Written by Dr. Neil Chadwick
|
|
|
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
John 10:10
Persecution of Christians is as old as the Church itself. First there was an attempt to intimidate the Apostles into silence (Acts 4:18). They went back to prayer, and received a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit for boldness, and kept on preaching. The persecution advanced to imprisonment (Acts 5:18), but the angel of the Lord delivered them. Next they resorted to flogging (Acts 5:40), although they really wanted to kill them (5:33). The first martyr was Stephen who was stoned to death (Acts 7:57ff), and this was just the beginning. James was killed by Herod (Acts 12:2) who then tried to also get rid of Peter, but the Lord intervened by means of a miraculous escape from prison.
Listen to Paul's own account of persecution against him:
"Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked." (II Corinthians 11:24-27)
Paul, in his training of Timothy reminds him, "Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." II Timothy 3:12
The reality is, persecution is happening now at a more intense level than ever in history.
The persecution of Christians, especially in Islamic and communist countries, gained a much higher profile beginning in early 1996. It is estimated more followers of Christ have died for their faith in the 20th century than in all the 19 previous centuries combined. In his Focus on the Family Newsletter, James Dobson wrote, "More than an estimated 160,000 believers were martyred in 1996, and countless others were subjected to unimaginable horrors. And the persecution appears to be escalating exponentially."
Representative Frank Wolf, R-VA serves on the Helsinki Committee, which monitors human rights abuses in Eastern Europe and the former states of the soviet Union. He said, "There is undeniable evidence now of widespread torture, killing, raping, and imprisonment of believers in dozens of countries. They include China, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Pakistan, North Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Cuba and several countries in the Soviet Union. What is happening in the blood-stained nations, and elsewhere, is unconscionable. In some places it amounts to mass murder."
They face torture, rape, community disintegration, imprisonment, slavery, beatings, and death. Some 200 million face this as a reality daily, and 400 million face severe to moderate forms of discrimination simply because they believe in Jesus Christ.
Sudan is full of examples--really so numerous that names become a blur. Families in small Christian communities are seeing their communities disintegrate due to Islamic raiders from the north. Often the men are killed because they represent opposition, women are raped, and children are enslaved. children in open slave markets bring money, which gives salaries for the soldiers who capture them--about $25 for males and slightly more for females because they can serve as concubines.
A New York Times headline for Thursday, November 11, 1998, read: "China Detains 140 From 2 Protestant Groups".
The article began, "The Chinese authorities have detained 140 Protestants and severely beaten more than a dozen church leaders in the last two weeks."
Here's one report coming out of China, Shaanxi Province: "The officers stripped three brethren naked from the waist and forced the women to stand with them..... The three men were beaten until they were totally covered with blood and had gaping wounds and injuries all over their bodies. As if such violent beating wasn't enough, the officers then hung them up and began to hit them with rods on their backs. They did this until the three men were unconscious and barely breathing." The victims were Protestants. Their crime was communicating with foreigners.
Nina Shea of Freedom House in her book "In The Lion's Den", wrote:
"Millions of American Christians pray in their churches each week, oblivious to the fact that Christian in many parts of the world suffer brutal torture, arrest, imprisonment and even death -- for no other reason than that they are Christians. The shocking, untold story of our time is that more Christians have died this century simply for being Christians than in the first nineteen centuries after the birth of Christ. They have been persecuted and martyred before an unknowing, indifferent world and a largely silent Christian community."
Just recently, President Clinton signed the International Religious Freedom Act without a ceremony. The U.S. Senate voted 98-0 Oct. 9 for the bill, while the House of Representatives approved it without dissent the next day. The bill establishes a bipartisan commission selected by the president and Congress to report annually on countries guilty of committing or permitting violations of religious liberty. The president, who is required to respond to the report, has options ranging from diplomatic protest to economic sanction to use in dealing with offending governments.
In his statement, Clinton said he plans to nominate Robert Seiple to the position of ambassador at large established by the law. Earlier this year, Seiple, former head of the Christian relief organization World Vision, was named special representative for international religious freedom in the Department of State. Unfortunately, our national leaders seem to lack the resolve to follow through on such commitments in the face of political pressure and economic concerns.
James Dobson asks the question, "Why has there been so little publicity about this persecution? Because the majority of Christians are too preoccupied with living to notice or complain about much of anything, and because our government favors good relations with many of the offending nations, and because the new media has failed to report the crisis.
"The silence from the majority of God's people is deafening! Ecclesiastes 4:1 says, 'Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they have no comforter. Power was on the side of their oppressors.' (NIV).
"What has really changed in 2000 years? Again we ask, why have so many good people done nothing to stop the persecution of the weak and vulnerable? I'll give you the best answer of which I am capable. It is because some spiritual leaders have told their flocks not to be concerned about that which is "political'-- as though pouring hot oil on a victim's feet or killing babies are political matters.
"Another reason is because we have become engrossed in that which I temporal and material-- and because there is so much stress in our lives that we can't invest our energies in that which doesn't touch us directly. I called this third factor "the principle of limited tears." We do not have the capacity to "cry" about all the tragedies of the world. To do so would be deeply disturbing to us. and since we can't prevent human misery around the globe, we narrow the concerns about which we will worry. Thus, we will weep about that which touches us personally--hitting near our families, our friends and our work. Everything else will be kept outside our defenses--ignored--denied--rationalized."
So then, what should be our response? First, the same as it was in the days of the first persecution - prayer.
During the 1998 International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church November 15, over 100,000 churches are expected to join their hearts in prayer to shatter the
silence which cloaks the plight of these who are under attack daily for their belief in
Christ.
And secondly, according to Proverbs 31:8, we need to speak up:
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, and for the rights of all those who are destitute."
Contact one of the many Christian religious freedom organizations and relief groups that support the persecuted church worldwide. These organizations can be found by visiting our website at www.persecutedchurch.org, which would actually help you do all three of the things mentioned.
|
- - 
- 
- 
- - 