“We are standing at the door of a new millennium!”

I think it’s safe to say that no phrase has been uttered more times in the past millennium than this has been — in some form. Politicians have used it as a way to look back on the past and see the progress we have made, as a society and as a nation.

They will continue on to tell you about the progress made in the field of technology and how America now leads the world in this area. They will talk about the advances in the armed forces and how America has the most powerful and sophisticated military in the world. And they will talk about liberty and the foundation of freedom and of course say that America is still the Land of the Free.

I don’t mean to bag on politicians, although that would probably make me pretty popular. They are just expressing the feelings of the general public. We are proud to be Americans, and most will tell you that this country has been the Land of the Free now for almost four hundred years.

Nearly four hundred years ago, the Pilgrims and the Puritans were among the first groups of immigrants to come to this “New World” and establish settlements. In their homeland of England, there was one standard church and one standard way of worshiping God. Any forms of worship other than this “standard” were illegal and punishable by law.

The pilgrims and the puritans were two groups who didn’t agree with this “standard.” They came to America for religious freedom. They wanted the freedom to worship God without being afraid of the consequences. Thus America was established on religious freedom.

Last Wednesday, a man by the name of Larry Gene Ashbrook walked into Wedgwood Baptist Church of Fort Worth, Texas and opened fire on a sanctuary full of people worshiping God. Seven were killed and seven others wounded before he turned the gun on himself.

We sure have come a long way in four hundred years.

Now obviously there is a difference between the pilgrims and the puritans who were fearing punishment from their government and the worshippers in Fort Worth who were shot by a madman acting on his own. But though he was acting on his own, incidents like these can no longer be deemed “isolated.”

The recent trend of Christian persecution in our society ought to start turning heads fast. It’s no longer something that happens in a Bible story or in a foreign country. It’s happening right here in the Land of the Free.

Granted, the persecution of the pilgrims and the puritans and the persecution that has gone on in foreign countries for years is different from the persecution Christians face in America, but aren’t the results the same? Worshiping God has consequences. If you disagree, ask yourself how a girl can be shot in the head merely for saying “Yes, I believe in God.”

I know many of you are thinking that it couldn’t happen in your town. I wonder if people in Fort Worth or Littleton, Colo. felt the same way.

This is normally the part of the column where a solution is offered. Unfortunately, this columnist has none. I don’t know if there is a solution. Many will point to gun control and other such measures, but this is just throwing a blanket over an already raging fire. Madmen like Ashbrook will find a way to promote their agenda whether they have guns or not.

We won’t find the solution in our schools. God was taken out of the public school system long ago, and prayer only exists before exams.

And we can’t look to the leaders of this nation. As politicians continue to brag about the progress this country has made, I question where we are progressing. America was founded on religious freedom, but does anyone remember this fact? Does anyone remember that America is one nation, under God? Unfortunately, one has to search really hard now-a-days to find God anywhere in the government.

There is no real solution, except to say that Christians should not back down. If Christians stop gathering to pray and praise God, then the agenda of these madmen will be realized. Even if you are not a Christian, this should anger and frighten you.

Christians need to continue meeting together and being outspoken.

They should not be afraid to let others know where they stand regardless of the consequences. The differences this can make are extraordinary.

In April, the town of Littleton, Colorado was ravaged when two boys walked into Columbine High School shooting at athletes and Christians. In the months following, that town has had a spiritual revival. People have turned to God to help them through, and He has become a real part of that community.

All because one Christian girl refused to back down. She had the faith and courage to say what she believed.

She had the faith and courage to say, “Yes, I believe in God!”

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Jackson Lashier is a junior in English from Marshalltown.