Christians are persecuted, globally, more than followers of any other religion. (Even Pew, which tries to disguise the data, cannot deny this reality.) Who’s doing this oppressing? Most of us assume that it’s mostly Muslims. Indeed, they do their share. According to “Open Doors,” Nigeria (specifically, its Muslim north) and Pakistan are the places where Christians face the most violence, and are most often martyred. It’s also dicey living as a Christian in the likes of Bangladesh, Qatar, Burkina Faso and Indonesia — Muslim-majority countries all.

But the worst government on earth for shutting down churches? Communist China. And while five of the top ten following are Islamic states, four are African Christian ones. Central African Republic, Mozambique, Burundi and Angola each saw at least 100 attacks on, or closures, of churches from late 2020 to late 2021.

Christian Churches: Attacked Here, Too

But you might be surprised to learn that the United States is not far behind on this despicable count. According to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), in the last two years our homeland has seen 70 attacks per year on Catholic churches. That’s weekly. (Here’s a report that includes a tracking map.) This doesn’t even include attacks on Protestant and Mormon ones. And this on top of at least 45 churches being torched in the formerly tolerant Canada. At least the pagans there are more ecumenical in their pyromaniacal proclivities. They burned Orthodox and Protestant, as well as Catholic, churches.

Even More Attacks as Roe Threatened

Matters worsened after the infamous “leak” of the draft Supreme Court memo purporting to revise Roe v. Wade. In the last six weeks pro-abortion fanatics have vandalized over two dozen pro-life pregnancy centers, even torching some of them. Despite these ongoing attacks on pro-life centers and supporting churches, the federal government could not see fit to look into the matter until June 17. But of course this should come as no surprise, as the Biden Administration allows protesters outside Supreme Court Justices’ homes — which even The Washington Post admits is illegal.

Pro-Abortion, Not Just Pro-Choice

The three most high-profile groups supporting violence against the pro-life side are “Jane’s Revenge,” “Rise up 4 Abortion Rights” and “Ruth Sent Us.” The media portrays the likes of these as nobly fighting for a constitutional right to an abortion. But they are far worse than that. They are indeed pro-abortion, not “pro-choice.” If they carry signs that say “abortion on demand and without apology,” they’re pro-abortion. If they stand for “having safe, plentiful, and reproduceable” abortions — they’re not merely pro-choice, they want to kill unborn babies. If they scream “I’m killing the babies,” while parading around holding a bunch of dolls in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, they’re not promoting individual liberties. They’re promoting murder of innocents. The Carthaginians, with their child sacrifice, would have been proud.

A good friend of mine, a clergyman in a liberal denomination, recently told me “I’ve never met anyone who is ‘pro-abortion.’” But that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. (“Shout your abortion,” anybody?) Just turn on the news any given night. You’ll see them, standing in front of Justice Kavanaugh’s and Barrett’s homes. You probably won’t see anything about the churches and pro-life centers they’ve destroyed, however. The media spikes those stories.

Political Reasons for This Hate

How did it come to this? On the surface, we got here by telling Americans for half a century, via an inane SCOTUS ruling, that killing unborn children is a constitutional right. Now generations have come to believe that. This of course was done at the same time that the zeitgeist turned narcissistic beyond belief, epitomized by Queen’s 1989 song. “I want it all, and I want it now” means abortion-on-demand, too.

In addition, of course, for 40 years public education at all levels has been force-feeding Americans as much Marxism as possible, successfully convincing many that this country is not just flawed but evil. And you don’t reform evil, you eradicate it. There’s no room here for the rule of law.

The Left, which now means the Democratic Party writ large, no longer wants to play by the rules set down in 1787. If they lose in the Electoral College, then that institution must be abolished. SCOTUS not ruling the way you want? Then add more Justices. (Or get rid of some.) Of course the media, with rare exceptions, no longer functions as the Fourth Estate, but as simply as the Democrats’ slave quarters. And both have enshrined abortion as their number one cause. Even to the extent of excusing violence to defend it.

But It’s Deeper Than Politics

But all of these factors, while powerful, are political. There’s something deeper at work, setting the will of a militant minority against the rest of us — against all that is good, decent and holy. By now many have heard the latest report that only 81% of Americans believe in God. But that same Gallup poll reveals even more disturbing data. “Belief in God has fallen most among liberals, youth and Democrats.” Thirty-five percent of liberals, and 26% of Democrats, are outright atheists. (The corresponding numbers for conservatives and Republicans are in the single digits.)

Dehumanizing the Pre-Born

It remains true — whether G.K. Chesterton actually wrote it or not — that “he who does not believe in God will believe in anything.” And “anything” in this case includes that almost half of Democrats think fetuses are not human beings. Thus, that they can be killed without regret. And now, it seems, that similar violence can be used against anyone, or any entity, who disagrees. Especially Catholics, whose firm support for the pre-born particularly enrages the pro-abortion crowd.

The Devil’s Work

Of course, if you go far enough away from God, you’ll wind up in the other camp. Willingly or unwillingly. The Catholic Church is up to its collective chasuble in possessed people. Our very own John Zmirak thinks, quite plausibly, that the Democratic Party is infested with them. This would certainly explain why so many Leftists reject the Biblical teachings on life in the womb provided by the prophet Jeremiah and the Evangelist Luke, as well as the Catholic and Orthodox Fathers.

When Roe is overturned, look for the modern Carthaginians to go violently ballistic, as their religion requires child sacrifice. And don’t expect much help from a befuddled President who can’t even remember that he was once pro-life. By then open war between God and Baal might well be upon us — and our government has already chosen sides.

Timothy Furnish holds a Ph.D. in Islamic, World and African history from Ohio State University and a M.A. in Theology from Concordia Seminary. He is a former U.S. Army Arabic linguist and, later, civilian consultant to U.S. Special Operations Command. He’s the author of books on the Middle East and Middle-earth, a history professor and sometime media opiner (as, for example, on Fox News Channel’s War Stories: Fighting ISIS).