It depends on how narrow one defines “persecution.” From a patristic pov, the spiritual warfare that all Christians must wage is being fought, if at all, by today’s modern Christians with a) less awareness b) less ecclesial tools c) a lack of training and spiritual guidance.

Thus, the problem isn’t that we aren’t being persecuted–it is that we don’t even realize that we are in a war, and thus are losing our souls to the demonic forces who wish to have us, as Lewis said, “take the slow and gradual road” down.

I don’t really think that you can live a holy life without people knowing it. Living a truly holy life speaks loud and clear with out words. People will know that you are different from them. And they will judge you for it. If people cannot notice that you are different just in everyday action, then you are not living a truly holy life.

I think the more you live out in your own life what you believe the more likely you are to be persecuted. At that level however, the persecution may be as simple as avoidance, annoyance, marginalization, or exclusion.

The persecution really comes when you call others to the same life that you are demonstrating, just as Paul and the other apostles did. That’s when you get called names–Bible thumper, right-winger, radical, bigot, etc. That’s when people actively oppose you both in word and deed.

(That persecution can come from within the visible body of Christ, in my opinion.)

I actually think Christians and Christian culture are hated in America today. The manifestation of this hate is just different now. Would anyone doubt that American culture now is at odds with the Christian worldview? We are not being physically attacked or arrested or thrown to the lions, but Christians in America are frequently despised.

And to buttress my “different culture” point, there are plenty of places around the world right now where Christians are being arrested, attacked, and killed for their faith. It doesn’t happen here because we are, for the most part and in a legal sense, a “civil” society.

I have felt “hated” for my faith numerous times, but I thank God I live in a time and place where the manifestation of that hatred is considerably more bearable than that of Jesus’ first-century audience. I think every Christian whose faith is evident has experienced some sort of persecution, even if incredibly minor compared to biblical persecution.
I think that, in our culture at least, your #3 option is mostly correct.

Nevertheless, I think to expect a palpable hatred from others to be the authentication of your personal holiness is to do an inappropriate backwards reading of the text. There are much better, more clear measuring sticks for our faith — the fruits of the Spirit, the Sermon on the Mount, etc.

I don?t really think that you can live a holy life without people knowing it.

I agree with Luke, that the description of “holiness” Kyle used is not biblical holiness. Ephesians 5:11-13 says we have a responsibility to “reprove” deeds of darkness.

The world is generally OK with us being moral, as long as we don’t actually expect morality from them. If we hide our light under a bushel, then there’s no real problem is there? And whether that reproof in Eph 5:11-13 is verbal or in our deeds (as Josiah pointed out), one would expect it to be opposed.

Karl, Jared, and Theophilus make the point that persecution will not look the same in all cultures, and I partially agree. We are not being slaughtered or imprisoned, like some Christians are.

It is completely possible in my mind for persecution to take a form other than physical violence. What I _meant_ to say (and apparently didn’t!) is that I don’t think the level of opposition we get in these ways, rises anywhere near the level where it could realistically be called “persecution”. At least, not for most of us.

And why should we be persecuted? We don’t pose a clear threat to much of anybody.

Jared, obviously nobody should use a perceived level of persecution as an authentication of holiness. But when Jesus says “You’ll be persecuted” and we aren’t, I believe it should cause some concern.

Theophilus makes the point we?re called to simultaneously attract unbelievers with our lifestyle, worldview and commitment to Christ, even as those qualities are the very things that Christ says will repel unbelievers.

This is a good observation. 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 says that Christians are the stench of death to the unregenerate non-elect, and the aroma of life to the elect. We smell the same, but it’s the nature of the “smeller” that determines his response to it – does it attract or repel him.

I’m afraid that we are not repelling anyone because we do not stink to them – because we don’t smell very much at all.

Well, that takes for granted that we aren’t. Comparitively speaking, considering the sort of opposition Jesus’ initial audience faced, I suppose we aren’t. But because we don’t, I don’t think it necessarily follows that the problem lay with us. Oh, we have our problems to be sure, and being merely moral and not explicitly Christian is certainly one of them, but maybe the lack of real, tangible persecution is not a fault of ours, but a credit to Western civilization.

Still, the balance may be shifting. Presently in Canada there is valid concern that merely reading certain portions of Scripture in public can constitute hate speech, a crime with very real legal ramifications. And in other nations, Christians are routinely “really” persecuted for their faith.

American Christianity has plenty of faults, but I’m not sure that “not being old-school persecuted” is really one of them. Anyways, I guess I object to your primary assertion — that we aren’t being persecuted. It depends on your definition of persecution, I guess.

Good stuff here from all, btw.