“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.”

By Tom Quiner

Are you willing to be a martyr for your faith?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was such a man.

The great Lutheran theologian opposed Nazi euthanasia efforts and the genocidal extermination of the Jews. He publicly opposed the evil imposed on Germany by Adolph Hitler. He was eventually arrested and executed, just 23 days before Germany was liberated by the Allies.

People of faith need to confront the reality that they are being called to confront evil. As Mr. Bonhoeffer states, if you don’t speak up, you are speaking volumes. You are giving your tacit approval to evil by not confronting evil.

American-style martyrdom will take a different form than the violent Christian martyrdom we’ve seen throughout history, including in the Middle East to this very day. The most likely attack on the faithful will come in the form of economic martyrdom.

If you’re a wedding photographer, for example, and respectfully decline to photograph a gay wedding, you may be sued, and you will probably lose.

If you are a Catholic school or charity or business owner and refuse to comply with the HHS Mandate which violates your religious conscience, you will be susceptible to daily fines until you comply … or close your doors.

If you are a kindergarten teacher and refuse to use “Johnny has two daddies” as your textbook, you may lose your job.

If you are a Catholic diocese and stand up for Catholic principles in the public square, you may be sued for “talking politics” in an attempt to strip you of your tax-exempt status, a financial kiss-of-death for some parishes.

If you are a Catholic adoption agency and refuse to adopt to same-sex couples out of religious conviction, you may be forced out of the business.

If you are the owner of a business and you say you support traditional marriage, you may be denied an opportunity to open up businesses in certain cities. You may even be the victim of a nationwide boycott.

If you say support the sanctity of life, you may be smeared as a misogynist and have your reputation besmirched.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer did not have to confront evil. God convicted him to take on the battle. Mr. Bonhoeffer knew he put his very life on the line if he took up the battle.

He did. And he died.

But because of courageous people like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the scourge of Nazism was beaten back.

Today, Americans of faith have to beat back the scourge of human abortion, which kills far more than the Nazis ever did.

Today, Americans of faith have to beat back the attack on the family unit as so-called gay marriage proliferates.

Our physical lives aren’t at stake as much as our economic lifeblood.

Should we take the risk knowing the potential cost?

What would Dietrich Bonhoeffer say?