David and Jason Benham Urge Christians to Stand Firm in the Faith Amid 'Direct Assault on Christianity in America'

Sep 29, 2015 01:10 PM EDT

Christian entrepreneurs and twin brothers David and Jason Benham have issued an urgent call to Christians to hold fast to Biblical truths amid a "direct assault on Christianity in America."

Speaking to CNSNews.com, Jason Benham said, "[W]e don't believe there's a threat to religious liberty. We think there's a threat to Christian liberty, because all other religions seem to be fine right now in America."

He referenced a recent report about Islam being taught in public schools across the United States, while Christianity is targeted.

"We've even got elementary schools now starting to teach Islamic prayers - but Christian prayers - how dare you have a Christian Bible in the schools," he told the news outlet. "There's a direct assault on Christianity in America. That's why we're encouraging Christians to stand."

David Benham also urged Christians to become more vocal about their faith and publicly defend their beliefs instead of avoiding conflict in silence.

"The greatest threat to that is the silence of Christians," he said. "As Edmund Burke once said, the only thing necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."

The brothers have experienced persecution after exhibiting their faith firsthand: as previously reported by the Gospel Herald, the Benham's house-flipping show, "Flip it Forward," was panned by HGTV after a liberal watchdog published an article in which they accused to the brothers of being "anti-gay" and "anti-choice" for their Biblical views regarding homosexuality and abortion.

Although urged to retract their beliefs and apologize to the LGBT community for their worldview, the brothers refused to compromise on their Christian values, risking both their jobs and their reputations.

"It is a spiritual battle," Jason Benham explained to the Gospel Herald back in February. "This spiritual battle has taken place since the beginning of time, but we're watching it manifest more clearly now than we have ever seen before in America."

He added, "The truth of God is what sets people free - Satan knows this; the powers of darkness understand this. The best plan of attack is to silence the truth. If you can silence Christian belief, if you can demonize it and make it look like it's hate filled rhetoric--which it's not--then you win the day. Jesus loves all people, but he does not love all ideas. Unfortunately, in America, we have ideas that are against God, such as a child in a mother's womb is not really a baby and so can be terminated at a mother's choosing. That's an idea that is absolutely against God."

The duo recounted the incident and how it strengthened their faith in their book, Whatever the Cost.

"The problem today is not the presence of darkness," David said during a speech given at the Billy Graham Library's annual men's breakfast last week.  "The problem is the absence of light. It is time to stop being lightning bugs and start being lightning bolts. We generate power from the most high, Jesus Christ. Wherever our footsteps, the authority of Jesus Christ comes."