SOON and the future.

I am reading a book by Jerry Jenkins, who co-wrote the Left Behind Series, called SOON. I am enjoying this book. A few things have made an impression on me that I guess I never thought about before. The Book is about life where religion is illegal, even here in America where we have freedom of religion. It occurs after a third world war where millions were killed and the blame is laid soley at the feet of religion. Ironically, if you look at the fighting going on today all over the world, it's not like this is a far-fetched idea even for America.
I see how the world is different in the book. Terms such as BLESSED are old fashioned and archiac. REVEREND, the title Dr. Martin Luther King earned, is considered illegal. There are no churches. It is illegal to worship God. The Bible is contraband. To promote family and having babies, a monetary amount is given to women to have children.
Like the first followers of Christ, the followers in the book hide what they believe and meet in secret. They are sure of death if their identities are discovered or they are captured.
There are countries in our world today that deal with the issues in this book on a daily basis. It may not be all religions that are banned, but Christianity is not welcome.
What about America? Are we heading in this direction? Every year I see more and more of the rights we have long since taken for granted being stripped away. I am told Christians are the majority, but we don't raise our voices like a majority. We are too afraid we will offend somebody. Instead, we close our mouths and hide our own offense as we see our beliefs trampled and our rights taken away. When did that happen before in American History? Oh yeah, ask the Native Americans.
Is SOON a far-fetched idea? I don't think so. Already there has been rumbling that speaking out at a pulpit against homosexuality could be considered a hate crime. It seems that many of the shows on prime-time that I have seen depict Christians as hate-mongers and radicals that will take violent actions to promote their beliefs. We are lumped into the same category as terrorists and criminals. It's easy to change public perception of Christianity by portraying Christians in this manner.
I homeschool my daughter in a state where the laws are very easy to comply with. I love that I can teach my daughter every day about Jesus and the Bible. One day, could that very right be taken away? Will my right to raise my daughter in a Christian household be looked at as criminal one day? Will even the basic ability to worship Jesus be deemed illegal? Are we already being targeted and portrayed as mentally inferior and dangerous?
I pray that this will not happen, or that it is a long time in the future. I enjoy the rights I have to serve and worship my Lord Jesus.