In the seventh chapter of Acts, Stephen is the first brother recorded to have died for our Lord. Since that event, there has been a never ending flow of the blood of martyrs. Christians today are dying for their faith at a rate higher than at any time in history.
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| All Saints Church, Peshawar, Pakistan |
This past Sunday, September 22, suicide bombers in the Pakistani City of Peshawar struck at All Saints Church. Eighty five were killed and 140 were injured. In Nairobi Kenya, the al-Shabab Muslim terrorists intentionally targeted Christians during the takeover of the Westgate Mall. Antioch in Syria was the place where the followers of Jesus Christ were first called Christians. It was a center of the Christian Church in the first century. Now, most observers believe that we are witnessing the extermination of Christianity in Syria at the hands of al-Qaeda. In Egypt the wrath of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists has turned against the Christian minority. This has caused the violence against Christians to reach "a level not seen for centuries" according to the Christian Post.
Violence against Egyptian Christians reaches a level not seen for centuries
"I'm afraid to get out from my
home and walk in the streets of the village. The situation is so
dangerous for us here," Father Youannis Shawky, a Coptic priest,
told ICC.
This sentiment is shared by many in the
Christian community throughout Egypt, as Christians have increasingly
come under attack for their part in the protests to remove Islamist
president Mohamed Morsi from office. The retaliation against
Christians from Islamists has included the looting and burning of
houses, churches, schools, and businesses.
It has also become personal, as
kidnapping and threats against individuals have been on the rise. In
the city of Delga, in Upper Egypt, Islamist gangs took control,
holding it captive for more than two months before security forces
moved in.
A City without Protection
Father Youannis is a priest of St. Mary
and Anba Abraam Monastery in Delga, Egypt. The city of 120,000
people, including 15,000 Christians, had been under the control of
hardline supporters of former President Morsi for nearly two months.
On Monday, September 16, Egyptian
authorities staged an operation to retake the town. As the Guardian
reports, "Two earlier attempts to retake Delga failed, but in
the early hours of Monday morning police launched a third and
decisive assault, and have now re-entered the town."
The takeover by Morsi supporters
occurred following his removal from office on July 3, when armed
gangs in the city ran off the security forces and seized control. The
situation for the Coptic Christian community became terrifying as
many of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood supporters blame the Christians
for their loss of political power.
Speaking with International Christian
Concern from Delga on September 12, Adel Shafik, a Coptic activist
said, "From August 14 till now, more than 52 Christian families
lost their homes, their homes were ransacked, burned, and
demolished." He added that "more than 40 Christian families
left the village fearing from the threats of the Muslim fanatics to
them."
The destruction did not stop with just
homes, but also included many of the church buildings in the city.
"Our monastery which includes three churches, St Mary Church,
Mar Gigis Church, and Anba Abraam Church were looted, burned and
demolished. Now we don't have any another place to pray in,"
Shafik said.
The level of violence has reached a
level unseen in centuries. As ICC reported, on August 18th, services
were cancelled at the church for the first time in 1,600 years. Days
earlier, the church, which dates back to the Fifth century, was
looted and set on fire while calls for help went unanswered by the
security forces, Christian Post recounted.
While these attacks continued, the
security forces were nowhere to be seen. Father Youannis said,
"Although there are all these attacks against Christians there
is an absence of the police in the village. There is not any
protection for the Christians here." Father Youannis added,
"There is a situation of panic and fear among all the Christian
families in the village."
All over the world, Christians are facing persecution at the hands of militants and also governments. In China, those who are not a part of the official church are beaten, harassed and imprisoned. According to Open Doors, North Korea is the most dangerous place to be a Christian. Christians there are beaten, imprisoned and killed at the hands of the Kim Jong-Un led government. In Iran also, Christians face extreme persecution including imprisonment and death. Yet, in the face of this, Saeed Abedini has been faithful to our Lord.
Pastor Saeed Abedini Refusing to Deny Jesus Christ for His Freedom Amid Iran Releasing Other Prisoners, Says ACLJ
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| Saeed Abedini |
U.S. Pastor Saeed Abedini is refusing
to deny Jesus Christ and turn back to Islam, even if that could means
jeopardizing his release from prison, the American Center for Law and
Justice (ACLJ) said.
Abedini has been imprisoned for almost
a full year now in Evin Prison in Tehran because of his Christian
faith. Iran has recently released 11 prisoners of conscience, and is
poised to release almost 80 others, but despite repeated attempts to
have Abedini renounce his faith, the pastor has refused to do so.
Below is an edited phone interview The
Christian Post did on Tuesday with Tiffany Barrans, the international
legal director at the ACLJ, which represents the pastor's wife,
Naghmeh, and their two children in the U.S.
CP: The latest ACLJ letter
writing campaign to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has over 89,000
pledges. Why has Pastor Saeed's story garnered such worldwide
support?
Barrans: Well, I think his case
is pretty clear cut. There is no question that Iran has tried to
paint religious minorities in Iran to be common criminals. But from
the beginning of this case, Iran admitted this is solely about his
Christian faith.
We have the Iran government admitting
that it is violating its own law and international law right up front
for detaining him solely for his Christian faith. You also have the
fact that he is an America citizen, and it touches a lot of people's
hearts here in the U.S., which is really encouraging. It is time that
the church awakens to what's going on with persecuted Christians
around the world.
The second century Christian apologist Tertullian said "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church". So in this violence, we have the hope of new growth. There are stories out of Iran and China of strong underground church movements. And in the worst of the worst, North Korea, the leaders of the underground church there are courageously calling for 100 days of prayer beginning on September 23 and continuing through December 31.
North Korea Underground Church Leads Unprecedented Worldwide 100 Days of Prayer
Contact: Tim Dillmuth, 719-362-5234
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Sept. 17, 2013
/Christian Newswire/ -- Starting September 23, 2013, the North Korean
Underground Church will lead Christians around the world in one
hundred days of worship in the common places.
Daily, through December 31, 2013,
Christians are invited to follow the lead of their North Korean
Christian brothers and sisters to do what led to their persecution in
the first place: Gather together in small groups for daily public
worship in the common places of life -- their homes, schools,
workplaces, parks, libraries, bus stops, and more -- using the
historic four pillars liturgy of the North Korean underground church.
Rev. Eric Foley, CEO of Seoul USA, says
while Americans are pledging to join in the effort, their goal is not
to evangelize others.
"These will be outwardly modest
and unremarkable gatherings. There will be no megaphones, no
shouting, no political messages, no recruitment, no voices of concern
about the state of religious freedom in America. Neither will the
liturgy be conducted in hushed whispers in private corners when no
one else is watching."
Revelation 6: 9-11
And when he had opened the fifth seal,
I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word
of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a
loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not
judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And
white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto
them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their
fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they
were, should be fulfilled.
For more about the state of the persecuted church visit Voice of the Persecuted.
