Christian Persecution on Campus Is Getting Violent

Christian Persecution on college campuses is no longer theoretical. I never thought I would live to see the day when speaking biblical truth in a classroom would bring direct retaliation, yet here we are. A student at the University of Oklahoma, Samantha Fulnecky, submitted a simple assignment that reflected her Christian worldview, and she received a zero for honoring Scripture. That moment showed me again how bold believers must become in this cultural moment.

The rise of Christian Persecution on college campuses shows a deepening cultural hostility toward biblical truth and the believers who stand for it.

I believe this incident reveals a growing cultural hostility toward biblical truth. Christians are being punished not because they have done anything wrong but because they stand firmly on the Word of God. When a university punishes a student for writing from a faith perspective, it exposes a larger spiritual problem. This is not just academic pressure. This is a spiritual battle unfolding in front of us.

What Christian Persecution Looks Like on Today’s Campuses

When I learned what happened to Samantha, I felt a mixture of sadness, frustration, and conviction. The sadness came from watching a young believer punished for honoring God. The frustration came from seeing a university misuse its authority. The conviction came from recognizing that this is part of a wider pattern, one that will continue unless Christians stand firm.

Samantha turned in a simple response paper, written with sincerity and clarity. She quoted Scripture. She affirmed God’s design. She applied her faith to the assignment. And for that, she received a zero. Not partial credit. Not feedback for improvement. A complete failure because her beliefs did not align with the ideology of her instructor, graduate teaching assistant Mel Curth.

It reminded me that some classrooms are no longer places of learning. They are places of conformity. If you echo the prevailing narrative, you are rewarded. If you speak biblical truth, you are punished. This is not education, it is pressure. It is intimidation. It is an attempt to silence faith under the disguise of academic standards. We have seen this same mindset before, especially in this example of Christian censorship in public schools.

What Happened at the University of Oklahoma

The assignment required students to respond to a reading about gender, identity, and mental health. Samantha responded honestly. She shared her Christian convictions. She explained why she believes God’s design for male and female is purposeful. She applied Scripture to a cultural issue, which is exactly what believers are called to do.

Yet Mel Curth gave her a zero.

No correction.
No guidance.
No opportunity for revision.

Just a zero for holding a biblical worldview, even though this Fox News article covering the controversy shows that Samantha completed the assignment according to instructions.

This incident revealed something far greater than one unfair grade. It showed how certain academic spaces now see Christian belief as a threat. If Scripture challenges cultural ideology, Scripture is punished. If students express faith, their work is silenced. That is not the free exchange of ideas. That is discrimination against believers.

Why This Is Bigger Than One Student

The more I prayed about this, the more I realized this is part of a growing trend. Hostility toward biblical conviction is increasing in every corner of culture. The issue is not disagreement. Disagreement is healthy and necessary. The real issue is suppression. Biblical truth is being treated like something dangerous, something intolerable, something that deserves punishment. I wrote about this growing pressure in what I wrote about biblical truth being treated as dangerous.

When a Christian student fails an assignment not because of quality but because of belief, the message becomes clear. If you follow Christ, prepare to pay a price. If you honor Scripture, expect consequences. If you remain faithful, expect resistance.

Scripture tells us this would happen. Jesus said the world would hate those who follow Him. The apostles warned us that believers would face persecution. We often think of persecution as something that takes place in distant places, but now it is happening in American classrooms. The battle is here. The pressure is here. And the cost of discipleship is rising.

Yet in the middle of this, God is still working. These moments become opportunities for believers to show courage, conviction, and clarity. Faithful obedience in the face of hostility becomes a testimony to God’s power.

A Death Threat Reveals the Spiritual Battle

As troubling as the student’s grade was, the situation escalated when Oklahoma State Representative Gabe Woolley spoke out in Samantha’s defense. He called the zero unfair. He said what any reasonable person should say, that a student should not be punished for her faith. He defended her right to express her worldview.

Then he received a voicemail telling him to put a gun in his mouth and pull the trigger.

Think about that.
A man was told to kill himself because he defended a Christian student.

That is not academic disagreement. That is not political tension. That is spiritual warfare. This is exactly what happens when a culture rejects God’s truth. Hatred rises. Anger grows. People begin to attack anyone who stands for Scripture. The battle is no longer about ideas. It becomes about silencing the people who carry God’s truth.

When I listened to the audio he posted, I felt a heaviness. Not shock, because Scripture tells us this world will hate truth. Not fear, because God has not given us a spirit of fear. The heaviness came from seeing how open and aggressive the hostility has become. It is not whispered anymore. It is not hidden. It is bold and violent.

The world hates what exposes its darkness. When someone hates the message, they eventually hate the messenger. Representative Woolley experienced that firsthand. And believers everywhere must understand that this is what spiritual conflict looks like in a culture that rejects God. Scripture explains this clearly in this biblical explanation of Christian persecution.

How Christians Must Respond

I refuse to let this discourage me. Instead, it strengthens my resolve. The call for believers has not changed. God commands us to stand firm, speak truth, and remain faithful even when the cost rises. The cost is rising now. Yet obedience remains our calling.

Samantha honored Christ and suffered for it. Representative Woolley defended truth and was threatened for it. Their courage inspires me. Courage spreads. It strengthens the church. It exposes darkness. When one believer stands boldly, others find their voice.

As Christians, our response must be rooted in Scripture. We do not fight with hatred, we fight with truth. We do not retreat in fear, we stand in faith. We do not blend in with culture, we shine the light of Christ. This is how the early church lived. This is how Daniel lived. This is how God calls us to live today.

We cannot assume our faith will be respected. We cannot assume our beliefs will be tolerated. But we can assume one thing with full confidence. God will honor obedience. He blesses courage. He strengthens those who stand for Him. Even when the world pushes back. Even when the persecution grows.

Moments like this remind me that the world needs clarity. The world needs courage. The world needs believers who refuse to back down. The truth of Scripture is the only truth that brings freedom, and the world is desperate for it whether it realizes it or not.

My prayer is that Christians everywhere will stand firm with conviction. I pray we will not shrink back. I pray we will speak truth with boldness and compassion. I pray we will defend those who are targeted for their faith. And I pray we will trust that God honors those who remain faithful when the world rejects them.

Arch Kennedy
Bold, Unfiltered, and Unafraid

Watch my full commentary below: