Will American Pastor
and the faithful stand up for persecuted Christians?
What most American Christians don't realize is that the
"Islamic World" was once the Christian world. Some of the most
well-known and influential leaders in the early church hailed from North Africa
and the Middle East – like the warring theologians Athanasius and Arius, and
the apologist Tertullian. It was for the library in Alexandria that the
preeminent Greek version of the Torah (the "Septuagint") was
commissioned.
Today, St. Augustine would be called a Tunisian, Origen
would be Egyptian and the Apostle Paul – who was on the road to Damascus when
he encountered Christ – would have told the story of his conversion while
heading to "Syria."
It was also in the Syrian city of "Antioch" that
Christians were first called "Christians," and to this day there are
as many Christian holy sites in that nation as anywhere else in the world.
When Jesus was born,
and his life was threatened by the hysteria of King Herod, it was to Egypt that
Joseph and Mary fled until Herod's bloodlust subsided.
If the famed Council of Nicaea were held today, the headline
would read: "Christian theologians gather in Turkey to settle long-held
dispute about Christ's deity," and the part of the Jordan River where
Jesus was baptized could have very well flowed through modern-day Jordan, as
opposed to Israel
American Christians, less crass than culpably indifferent,
insist it's up to the legal and political authorities in the affected countries
do something about persecution. But this turns a blind eye to the unhappy fact
that in most of the 87 nations where Christians are a minority, persecution of
them is sanctioned and even encouraged by lawmakers and judges.
The plight of believers gets little attention on the global
stage, leaving many Christians throughout North America unaware, and therefore,
indifferent to what’s going on in the body of Christ. Mention persecution, and
eyes glaze over.
Despite all these atrocities, exoduses, and even genocides,
the mainstream media seems to spend every available moment airing images of
displaced Palestinians and demonizing Israel for trying to defend itself. Yet
Israel does not kill Palestinians because of their religion or any other
personal aspects. It does so in the context of being rocketed and trying to
defend itself from terrorism.
On the other hand,
all the crimes being committed by Muslims against Christians are simply
motivated by religious hate, because the Christians are Christian.
It is to the
mainstream media's great shame that those who slaughter, behead, crucify, and
displace people for no other reason than because they are Christian, rarely if
ever get media coverage, while a nation such as Israel, which kills only in the
context of self-defense, and not out of religious bigotry, is constantly
demonized
Turkey: Outlook for Religious Freedom Grows Dim, yet Gospel
Continues to Spread
Although typically
understood to be an open nation, Turkey may quickly be taking a turn for the
worse when it comes to religious freedom. Today, an ICC team met with partners
in Turkey who described the future for Christians as "bleak." They
point out that the Prime Minister, Recep Erdogan, who is expected to be elected
to the presidency on Sunday, has increasingly used anti-Christian rhetoric as
he strives to maintain his position. "There is more anti-Christian
rhetoric today than ever before" said ICC's contact. Last year, Turkey
also imprisoned more journalists than any other nation in the world, beating
even Iran and China
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