My point here is to point out that a lot of persecution is intra-faith. We can see how Missouri Synod Lutheran Woody experienced high levels of persecution from his fiance who was Evangelical Lutheran of America...and perhaps visa versa. I have good source that states there was enough friction between the learning followers of Jesus (disciples) that he had to be careful what he revealed to some versus the others who, as Jews, still took stoning seriously. My other point is that faith is a very dangerous state of mind to abide in. Now, in a world where truth is revolutionary, i'm not sure it would be possible to reduce persecution down to zero. However, i'm convinced that staying close to the truth is the safest place to be. Better said, it is safer to KNOW (abide in knowledge) than it is to BELIEVE (abide in faith). Most conflicts are traceable to mutual faith (ignorance of knowledge) on either side of the violent equation. The absolute safest place to be is to BE CHRIST, following the example of Jesus. He showed that it's safe to be crucified if you are Christ, because not only would you not feel any pain, it would also have no permanent effects. Being Christ is as close to the truth as you can possibly be. Anything else is dangerous. Christianity is built upon a denial of Christ as Self, and so, is inherently dangerous. Adding to the danger is the doctrine of blame casting...going around convincing people of sin to lay guilt upon their shoulders. Yes, this is a very dangerous game to play, as the apostate Paul found out...very painful indeed. Just don't do this and the risk of calling yourself a Christian should decrease quite a bit, but to be safer you would have to distance yourself from anyone who still plays the blame game.