-Caveat Lector- From http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_btl/19991229_xcbtl_clinton_an.shtml I don't know about you, but I am still reeling over the under-reported, under-scrutinized, under-analyzed comments by White House press secretary Joe Lockhart about Southern Baptists. <http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_btl/19991228_xcbtl_the_bigots.shtml> For those of you who missed it, here's what he said: "I think the president has made very clear ... his views on religious tolerance, and how one of the greatest challenges going into the next century is dealing with intolerance, dealing with ethnic and religious hatred, and coming to grips with the long-held resentments between religions. So I think he's been very clear in his opposition to whatever organization, including the Southern Baptist, that perpetuate ancient religious hatred." Lockhart, the official White House spokesman, stated, without equivocation, without hesitation and, most importantly, without rebuke from his boss, that the evangelical Christian notion of carrying out the Great Commission and spreading Christianity to people of other faiths equates with perpetuating "ancient religious hatred." In effect, the Clinton administration is now on record as believing that the practice of biblical Christianity is tantamount to a "hate crime." It might surprise some people to learn that this is not a new idea. Americans are not noted for their historical memory. But Christians were among the Roman Empire's most persecuted victims. It's interesting to know why -- what the motivation was for that persecution. The first-century Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus provides some insight in his classic work, "Annals." Here's a translated excerpt from "Annals" 15:44, describing Emperor Nero's reaction to the burning of Rome: But all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and the propitiations of the gods, did not banish the sinister belief that the conflagration was the result of an order. Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired. Notice that Christians were charged with "hatred of mankind." Isn't that interesting? They were executed for a "hate crime." This is where it all began. And look who's talking about picking up the torch of persecution today -- the Clinton administration. You may not think that's significant. You may not think it's important that the city of Chicago is asking the Southern Baptists not to hold their convention there because of the perception that the denomination is a group of haters. You may not think it is relevant that Christians are the target of bias and bigotry in our culture today on a scale unprecedented since the fall of Rome. I do. I also think it is worth noting that we are past the point at which government simply turned a blind eye to this kind of prejudice. Now government -- at the highest levels -- is an active participant in fanning the flames of hatred against Christians. Bill Clinton, the man who conveniently embraced the Southern Baptist tradition when it came time for political redemption in Arkansas, is leading us back to the horrors of Rome. You might say he's a modern-day Nero. This is the real "hate crime" -- if there is such a thing. If this isn't enough to wake Christians in America from their complacency and misguided trust in government, I give up. It's time, brothers and sisters, to put your faith in God, not in Caesar, not in Nero and certainly not in Clinton. 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