The enemies of truth are all around us. Well funded and commanding the heights of law and culture, they have the whip hand and are lustily using it. Their targets: any Christian who may even question the New Orthodoxy.
The new book by Tony Perkins tells the story of several young and largely powerless people who stood up to the priests of the New Orthodoxy and lived to tell the tale. Some won. Some lost. But even those who lost their particular fight would insist they really won simply by standing up.
In “No Fear: Real Stories of a Courageous New Generation Standing for Truth,” Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, expresses clear hope that other powerless people will stand up to the media, rapacious judges, the Big Gay Hate Machine, organized atheists and — to quote the Catholic prayer to St. Michael the Archangel — “all the other evil spirits prowling about the world seeking the ruin of souls.”
Breitbart News has followed most of the stories in the book.
There is Lila Rose and her undercover stings inside abortion clinics where she gets Planned Parenthood personnel to say the darndest things. Such as how to get around statutory rape charges, how to run underage trafficked girls in a prostitution ring, how they could happily earmark a donation for the elimination specifically of black babies, and much else. For her troubles, Rose has appeared on the O’Reilly Factor many times over and been sued by Planned Parenthood. Rose still stands.
Ryan Bomberger, who describes himself as “black and white,” a child born of rape. He runs the Radiance Foundation that makes highly sophisticated online messages in support of life. He called the NAACP pro-abortion and they took legal umbrage. A crippling suit was brought against Bomberger but he was unrepentant and he won.
There are the Benham Brothers, owners of a highly successful real-estate business and about to become media stars with a new reality show called “Flip it Forward.” First attacked for their outspoken pro-life views, and then targeted by the anti-Christian gay group called GLAAD for their support for natural marriage. They refused to back down, lost their show while it was in production, but they are still standing.
Perkins tells the story of several kids targeted by something called the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a group of atheists who target small and underfunded school districts and threaten them with lawsuits for allowing students to pray. Even the threat of a lawsuit is enough to make most school districts cave. But these students refused and in some cases said prayers they were ordered not to say. One group of cheerleaders refused to take down banners with Bible verses at football games.
Some stories you might not know.
Sarah Crank was just thirteen when she testified before the Maryland State Senate about the impending redefinition of marriage. Her testimony should have been unremarkable except that someone from the Big Gay Hate Machine video-taped it, put it up on YouTube and this young Christian starting getting death threats from the crowd that likes to think of itself as tolerant. One said, “If I ever meet this girl, I will kill her. That’s a promise.” Her response, “If people think being mean to me is going to stop me, they’re wrong.”
What all the protagonists in these modern day dramas have in common is their deep Christian faith and the understanding they glean from Scripture that other powerless “nobodies” were called to moments of bravery that utterly changed human history.
Perkins does not tell his own story.
A follower of the anti-Christian Southern Poverty Law Center stalked Perkins and his team. This man entered the Family Research Council office building with a loaded gun and proceeded to shoot a security guard who nonetheless subdued him. His intention was to kill as many FRC staffers as he could and then stuff their lifeless mouths with Chick-Fil-A sandwiches. Except for a now-perpetually locked front door, Tony Perkins and his team, which includes my wife, have not backed down an inch.
Perkins and all others who work on these issues from a Christian point of view know the worst is not behind them. With the passage of the Obergefell decision, the persecution of Christians has only intensified. Perkins tells the story of these brave young people in hopes others will be inspired to follow their example; dry or wet martyrdom come what may.
One also hopes those of the New Orthodoxy read this book and understand what they are up against, the utterly powerless yet utterly fearless.
Follow Austin Ruse on Twitter @austinruse
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