Many people in American–both Christians and non-Christians–have asserted Christians should not complain about infringements of religious liberty in America, because Christians in places like Syria or Iraq are being persecuted so mercilessly.

John Stonestreet at the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview has recorded a short, compelling commentary on why religious liberty here in America goes hand-in-hand with ending the persecution Christians face from groups like ISIS.

Stonestreet writes,

“What’s at work here is a kind of false dilemma that one of my colleagues refers to as the Starving-Children-In-Africa fallacy. ‘There are problems in the world worse than yours,” goes the fallacy, “so your problems are not worth caring about or solving.’

“What this false dilemma misses is that the actor most capable of addressing the persecution faced by our brothers and sisters overseas is the United States. And if the United States takes the lead in addressing the issue, it’s in large measure because of religious voices in the public square that are calling for action and seeking to influence public opinion. And without religious liberty, religious voices will be dismissed from the public square, and will be unheard.”

You can listen to Stonestreet’s entire commentary below or read it here.

[audio:http://bit.ly/1BYSHN7|Titles=The bogus argument]