This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The chief of the worldwide ministry Samaritan's Purse, which responds with food, shelter, and other supplies when disaster strikes around the world, is charging that the American media is driving "disdain" for Christians.
It's not the only anti-faith ideology being promoted, warned Franklin Graham in a social media post.
"We’ve seen a rise in antisemitism around the world. This is very concerning—many Jewish people feel unsafe, even in this country where we thought antisemitism would never thrive," he said.
That largely has exploded since last October, when Muslim terrorists in Hamas, based in Gaza, invaded Israel and butchered some 1,200 civilians, often in horrific fashion.
The result has been a surge in antisemitism from those who blame the troubles of Palestinian people on the neighboring nation that continues to supply medicine, food, and more to that population in Gaza.
But Graham warned of more:
"But we have also seen a rise in hatred or 'disdain,' as Fox News puts it, against Christians. This is fueled largely by agenda-driven media. They try to demonize Christians who are conservatives and people who support conservative candidates like Donald J. Trump, as if MAGA and Christian nationalism are bad words. They are fostering hate."
He offered a quote from the Bible, John 15:18: "Jesus said, 'If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.'"
Explained Graham, "No question, there’s an anti-Christ spirit in the world today."
His comments followed a report from Fox News that documented research from the Family Research Council showing 436 "hostile incidents" against churches in America in 2023.
"This is more than double the number tracked in 2022 and more than eight times as many as the group found in 2018," Fox reported. "The group said it used publicly available data to track 915 acts of hostility against churches over the past six years. Most of the incidents were acts of vandalism. The report also found gun-related incidents, arson, and bomb threats used against churches."
The FRC document said, "From January 2018 to November 2023, there were at least 709 occurrences of vandalism, 135 arson attacks or attempts, 22 gun-related incidents, 32 bomb threats, and 61 other incidents (assault, threats, interruption of worship services, etc.). In 39 cases, multiple types of hostility occurred (e.g., vandalism and arson)."
Just weeks ago, two people were injured during a shooting at the Houston megachurch, Lakewood Church, in which the shooter also was shot and killed by security guards.
Reported Fox, "FRC President Tony Perkins said the hostility toward Christians displayed by the Biden administration is mirrored by the growing persecution against Christians worldwide."
Perkins said, "There is a common connection between the growing religious persecution abroad and the rapidly increasing hostility toward churches here at home: our government's policies. The indifference abroad to the fundamental freedom of religion is rivaled only by the increasing antagonism toward the moral absolutes taught by Bible-believing churches here in the U.S., which is fomenting this environment of hostility toward churches."
