CHRISTIANITY, FREEDOM & PRIVILEGES

We are living in an era of contempt for Christianity! But we are still enjoying the benefits that Christianity brought. If all Christian influence was removed from this world today, there would be very little freedom and privileges left to enjoy. CHRISTIANITY'S PRIVILEGES The abolition of slavery, the dignity of women, the right to own private property, the sanctity of marriage and the right to life, are just some of the benefits of faith in Christ. The care of the sick, the aged and the poor, began as a Christian undertaking. There was no such thing as a hospital until Chris-tianity came. Aristotle, in laying down the laws for the ideal state said, “Let there be a law that no deformed child shall be reared.” It was also accepted practice that any aged slave who could not work anymore should be thrown out and left to die like any old farm implement. Remove Christian ethic and all restraints on morality will disap-pear. When Christianity was banished in Hitler's Germany, life became cheap. Doctors were encouraged to kill off the aged, the poor, and chronically sick. The Jews were killed by the millions and many were used for experiments. Even little children were taken to the gas chambers. Freedom of speech ends when Christianity goes. In Russia under a Godless regime, criticism of the Government was suicide. Millions of people were murdered and others sent to labour camps because they differed with the Government. In Mao Tse Tung's China and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia millions were killed just because they differed with the ruling party. ENJOYING THE FRUIT BUT DISCARDING THE ESSENCE The Western World has become cynical, faithless, and blind to the power of the Gospel. They are still enjoying the fruit of Christianity - but for how long? As morality gets eroded, life's freedom and privileges also disappear because governments have to make more and more laws to combat the anarchy which results from the loss of a strong moral sense. America's greatness and pros-perity was based on Christianity. Their Founding Fathers acknowledged God. But today there are powerful lobbies spending mil-lions of dollars to eradicate all Christianity. They have banished prayer from schools and public gatherings and have removed the Ten Commandments from public buildings. No wonder their eco-nomy is in trouble and their prestige is declining. Let those who wish to enjoy freedom and its privileges, remember that they will not enjoy them for long if they turn their backs on Christ. AFTER ALL, THE ONLY LIGHT THERE IS IN THIS DARK WORLD IS CHRIST HIMSELF! Without God the only basis for right and wrong is popular opinion or personal preference -and that is totally unreliable! By preaching the Gospel we are also defending our freedom! [Edgar Gschwend, NOW, June 2010].