Tag: faith

Alarming reports however, are streaming in from all over the world that Christian believers in many countries are being tortured, imprisoned and even killed because of their faith in Jesus.

A report by Britain’s intelligence service MI6 reveals that there is an estimated 200 million Christians in 60 countries who are now facing persecution.

There were close to 100 million martyrs in the last century – that is more people martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ in the 20th century than in all the previous nineteen centuries combined. 15 million of these were Orthodox or Catholic Christians who died under the Soviet regime between 1917 and 1980, primarily in prison camps.  Some were crucified by nailing them to the door of their churches or stripped naked, doused with water and left to freeze in the winter air.

More people died in circumstances related to their faith in the last century than in all the 20th century wars combined.

According to the 2011 Open Doors’ World watch list of the worst persecuting nations, North Korea has topped the list again. More than 50,000 Christians are incarcerated in work camps in North Korea because they refuse to submit to the extreme views rigorously enforced by the country’s dictator, Kim Jong-Il.  One expert on North Korea stated: “Christians are the target of fierce government action, and once caught, are not regarded as human. Last year we had evidence that some [of those captured] were used as guinea pigs to test chemical and biological weapons.”

Other persecuting countries include: Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Maldives, Yemen, Iraq, Uzbekistan and Laos. Muslim nations are the biggest persecutors of those of other faiths.

So, what should our response be to these things?

Firstly, we should be grateful that we live in a nation such as Australia that grants us freedom to express our faith.

Secondly, we need to be prepared.  We do enjoy great freedom in Australia right now, but that might not always be the case.  Jesus said, “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also …” (John 15:20).

Thirdly, be encouraged. Maybe you’re experiencing a level of persecution right now.  The Bible tells us that nothing – not even persecution – can separate us from the love of Christ” (Romans 8:35).

Fourthly, be compassionate. Sympathy looks and turns away, compassion comes to help and stay. Proverbs 31:8 encourages us to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”  In the United States, after fierce lobbying by some churches and other groups, American legislators agreed to levy punishments ranging from diplomatic protests to economic sanctions against countries that persistently persecute Christians and other religious minorities.  We can make a difference by speaking up.

Finally, be prayerful. Last Sunday more than 300,000 churches in 100 countries took part in the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Add the persecuted church to your prayer list. Pray specifically that God would be glorified; the great commission would be completed, that the Holy Spirit would purify and comfort his church.

If you would like to find out more on how you can assist persecuted Christians around the world check out these websites and books:

Open Doors: http://www.opendoors.org.au

Christian Solidarity Worldwide: http://www.csw.org.uk/home.htm

World Christian Resources:
http://www.missionresources.com/persecuted.html

Welcome to Australia
http://www.welcometoaustralia.org.au/

Faith that endures: by Ronald Boyd-MacMillan

In the Lion’s Den: by Nina Shea

The persecuted church prayer devotional: by Beverly Pegues

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Many people have completely the wrong idea about Christianity and what it means to be a Christian. The sad fact is often they get this wrong idea from Christians!  Let me explain…

Many people I speak with think that being a Christian is about being a “good” person and living a “good” life.  This message is communicated when the church takes on the role of moral policeman for society – thinking that its main role is to say what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour for everyone – even those who don’t consider themselves to be Christian.

The problem is that this moral message gets in the way of the church’s real message – the gospel, which is good news.  Some Christians are so busy trying to clean up others’ lives by Christianising them that they miss their real mission – that of evangelizing by sharing the true gospel.  The message of the moral police actually drives a wedge between Christians and the world that God loves.

Jesus didn’t behave this way so why has so much of the church bought into the lie that we are here to moralise and Christianise rather than evangelise?  It’s like trying to clean a fish before you’ve caught it.  Jesus hung around with all sorts of people who had been regularly rejected by the religious crowd of his day (see Mark 2:13-17).  The religious right, who did not understand such love and acceptance, scorned him.

God gave the same message to the Hebrews who had been taken into captivity to Babylon in 597 BC (see Jeremiah 29:4-14).  Jeremiah 29 is a letter to the exiles giving instructions on how God’s people are to live when they are foreigners in a strange land.  And what a strange place Babylon was! It was the place where astrology, and other occult practices, was developed. In their worship system, they had 37 supreme gods, and one of these, the god associated with the sun, was supreme over all the other gods. These people believed that numbers in some way had power over the gods they worshiped. They counted their gods and assigned a count number to each of the 36 lesser supreme gods, and then added up all of these numbers (from one to 36) and assigned the sum to the sun god – 666. They also practiced Knot Magic: The belief that tying and untying knots could cure all manner of illnesses.

In light of these and other strange and immoral practices you’d think that God would instruct his people to make banners and hold protest marches down the streets of Babylon – “Down with Knot Magic!” “God hates 666.”  “Astrologers will go to hell!”

But the message from God was very different.  God instructed his people to “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”  “Peace and prosperity” is the Hebrew word “shalom” which includes things like safety, happiness, friendliness, welfare, health, prosperity, peace, contentment, completeness, soundness and restoration.  This was the impact God’s people were to have on Babylon – this is the impact the church is meant to have on the world today!

Christians are not called to live as conspirators banded together against the world that is for the time their home.  Rather Jesus calls his people to live as salt and light “that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Bayside Church Logo

Burning the Koran is the latest example to hit the news of unchristian Christianity!  A Florida pastor last week announced that he would stage a Koran burning day (on the ninth anniversary of 9/11) as a protest over the proposed building of an Islamic Cultural Centre near the World Trade Centre site.

It is my personal opinion that building an Islamic Cultural Centre so close to the area where thousands of people lost their lives because of the action of Muslim extremists is insensitive and inappropriate.  But to threaten to burn the Muslims’ Holy Book is also insensitive, inappropriate and flies in the face of Jesus’ teaching – especially the Golden Rule: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12).

Almost all organized religions have such an ethic, and Islam is no exception.  Muhammad, in his farewell sermon said, “Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you.”  The Koran states, “None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”  It also teaches, “Seek for mankind that of which you are desirous for yourself, that you may be a believer …”

Fascinating isn’t it?  That even in the light of Jesus’ and Muhammad’s teaching so many of their followers get it wrong.  And because of this we have “Christians” threatening to burn the Koran and “Muslims” blowing up buildings.  Would these people want others to do this to them?  Of course not!  So why – when their faith teaches so differently – do they behave so “unchristianly” and “unmuslimly” to others?

Of course this is not a new phenomena.  Muslims can point to numerous atrocities committed against them by Christians over the centuries – not least of all The Crusades.  And Muslims have likewise persecuted Christians, destroyed churches and have been guilty on many occasions of burning Bibles:

2005: Saudi Arabia desecrates hundreds of Bibles annually
2006: Muslim students urinate, spit on and then burn the Bible
2007: Christians in Gaza fear for their lives as Muslims burn Bibles and destroy crosses
2008: Muslims burn Bibles in Pakistan

Just put some key words on this subject into Google and it brings up a wealth of examples of both Christians and Muslims failing to obey their Golden Rule as taught by Jesus and Muhammad.

The biggest problem though is that many people – and often the media – tend to lump all Christians and all Muslims together in the same category, so that “all Muslims are terrorists” and “all Christians are Koran burners.”  Of course that is just not true.

We do far better when we stop making broad generalizations about categories of people and instead get to know precious people as individuals.  As a Christian I know many fine, genuine Christians who are horrified by the threat of this Florida Pastor.  Over the years I have also met some wonderful Muslim people who are equally horrified by the actions and attitudes of a minority who bear the name “Muslim” but do not live up to their faith’s teachings.

What the world needs to see is genuine faith without hypocrisy!