Here in the west, i don't have to worry about guys in trenchcoats grabbing my purse

and hauling me off to prison, for no other reason but some Scriptures scrawled on a small tablet and a few Christian websites on my phone.  From what i understand, if i lived in china or in one of several muslim nations, that would be enough to get me fired from my job, if not put in jail.

Here in the west, persecution of christians doesn't happen.  Ugh, i'm not so sure of that.  From reading various other websites, i cannot help but to strongly suspect that the devil's agenda for going after the for-real saints is not the same method in all countries.  Here in the west, the devil cannot use the government.

Oh, but the devil is sure trying, and making some headway ... millions of people are afraid of what a few weirdos think - who somehow have the time to garner media attention...while the rest of us are out WORKING to support our (for-real)  FAMILIES.  Uh, newsflash: there's a big difference between "spouse" (of the opposite gender) and somebody's "flavor-of-the-month."  The former is "family," the latter is not.

Another twisted avenue that old snake is taking is one that most people are unawares - and, evidently, prefer to remain unawares.  Spousal abuse.  Not really new.  Back in the 1600s John Bunyan wrote a story that he could have written just last Tuesday.  It's title is:  The Life and Death of Mr. Bad Man."  BadMan was a real rotter, ripped off his father, two of his bosses, and eventually murdered his wife - that is, after stealing, then blowing, her money.

Thing is, however, in the story, the wife's - even unsaved - neighbors knew what she was going through, and they covered for her when she snuck off to church, to hear a sermon and to join in singing from the psaltery.

What is new, i cannot help to suspect - and the Bible backs this up with phrases like "will wax worse" and "hearts growing cold" and "become lovers of tbemselves" - is that men (and women too) are becoming more skilled at telling lies, and getting away with it for years, if not decades.

Oh, wait a sec, there's another Bible phrase.  "Dull of hearing."  Uh, might that also be the devil's dumbing-down agenda?  Romans 1, which the pervs hate with a purple passion, covers a whole lot more territory than just sexual weirdness.  Becoming fools.

In short, my question is:  is abuse on the rise, because family, friends, church, community are too blazing (and willingly) STUPID to know what's going on?