There is a Christian Crusade going on in this country. In a
land where we preach freedom of speech and religion, the push is on to force
people into Christianity.

In Chicago, the residents of a public housing project for
seniors filed a lawsuit in federal court stating they were coerced and
intimidated by management into practicing Christianity and attending Bible
studies. The
Chicago Sun Times article reporting this story talks about how residents had
to hide in bathrooms to get away from these people.

This is not the only sign of the crusade being fought on
our home front. Last week it was

reported about a pilgrimage to South Carolina, where Christian families are
moving to the southern state in an attempt to turn it towards conservative
Christianity.

In the South Carolina of their dreams, abortion would be
illegal. The Ten Commandments would be proudly displayed. Public schools would
be a thing of the past. Taxes would be severely limited, and property rights
would be paramount.

And if the federal government tried to interfere, well,
they’d secede.

This is starting to take place all over the country, and is
a sign of truly frightening times to come.

We are starting to see a diminishing separation of church
and state as powerful religious basis such as the Catholic Church begin to take
a strong hold in government. The very rights that liberal groups such as the
ACLU have fought tirelessly to defend are now being used in order to convert a
diverse nation to a Christian nation.

Perhaps the lack of punishment on the courts part with the
Catholic child abuse scandal is to blame in this. The Christian extremists now
feel they have the power to force their beliefs on other citizens of this nation
without rebuttal. The fact is, if this continues our nation will no longer be
the land of the free. Instead we will become a nation similar to the ones we
fight in the Middle East.

We have heard stories of preachers telling their
congregations that if they supported John Kerry in 2004, then they had to leave
the church. An action like this violates the tax code and removes them from
their tax exempt standing, yet the government is not going after them. They
allow them to handle the legal problems internally without any outside influence
of the true defenders of our law. This in itself is a crime.

Perhaps the attacks of September 11 served another purpose
to George Bush. It was the very thing he needed to fuel the Christian crusade in
our country. More people found themselves turning to God after September 11, and
that is something Bush is proud of.

The fact still remains that Christianity is losing its
stronghold in the world as the dominant religion. Experts predict that by the
middle of this century, Christianity will fall second to Islam.  Christianity
has been on a constant downward slide as Islam continues to grow.

If we want to be liberators of the world and spread
democracy, then we must set the example for it and stop these illegal religious
pressurings. We must continue to allow every citizen of this nation to choose
the faith he wishes to lead his life by. Our government must start prosecuting
the churches who break the law. No one in this country is above the law and that
means the men of God as well.

I sit here hiding behind my computer screen writing these
entries and I wonder if in the near future I will have to take to the streets
and fight. Fight for what is good and right. Fight for the country our
forefathers built, not the country the Christian extremists are trying to steal
away. I don’t feel I am a leader, but I will make a good follower. We need to
find a leader to help restore liberty to our nation.