Faith misplaced
Tom Gilson Pressure can take you out — but it doesn’t have to. There’s a lesson for Christians on that in recent events. The U.S. Navy submersible vehicle Alvin has made more than 5,000 deep water dives as far down as 18,500 feet, and has always returned intact. The Titan sub was less than 70% that deep when it failed. It’s possible to dive that deep, but it’s possible to fail, too. The difference is in the quality of the vessel. The Titan’s pilot and passengers thought they were safe, and indeed, in shallower waters they would have been. Under enormous deep water pressures, however — well over 2 tons per square inch — that trust tragically imploded. I trust that learning from them does them honor in their tragedy, because pressure on Christianity in the West is becoming enormous, too. Will we hold firm? Persecution is nothing new to Christians. Even today, hundreds of millions of believers face pressures we Westerners could hardly imagine. The difference here in the West is in the rat