"The Thought Police"

In her explosive new book, "The Silencing: How the Left is Killing Free Speech", Fox News Contributor Kirsten Powers hits the nail on the head:

"No longer champions of tolerance and free speech, the 'illiberal Left' now viciously attacks and silences anyone with alternative points of view."

In an interview with Christianity Today, Powers said, "...we are in a new McCarthyist era" where the left is policing what it "deems acceptable in ways that stifle freedom of expression, thought, and religious belief." A liberal herself, Powers says, "truth matters little to the illiberal Left, for whom ideology is everything."

And the problem has leaked into the American church. According to Bible teacher John MacArthur, cultural Christianity is sometimes at odds with biblical Christianity.

"There is no collective Christian consensus wielding any significant power in this country today.

"The more that true Christians endeavor to speak and live biblically, the more we are being labeled as extremists, homophobic, and intolerant. Truly, we are aliens. We foresee a day when being a faithful Christian will cost us or our children dearly, and in ways we couldn't have imagined just a few years ago."

In light of recent headlines, court cases, and current events, "our culture is spinning out of control," says MacArthur. "I can't believe how fast the moral slide is happening."

"Cultural Christianity has blurred the clear lines between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of this world.

"Pragmatists in evangelical pulpits have softened the hard demands of the gospel, making discipleship sound easy and grace sound cheap.

"As a result, churches have been filled with religious, superficially moral, self-righteous people who don't understand the gospel and are self-deceived about their true spiritual state."

So is there any good news?

"Certainly," says MacArthur. "We know that God will use even the current hostilities and the climate of impending persecution for good" (see Romans 8:28).

A wise man once said: "Scripture teaches and church history confirms that the Body of Christ is most potent and most effective when it simply speaks and lives the gospel without equivocation or apology." --John MacArthur, Grace to You Ministries

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is  good and pleasing and perfect"--(Romans 12:).

News:

• Fox News Channel: U.S. Defense Official: ISIS Forces in Libya Kidnap 88 Christians; Libya's ongoing instability increasing risk for Christians.
• NBC News: Comedian Jerry Seinfeld rants against "creepy" politically correct culture; refuses to work on college campuses.
• Reuters: Florida high school principal loses job after commenting online in support of Texas police officer for "perceived insensitivity".
• Daily Mail: Nobel scientist forced to resign after joking 'women in labs a distraction'; Feminists outraged.