So let me offer you the latest examples of anti-Christian bigotry and the war against the family, masquerading as special rights for homosexuals. The first comes from the UK, where the militants have long ago co-opted the government to do their bidding. The headline says this: "Gay marriage: no opt-out for Christian registrars".

The story begins, "Christian registrars will not be able to opt out of performing gay marriages if they object on grounds of belief, the Government's human rights watchdog has said. In guidance to MPs, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said marriage registrars were public officials and so should expect to be 'required' to carry out the ceremonies."

Don't you just love all that tolerance and acceptance of others? Example two is of more political correctness, spineless wonders, and homosexual agitprop: "After overwrought pressure from the usual gay 'anti-defamation' lobbyists, the Associated Press has caved in and made another new statement approving the use of 'his husband' and 'her wife' in news stories, as if they've taken a stand for neutrality, instead of rewriting the gender dictionary. 'Victory.' was the headline on several gay websites as AP issued a new entry in its AP Stylebook Online, and is scheduled to appear in the 2013 print and mobile additions."

Yep, verbal engineering is always a great way to soften folks up for social engineering. Just change the language and you can easily change the culture. The militants have become experts at this and far too many of our leaders have simply caved in to all this.

Example three comes from Canada which has been leading the way in all this madness. The shocking headline is this: "Canadian Supreme Court Rules Biblical Speech Opposing Homosexual Behavior is a 'Hate Crime'." Yep, you heard me right. The Bible is a book full of 'hate speech'.

The article explains: "The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Biblical speech opposing homosexual behavior, including in written form, is essentially a hate crime. On Wednesday, the court upheld the conviction of activist William Whatcott, who found himself in hot water after distributing flyers regarding the Bible's prohibitions against homosexuality throughout the Saskatoon and Regina neighborhoods in 2001 and 2002.

"'The Bible is clear that homosexuality is an abomination,' one flyer stated, citing 1 Corinthians 6:9. 'The behavior in Canada's gay parades is no different than what happened thousands of years ago, whether it is ancient Rome or Sodom and Gomorrah. Scripture records that Sodom and Gomorrah was given over completely to homosexual perversion and as a result destroyed by God's wrath,' it continued. 'Rome also crumbled and many scholars attribute its moral decadence and lack of discipline as playing a role in her demise'."

The price for defying the gaystapo is heavy indeed: "Whatcott has now been ordered to pay $7,500 to two homosexuals who took offense at his flyers, as well as to pay the legal fees of the Human Rights Commission - which could cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars. 'The ruling and the reasoning [of the court] is terrible,' he told reporters. 'They actually used the concept that truth is not a defense. It's worse than I expected,' Whatcott added. 'What it means is that my life is over as I know it'."

Just what the militants want: to shut down and destroy every single person who dares to take a different view of things. This is called fascism, and just because it is pink fascism does not make it any less horrific and devastating. And it can only get worse.

Just how long will it be before the Canadian elites and authorities decide that the Bible is to be verboten altogether, taken away from its citizens, and burned in the streets? Here we have history repeating itself in all its ugly dimensions, and hardly anyone is making a stink about this. Most Germans of course did not make much of a stink back in the 1930s either.

The final example involves a famous American sports figure and evangelical Christian. It seems he too has succumbed to political correctness and a craven fear of offending the militant thought police. Tim Tebow was invited to speak at a church, but when the activists made a stink about it, he chickened out big time.

Notch that up as another win for the activists, and another loss for freedom of speech and religious freedom. Al Mohler has just written on this. First, he provides some background here: "For Tim Tebow, speaking at the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, had to look like a great opportunity. He grew up attending a large Southern Baptist church, and an invitation to speak at one of the most venerable and historic Baptist churches in the world had to look like an easy call. He was going.

"All that changed yesterday when Tebow, the National Football League's most prominent evangelical symbol, sent word through Twitter that he was withdrawing from the event. His sudden announcement came after a whirlwind of controversy over his scheduled appearance at the Dallas church. Its senior minister, Robert Jeffress, is no stranger to public controversy. His sound bites are often incendiary, but his convictions-including the exclusivity of the gospel and the belief that homosexual behaviors are sinful-are clearly within the mainstream of American evangelicalism."

Mohler alerts us to the implications of all this: "Evangelical Christians are now called upon to think strategically about what it means to speak truthfully and lovingly to a society that increasingly sees us as the moral outlaws. Clearly, we must watch our speech carefully, measuring every word for truth and tone and avoiding incendiary sound bites. We must also guard our hearts toward the persistent temptation towards self-righteousness.

"But, at the same time, even the most humble statement of biblical truth can now be turned into a sound bite described as hate speech and a refusal to affirm the normalization of homosexuality is turned into repulsive intolerance. We now face no shortage of arguments for capitulation, but abandoning the truth of God's Word is not an option. We deny the gospel if we deny the sinfulness of sin. That sin. Every sin. Our sin.

"Further, evangelicals should not miss this opportunity to rethink our focus on evangelical celebrities in popular culture, including sports heroes. For now, the controversy is over Tebow's withdrawal from an invitation extended by an historic church. The pastor's statements have been the center of the controversy. Inevitably, the controversy will shift to Tebow's own statement, which he will eventually have to make. There will be no escape.

"Before long, the ball will be thrown back to Tebow. I hope and pray he does not fumble it. I pray the same for myself and for every Christian in the midst of this tumultuous cultural landscape. Sooner than later, the ball will be thrown to each of us."

Yes, the temptation to fumble the ball, to bow to political correctness, and to fear the militants more than we fear our Lord, are very great indeed, and plenty of believers have already succumbed to them. I hope that you and I will not however.

Truth is too important, and the biblical worldview too valuable to chuck it all in, in order to placate the activists and avoid "offending" anyone. As Adrian Rogers said, "It is better to be divided by Truth, than to be united in error. It is better to speak the Truth that hurts and then heals, than to speak a lie that will comfort and then kill. It is better to be hated for telling the Truth, than to be loved for telling a lie. It is better to stand alone with the Truth, than to be wrong with a multitude. Better to ultimately die with the Truth, than to live with a lie."

With truth and morality in freefall, we need to take a stand. Ravi Zacharias warns us about what is at stake here: "These days it's not just that the line between right and wrong has been made unclear, today Christians are being asked by our culture today to erase the lines and move the fences, and if that were not bad enough, we are being asked to join in the celebration cry by those who have thrown off the restraints religion had imposed upon them. It is not just that they ask we accept, but they now demand of us to celebrate it too."

Please, no more fumbles.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9870468/Gay-marriage-no-opt-out-for-Christian-registrars.html

newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham/2013/02/21/ap-caves-gay-pc-his-husband-and-her-wife-are-now-accepted-stylebook-term

christiannews.net/2013/02/28/canadian-supreme-court-rules-biblical-speech-opposing-homosexual-behavior-is-a-hate-crime/#sthash.fKhOoEFw.dpuf

www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/february-web-only/tebows-big-fumble.html?paging=off