But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus." And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things. So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. Acts 17:5-9
Last time we were reminded that Jesus told the disciples that as the world hated Him, the world will also hate His people. Why such hatred of believers? Jesus’ words make it clear that the world’s hatred of believers is actually hatred of Christ Himself.
The world’s hatred comes from two fronts: religious and secular. We wrote last time about religious persecution, as that was what was happening in the passage. This time, two thoughts about secular persecution of Christians.
First, secular persecution often comes from governments. Why? Because human governments nearly always ending up thinking that they are gods. They resolutely insist that they are not religious, as is the case with Communist countries like North Korea. But upon closer examination, they clearly act as if they are gods, insisting on their right to control people’s lives, and demanding allegiance from their citizens. Christianity, based on the lordship of Jesus Christ, poses a threat, not to good government, but to governments that think they are gods.
Second, secular persecution also comes from non-governmental ideologies (worldviews) that hate Christ in favor of whatever their pet project is (including everything from manic environmentalism, to every form of moral debauchery, to the “right” to murder children in the womb). The people driving these ideologies do so with “religious” fervor—even though they insist they are not religious. Christians are often the enemy of these movements because these movements oppose Christ, the gospel, and the teaching of the Bible.
So what is behind secular persecution of Christians? Secular religion.