Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: The USA (01/08/09)
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TITLE: Let's Pray Today in the USA | Previous Challenge Entry
By BeckyJoie Oakes
01/12/09 -
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Word Count 517
In the USA today, the practice of complaining about abuses of our free rights has
reached even the Faith community in subtle ways. We talk about persecution for our
faith when someone looks at us funny because we carry a Bible or say grace over our
food.
When a store only allows its Christian employees to greet consumers with a mere,
"Happy Holidays" in place of "Merry Christmas," some even take legal action and many
applaud.
While it is true that commercialism and proponents of the so-called "separation of
church and state" have obscured what used to be common practice among American
people of faith, many of the rights we still have are not taken advantage of although
readily available to every American.
The first often-neglected freedom is the right to believe in Christ. Recent studies
by the Barna Research Group say that Christianity is no longer the assumed religion in
the United States as it was in years past. In fact, only 50 % of the people polled even
admitted Christianity was one of the options for people to select when it came to
following a faith.
In our country, we still have the right to attend church services without the
interference or punishment of the government, and yet only 56% of those who called
themselves Christians in another Barna Study even attended conventional church
services. Many are opting to remain disconnected from other members of the faith due to
disillusionment or lack of resolve to attend services in an "organized" religion. The
figures show that 8% of Christianity counted themselves as Evangelical and 35% claimed
to be born-again but not evangelical.
Believers living in other more restricted or financially poorer countries are forced
to share copies of the Bible or hide them for fear of being imprisoned for their faith. In
contrast, Americans who call themselves Christians often possess several personal copies
of the Scripture.
The sad revelation of how neglected our freedoms have become here in America
is found in the 2006 research which showed the disturbing figure of less than 50% of
those who called themselves Bible-believers actually read the Word in a 7 day time
period.
Across the United States personal application of faith varied. The South tended to
hold more avid adherents to the afore-mentioned faith practices. The Midwest and
Northeast scored lower, with fewer faithful followers.
As a Christian writer and as an American with believing friends across our great
country, I hope to join four out of five believers in the most followed Christian practice
we have not yet taken for granted here -- prayer. I pray for my fellow Americans to once
again act on their rights to freedom of religion. I pray for Christian writers like this
community to stand up and show their true red, white and blue colors.
It is common knowledge that this country was founded on Christian principles
and that many of our military fought for our freedom to express the faith. Let us not take
lightly the rights and freedoms we still have here in America. Let's pray today in the
USA.
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