.gif)
From All Saints’ Day to the International Day of Prayer, let’s honor beleaguered believers by following three rules in advocating for religious freedom for all.
Two observances this week—All Saints' Day on November 1 and the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) on November 7—represent a new kind of holy week. Together they provide an opportunity to remember our Christian brothers and sisters suffering for their faith overseas.
Followers of Christ living abroad face extreme circumstances in many places, as well as slow-rolling repression grinding the faithful down. These days provide an opportunity to pause in remembrance, to commit to advocating for their rights, and to honor their sacrifice by helping others persecuted for their different beliefs. (In the sidebar below, I offer three rules to follow.)
Christians are under regular physical assault. An alarming trend is terrorist violence targeting Christians, which—based on my diplomatic work over two decades—I believe represents the biggest challenge to the church globally.
Groups like the Taliban, ISIS, and Al Qaeda all have Christian blood on their hands. In ungoverned or under-governed countries, churches thrive but terrorists can also strike with impunity. Motives vary—including animosity towards Christianity, jealously of resources, pure criminality, or all of the above—but regardless, fear hangs over entire communities.
For instance, Boko Haram’s violence in Nigeria against Christians stands out due to its severity and the size of the Christian population it victimizes. Boko Haram has burned churches, murdered pastors, and destroyed towns. In addition, Christian girls in Nigeria face physical and spiritual rape when kidnapped, forcibly converted, and married, such as Leah Sharibu.
Of course, governments also still persecute. Communist China is the largest persecutor ...
from Christianity Today Magazine
via
.gif)
.gif)
.gif)
