to sleep, to spin the news to make us choose sides against our own principles, to highlight scandal within the church like it was the secret norm, to discourage us in the battle we face. We will be in sad shape if our only source of news is the enemy's propaganda.

I recently told a correspondent in a not-free country what Christians in the free world were hearing about - that persecution had been stepped up in his country. That foreign missionaries had been expelled and that church activities had been raided and leaders arrested. He had not heard - the media is under state control there and most of the Christian internet is blocked. He was thankful to be able to pray for his brethren and to know to be cautious for himself.

This is why sites like WorldNetDaily and Voice of the Martyrs are so important. They tell the stories the mainstream media ignores. We need to accept the responsibility to inform ourselves and to be seekers of the truth. That's why the guerilla bloggers who risk their lives in other countries to inform their countrymen are so important. That's why the organizations that strive to bypass the firewalls and internet restrictions of those governments and to provide safe and changing ISPs for free communication are so critical. Let's support these Gutenbergs - in prayer and financially - as they strive to give the freedom of the mind to closed countries - that the gospel would be preached and God's people protected.