And with these fights for rights comes a special sensitivity to any criticism they may receive from those who oppose what they stand for.

Some say you are being cruel and insensitive if you do not agree with their lifestyle. They also say that it is their choice as an American to be who they are and to do what they want with their own body. And you canít tell them otherwise or youíre a closed-minded-radical-right-wing-nut (Iíve heard that phrase or some variation of it just a few times in my life)!

Or, they label you a homophobe or bigot if you think their agenda is immoral. Worse yet, youíre a racist for telling a black or a Hispanic that he needs to work for what he gets rather than relying on the government to bail him out through subsidies or programs that give special privileges on the basis of race (can you say affirmative action?).

They decry every utterance of disagreement with their lifestyle as bashing their freedoms and attacking them personally. And, for the most part, they get a lot of sympathy from a large number of people through their well-organized propaganda machines that detail their respective agendas in soundbytes that are freely distributed through the mainstream media.

Yet, there is one group in the United States that it is perfectly permissible to make fun of and dismiss as lunatics. I would even go as far as saying that this group has had its constitutional rights and freedoms taken away from it because it has refused to speak up when they were challenged.

I am referring to the favorite target of the left: born-again Christians.

Oh, yeah, them. They are the radical right-wing, religious wackos who are seeking to force their message on people whether they like it or not because thatís what Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson told them to do. They go out, like mind-numbed robots, and push their beliefs about abortion and homosexuality to the masses and have taken over completely at the Republican National Committee.

Thatís the stereotype, isnít it? There have been posts from several of our beloved liberal friends here at CommonVoice that prove this to be a deeply held notion about what a born-again Christian is supposed to look like. As much as some people would like to believe these traits are accurate, they simply are not.

Regardless, born-again Christians are still castigated, lied about and made fun of without any fear of repercussion because it is socially acceptable to bash them in America today.

There are a couple of good reasons why I believe this exists.

First, the Bible reveals that the truth of the Gospel is offensive to the nonbeliever. Sure, there are polls out there that may claim that 90% of the Americans say they are Christians. But those people who actually have given their lives to Jesus Christ and are truly committed to living for him daily are a very, very small percentage of the population. Even many people who warm a pew in church on Sunday mornings have not totally given control of their lives over to God. Sadly, many nonbelievers see this and use it as an excuse for not accepting the free gift of salvation that Jesus provided at the cross.

Second, born-again Christians are probably the most ineffective group in America at getting their message out to the masses. If you look at how effective the pro-gay or pro-abortion movements have been at getting their message out to the general public, then you see just how wide the gap is between them and born-again Christians. For example, most people now believe, as a result of the propaganda, that over 10% of the United States is comprised of gay people. But, actually the number is only around 1%. The media savvy of these groups is far superior to the influence of born-again believers.

I will admit that the Christian community has done an extraordinarily poor job of spreading the message of hope and love through Godís Son, Jesus Christ, to the general public. The various denominations and factions that we have broken up into have all but silenced the message of Christianity in the public arena. As a result, because the hearts of nonbelievers and backslidden Christians become hardened as a result of sin and because Christians are unable to clearly articulate their message to the masses, they become a very easy target for the enemy.

But, Christians should not be discouraged by this. When people decide to ridicule our message, they are not rejecting us, they are instead rejecting God. I donít take it personally if someone decides they donít like the ideas that come from the Bible that I decide to write about. Christians are simply instruments of God to bring His Word to a lost and dying world.

Although many people in the world enjoy bashing born-again Christians, I cannot help but pity them. What they do not realize is that those who possess the Truth about what life is really about are unbound by earthly scorn and temporal circumstances. Instead, we know that we are simply passing through in this world and will someday be in Heaven for all eternity.

Those in the world who have been blinded by their sin and have rejected the Truth of the Bible have bought into the lie of Satan hook, line and sinker. This grieves the heart of God because He desires to have every member of his creation to spend eternity with Him.

Many people donít realize this, but Hell was only created to hold Satan and his fallen angels. It was never intended to become a place for man to spend for all eternity. Nevertheless, those who reject Jesus Christ will suffer eternal separation from the God of the universe who created them in their motherís womb. Christians should be praying for those who mock Christians and Christianity to understand that Christ died for the sins of every man so that they might have everlasting life in Heaven instead of eternal damnation for denying Christ.

Some Christians get upset by the way Christians are portrayed in modern society in movies, television shows and the media. But we know that Jesus has overcome this world. Christians have a higher calling in life, which includes being ridiculed for His nameís sake.

Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross for sharing the love of God. One of Jesusí disciples, Stephen, was stoned to death for telling people that Jesus was the way, the truth and the life. They and many others throughout history were oppressed for sharing the message of hope, love and salvation that Christianity offers people.

I encourage every person who calls himself a Christian to pray for those who bash Christians because they donít know what they are doing. I also encourage you to be even more diligent about getting the message of life in Christ out to this sin-loving, dying world. The more they want to bash us, the better job we must be doing. Remember, if we werenít being effective, then they would not be as vigilant in their opposition.