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IN APRIL, Jack Moody Jr. tried to mail a Bible study, a book on God's promises, and religious comic books to his son, Pfc. Daniel Moody, stationed in Iraq. The post office in Lenoir, North Carolina, refused to send them. Officials cited a postal regulation prohibiting the mailing of "any matter containing religious materials contrary to Islamic faith or depicting nude or seminude persons, pornographic or sexual items, or non-authorized political materials."

Frustrating. But by way of contrast—just two months earlier in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, a Muslim extremist fired 28 bullets into the body of an Iraqi Christian taxi driver, killing him. Zewar Mohammed Ismael, 38, had converted from Islam four years earlier and gave Bibles to his passengers. The killer claimed Muhammad, Islam's prophet, had told him in a dream to kill Ismael.

It's understandable that David Limbaugh's instant bestseller is full of incidents like the first example and not the second. But it's regrettable that the publisher has set such incidents in a melodramatic context by using the title Persecution: How Liberals are Waging War Against Christianity.

Limbaugh (brother of conservative broadcaster Rush Limbaugh) brings together scores of cases of discrimination against Christians in the USA. He spotlights examples in the public schools, in universities, on public property, in private and government workplaces, in municipal zoning, in the media, and in the pulpit.

The cases follow two key Supreme Court rulings. The court, in Everson v. Board of Education (1947), incorporated Thomas Jefferson's "wall of separation" language into constitutional law to strictly limit government funding of religion. Its 1962 Engel v. Vitale decision outlawed state-sponsored prayer in schools.

But Limbaugh overlooks the positive. The Supreme Court has affirmed equal access to public facilities for religious groups. President Bush is seeking to level the playing field for faith-based groups providing social services.

Although the book is too gloomy, Christians should be pleased with Limbaugh's high-profile recitation of a creeping anti-Christian bias in American society. Another example (not in the book) involves the decision of General Motors a year ago to prohibit the GM Christian Employee Network from meeting on company property—even though GM allows affinity groups for Asians, African-Americans, women, the disabled, and homosexuals.

These double standards are maddening examples of what CT columnist Stephen Carter has rightly called a "culture of disbelief." But in no way do they rise to the level of persecution.

The early church experienced persecution as a part of the Christian life for 250 years, until Constantine signed the Edict of Milan in 313. Losing a job for sharing the gospel and being unable to speak of one's faith at a high school graduation ceremony may be unjust. But these are not in the same league as being thrown to lions or being burned at the stake.

Nor are they vaguely similar to contemporary persecution. In October, for example, masked Islamic extremists in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, shot or hacked to death at least 10 Christians. We face no similar suffering in the United States. Implying that we do, as Persecution does, cheapens the sacrifices of Christians outside the West. As Richard John Neuhaus wrote in The Naked Public Square, "In societies such as ours, which place no formal liabilities upon being Christian, the contriving of persecution can only trivialize the very real persecution of Christians elsewhere."

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December 2003, Vol. 47, No. 12